First of all prepare the confit tomatoes: wash the tomatoes, cut them in half, place them on the microwave with the cut side facing up, season with salt, oil, oregano and sugar, then cook for about 10 minutes at 800W (alternatively bake in a convection oven for about 20 minutes at 200 ° C).
Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Gradually add oil and water and knead until a smooth batter is obtained. Then also incorporate small tomatoes, pecorino cheese and basil.
Heat the seed oil in a saucepan, then start cooking the pancakes 1 spoonful at a time, being careful not to let them stick together and brown them evenly. As soon as they are ready, drain them on kitchen paper to dry them.
Fried, baked or raw: all the ways to enjoy this delicate fish rich in omega 3
Cod is a very delicate fish, with white and not very fatty meats. It is mainly fished in the Northern European Seas: the Norwegian one is famous, treated and preserved with the drying method. Rich in Omega 3 acids it is perfect to keep bad cholesterol at bay and to reduce the risk of thrombotic events. From his liver is obtained cod liver oil, used as a remedy against rickets and for the proper functioning of the thyroid. In the kitchen it is used in many preparations. We will suggest ten.
Cod fillets
Cod fritters
A delicious finger food perfect for an informal dinner with friends or for a buffet. Boil the cod fillets in water with a bay leaf and a pinch of salt for a few minutes. When they are soft, let them cool in the water. Drain, chop finely and set aside. In a bowl, place the flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, a chopped onion, a clove of chopped garlic, chives, 2 egg yolks and a tablespoon of water. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and add them to the dough, together with the finely chopped cod and the hot pepper. Heat some oil in a frying pan and make some meatballs with a spoon that you will slide into the hot oil. Fry the pancakes until they are golden brown. Drain, dry with absorbent paper and serve with thinly sliced lemon slices.
Cod pate
Take the same amount of fish and fresh white beans. Cook these in boiling salted water with an onion and a few cloves. Separately, cook the cod fillets wrapped in lettuce leaves in a steamer for ten minutes. When the fish is cooked, let it cool and then crumble it coarsely with your hands, being careful to remove all the bones. Meanwhile drain the beans, remove the onion and cloves and put them in the mixer with the fish, 2 tablespoons of liquid cream, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and whisk lightly, until the mixture will not have an uneven consistency. Pour everything into a bowl, add chopped chives, sprinkle with black pepper and spread the cod cream on toasted black bread croutons.
Crispy puff pastries
These puff pastries can be served as an aperitif or as finger food even in a standing dinner. Cut from the pastry dough into small disks, prick them with a fork, place them on a baking sheet greased with oil, cook them for ten minutes in the oven at 180. Let them cool and in the meantime cook the cod fillets wrapped in lettuce leaves in a steamer with in the water a few drops of lemon and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. When the cod is cooked, crumble it and set it aside. Prepare a vinaigrette with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, one of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Put a few drops of seasoning on top of each pastry and then add a teaspoon of cod. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
Natural cod
To prepare this dish you will need a whole fish of medium size. Clean it and wrap it in a cloth. Place it in a fishmonger with water over it. Bring to a boil and froth from time to time. Continue cooking on a softer fire for ten minutes. Keep the fish soaked in water until just before serving. Bring it to the table clean and accompanied with a tomato and basil sauce which you will prepare by slicing the tomatoes blanched for a few minutes in boiling water and peeled. Let them marinate for half an hour with a little oil and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Separately whisk some basil leaves with oil and salt, add the tomatoes and serve the creamy sauce with the fish.
Crispy cod
A second dish with a very particular flavor. First cut two lemons into slices, place them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper, sprinkle them with sugar, a pinch of salt and a drizzle of oil. Let the lemon slices cook for 2 hours at 100 °. Arrange the cod fillets on a baking sheet where you have previously placed the confit lemon slices and a sliced onion. Sprinkle the fish with a glass of white wine in which you have melted the saffron pistils, lemon juice and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Cook the cod in the oven for 30 minutes at 180 °. When it is ready, serve it with the cooking sauce and a fresh spinach salad.
Baked with onion mousse
Second fast and easy to make. Arrange the cod fillets on an oil-foiled sheet of aluminum foil, close them and cook them in a hot oven for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, brown a thinly sliced white onion in a knob of butter and a tablespoon of water. When the onion is golden, whisk it and serve it over the fish fillets.
Crunchy glasses
An appetizer that can become even a second. Flour the slices of cod and fry them in a pan with extra virgin olive oil. When they are golden dry them with absorbent paper. In a separate bowl, sauté half-cut tomatoes in a little oil with a clove of garlic and oregano. In a saucepan, sauté a clove of garlic in a drizzle of oil, add chopped taralli and toast. Make the glasses with the golden cod, the tomato slices and finish with a spoon of garlic taralli.
With ginger sauce
Get some cod slices of about 200 g each. Blanch them on one side for only 3 minutes in a pan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, to form a crispy crust. Then lower the heat, cover and cook for another 3 minutes. Add salt and serve with a ginger sauce that you have prepared by heating cream in a pan, the chopped ginger and a clove of garlic. Boil for about ten minutes, strain, season with salt and serve the cream with the crispy fish.
In a pot with the potatoes
A traditional Venetian recipe, perfect for a family Sunday lunch. In a saucepan with a drizzle of oil put the sliced potatoes, the onion, chopped herbs such as thyme, bay leaves and marjoram and cook for 5 minutes on a high heat. Add two glasses of water and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the fish, add salt, cover and cook for five minutes. Serve the cod with steaming potatoes.
Codfish balls
These meatballs are perfect with a chickpea cream made by blending the boiled vegetables with a tablespoon of lemon juice and one of oil. Dice the cod, season with oil, the juice and peel of a lemon, some desalted capers and toasted and coarsely chopped pine nuts. Let it marinate, covered, for a whole night. Then drain the cod, put some meatballs in your hands, place them on a saucer where you have spread the chickpea cream and serve.
It is the Sicilian preserve par excellence, still made with the ancient processing. It is a ritual that involves all the families of Aspra, a small fishing village on the outskirts of Palermo, and, on 8 and 9 September, also all those who want to participate in the Ciauru ri astrattu event. Here are the details
The wind throws open the windows of the houses overlooking the sea and the festive voices of the children echo from the courtyard in the courtyard to cover the screech of seagulls. The men are busy carrying heavy wooden boards under the scorching sun of Sicily while their agile and quick hands, of their women, spin in the air like a magical dance, engaged in the preparation of tomato concentrate. A collective rite that every summer involves the entire community of Aspra, a small fishing village on the outskirts of Palermo.
The ancient workmanship
"Making tomato extract makes us happy and keeps bad thoughts away" Pina and Nina Balistreri – two elegant and volcanic sisters, both resident in Aspra – shine and are moved to recall childhood memories of a family tradition that, with strength and tenacity, tries to survive in an increasingly industrialized world.
Tomato extract (u'strattu in Sicilian) is the Sicilian preserve par excellence, