Tag: street

Scacce ragusane: irresistible Sicilian street food – Italian Cuisine


Based on tomato and caciocavallo, the scacce are a really greedy specialty of Ragusa: let's prepare them together

They are prepared on the occasion of Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve as an appetizer, but there is no shortage in summer, for example in August, on the party tables or on the beach: they are the ragusane scacce, portfolios of stuffed and delicious pasta in many different versions. Street food from the Ragusa area, they require few ingredients, such as tomato and caciocavallo, preferably the Ragusano DOP, but they can also be enriched with onions, aubergines, ricotta, sausage. Let's find out how to prepare them ragusane scacce.

The recipe for ragusane scacce

Ingredients

To prepare the ragusan scacce you will need: 260 g of durum wheat semolina, 4 g of yeast, 1 teaspoon of salt, 130 ml of water at room temperature, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 l of tomato sauce, 1 clove of garlic, 200 g of Ragusano DOP (or caciocavallo), extra virgin olive oil to taste, salt to taste, basil leaves to taste.

Method

Start by preparing the tomato sauce. Fry the garlic in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil. When it is golden brown, add the tomato sauce. Let cook over low heat for at least half an hour. Season with salt and add the basil leaves to taste.

In the meantime, prepare the dough for the scacce: dissolve the salt in the water. In a bowl put the semolina, the yeast and slowly add all the salted water. Don't forget two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a teaspoon of sugar.

Knead everything with your hands. The mixture must be soft and elastic. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for a couple of hours: the dough will double its volume. Meanwhile, grate the cheese.

Then take the dough again, put it on a floured work surface, divide it in half. The first will be laid out to obtain a wide and thin disc.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour and a half, or at least until it is at least doubled in volume.

While the dough is rising, cut 200 g of caciocavallo into thin flakes, then set it aside.

After the necessary time, take the dough again and turn it over on a well floured work surface, divide it in half and roll out the first piece of dough to obtain a wide and thin circle. Pour the sauce onto the disc and sprinkle with the caciocavallo flakes. Close the disc by folding the ends towards the center to obtain a long rectangle.

Spread tomato sauce and caciocavallo flakes again, then fold the shorter sides towards the center: you will need to get a square. Add the sauce and caciocavallo again and fold the square into a book. You will thus have a small rectangular package.

Do the same thing with the other half of the dough, then arrange the two scacce on a dripping pan lined with parchment paper and cook them in a preheated oven at 250 ° C for about 30 minutes. They must be well colored.

The rebirth of Palermo, from good food to street art – Italian Cuisine

The rebirth of Palermo, from good food to street art


Where to eat, what to see and where to sleep to discover the new face of Palermo

We fly to Palermo for the eighth anniversary of Gagini Social Restaurant, among the most interesting gourmet realities of the Sicilian capital and where do they take us to eat? In Danisinni, one of the poorest and most abandoned neighborhoods in the city, with an unemployment rate of 90%. Practically with only two roads, today semi flooded because it rains heavily, one to enter, the other to go out. The parish priest Fra Mauro sits smiling in the "restaurant" garage at the head of the table. On the table, paper plates and glasses. The only gourmet touch is the tablecloth, which is increasingly snubbed today by high-end restaurants And yet it is very difficult to be treated as gentlemen in other places. Above all, when lunch is free. As well as tasty. Palermo home cooking, with most of the products coming from the Fattoria del Quartiere. Danisinni's buttonhole flower.

Franco Virga and Stefania Milan, owners of the Gagini and of three other rooms in the center of Palermo, have bright eyes. Franco worked for 30 years in the fashion world, until in 2011, with Stefania he founded Good Company and dedicated himself to food and wine. With a clear mission: making the most of the Sicilian agri-food and cultural heritage, offering new job opportunities to many young talents and bringing a new breath to Palermo, in synergy with other local realities. Social, artistic, cultural.

A different story

Unlike so many other catering realities, Good Company has not replicated a successful format, but has instead launched four distinct catering projects. In addition to the restaurant housed in the home-studio of the great Sicilian Renaissance sculptor Antonio Gagini, in 2015 Buatta Cucina Popolana, Bocum Mixology and last June Aja Mola – Trattoria di Mare opened. All local with a common denominator "wine", that is, with cellars dedicated mostly to natural wines. We therefore made the first toast with a Blanc de Noirs Classic Method amazing, Rio Cami from Casa Caterina, born from the assembly of two vintages, 2004 and 2007. Not a simple natural wine, but a jewel of biodynamic viticulture.

The restaurants

From the name of a popular song of the tonnaroli, the cialoma Aja Mola, comes the name of the contemporary Trattoria di Mare open right next to Gagini, between the new marina and the Vucciria. To fully grasp the meaning of the kitchen of the restaurant we suggest choosing from the showcase between the catch of the day and relying totally on the chef Giuseppe Calvaruso.

The Buatta restaurant is a real immersion in the Sicilian regional cuisine. In the card it boasts five courses with Slow Food Presidia products (Ragusano cheese in Argentiera; Frascatula with smoked Madonie provola; Cottoia di Modica broad beans; Eoliana fish with tomatoes olives and Salina capers; Cinisara Cow meatloaf with Fellata of the Nebrodis). On the table the inevitable extra virgin olive oil, which we like to call raw oil, from Centonze Castelvetrano (TP). All prepared by a young team of chefs headed to the stove by a real star, chef Fabio Cardilio. From the wine list we have chosen two excellent natural wines produced on Etna, the Nerello Mascalese 2017 of the Azienda Agricola SRC, obtained from vineyards of over 50 years placed at 600 meters above sea level and Ayunta Navigable DOC 2016 Etna.

Gagini Social Restaurant is a "sea port". A restaurant that is, which offers a cuisine open to the Mediterranean and beyond. The menus proposed by the young but expert chef Massimiliano Mandozzi and his wife Elnava De Rosa (pastry chef) fly high, but without ever losing sight of the roots of a vast gastronomic heritage. The tiller is always focused on the quality of the raw material and the pure pleasure of the table. Creativity in the kitchen and on the plate is not a mere display, but substance. Like the unpublished journey we have tried. Here then served with a bottle of Chenin Blanc Le Vieux Clos 2015 by Nicolas Joly, independent winemaker, a bold Oyster with cauliflower. This is followed by another seductive taste contrast: grilled artichoke with orange marmalade, stuffed with shrimp. Our journey, still experimental, therefore includes a Fusillone with creamed red pepper, blue fish mousse and toasted bread. So the pigeon challenge! Exceeded great with the double Genoese ravioli stuffed with pigeon. And since the gluttony has no end, here is the Lamb on the grill with yougurt and cumin sauce. Dishes combined with a bottle of Morgon 2016, Domain J. Chamonard.
Finally, the pastry chef enters with a sorbet and a fruit choir, which infuses pure joy.

The Bocum, cocktail bar with kitchen (chef Daniele Salvatori) on two floors, is certainly one of the most elegant and convivial places in Palermo. Behind the counter the barlady Sonja Scrudato, which boasts 10 signature drinks, one more surprising than the other (plus three non-alcoholic long drinks). But we highlight two in particular that really delighted us: for the predictor Bloody Mex (Mezcal, Ancho Reyes Poblano, tomato juice, lime juice, worchestershire, Tabasco, salt, pepper and paprika) and after dinner the Sonny'Margarita (tequila reposado, ancho reyes chili, agave syrup, lime juice, BBQ Bitters, chilli salt crust).

Palermo that does not give up. Indeed he counterattacks.

And it does so starting from the past, from the extraordinary art of storytellers and puppeteers, such as Gaetano Lo Monaco Celano, one of the last representatives of the Sicilian puppet theater, Unesco Intangible Heritage. Gaetano every day, in his tiny laboratory in vicolo Pilicelli, as Geppetto, gives life and also voice to the magnificent puppets of the knights of the Crusades, reciting their exploits in the ancient "cunti", shows of which Gaetano is an undisputed master.

In the historic districts of Ballarò and Kalsa, above all, we admire various murals, which cover entire facades of popular palaces. And they are not simply decorative murals, rather they are militant works of art, which recall how Palermo since its origins has been a welcoming city, anti-racist and open to the world. The mural, perhaps the most beautiful and significant is that of the artist Igor Salisi Palminteri, who in Ballarò painted the gigantic figure of the Palermo co-patron San Benedetto il Moro, son of African slaves. The 16-meter-high blessing figure wears a bright blue tunic and a pair of football boots is worn at the feet.

Where to sleep

Wonderful Italy operates in Palermo, a start-up dedicated to hospitality and tourism that works with local social workers. And hospitality starts right from the wide offer of homes and services at competitive prices. In addition to guaranteeing a quality stay, Wonderful Italy promotes a tourism of experiences, to discover the places, culture and local traditions, in collaboration also with realities such as the association of women victim of violence, "Cuoche combattenti", with " Cooked in fragrance ”, the pastry shop managed by the boys of the Palermo Malaspina juvenile prison. Or to discover the network of artists and artisans who, with their workshops and workshops, contribute to changing the face of the historic center of Palermo for the better.

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Takoyaki, street food octopus balls go crazy in Osaka. Now also in Italy – Italian Cuisine


In Osaka there is a boom in takoyaki, local street food spread all over Japan which consists of meatballs with octopus and mayonnaise and which is now also conquering Italy

In the world there are cities where local street food is deeply rooted in people's daily lives, representing an essential part of the gastronomic and traditional culture. An example of this is Osaka, in Japan, whose local specialty consists of a street food called takoyaki, ubiquitous in every corner of the city. This dish, famous and loved in the rest of the country and increasingly in vogue abroad, consists of delicious meatballs made with batter and octopus, served hot on practical paper boats.

Takoyaki, Osaka street food and one of the most loved in Japan

In the homeland of this cheap and delicious street food there are hundreds of specialized banquets and takeaways, where you can watch the preparation ritual, a regular attraction for the Japanese and a must for tourists. Takoyaki are small and soft balls of batter based on flour, water, yeast and eggs to which they are added inside during cooking boiled octopus pieces (tako), fresh onion slices, red ginger (shoga) pickle, tempura scraps (tenkasu) which give crispness. Meatballs are cooked by street vendors on large plates and turned skillfully and quickly with chopsticks; this procedure allows you to prepare a large number of meatballs in a short time. Take away takoyaki should be crunchy on the outside or soft inside and seasoned with Japanese mayonnaise (made with egg yolks and rice vinegar) and a dense and sweetish brown sauce called takoyaki sauce, similar to Worcestershire, made with soy sauce, fruit and sugar, and finally covered with green algae anori powder and flakes of dried bonito. In Osaka or in other parts of Japan it is possible to find seals of different types, including a typical Japanese sauce with soy and citrus, the goma-give sauce based on vinegar and sesame, sardine and oyster extracts and other ingredients.

The practical paper trays in which they are served usually contain 6 or 10 meatballs, which allows consumers to share them with friends and relatives, but also to buy them from different stalls. This delicious street food, besides being the pride of the city of Osaka, is one of the most loved in all of Japan.
But the takoyaki are not only a popular street food, to be eaten rigorously with chopsticks and to be consumed with beer or other alcoholic drinks, in fact they can be bought pre-cooked and frozen, ready to be heated at home in the microwave or during a picnic with a camping stove, as can be ordered in many restaurants in the country where they are usually served with a side dish of white rice.

The takoyaki to conquer the rest of the world

Given the goodness and simplicity of preparation of these meatballs, as well as their characteristic ingredients and flavors typical of the Rising Sun, it is not surprising that they are widespread in the rest of the world, either as street food or as a specialty of Japanese restaurants. In Italy, takoyaki have only recently appeared, with the opening of two small specialized shops a Milan it's at turin where the meatballs are cooked express on the spot according to the traditional recipe and served with Japanese soft drinks in cans including beer or sake. However, these tasty oriental meatballs are also available in other Japanese sushi bars and restaurants throughout the area.

takoyaki

Photo: takoyaki street food osaka_flickr_ankur p.jpg
Photo: takoyaki osaka polpette polpo_flickr_leng cheng.jpg

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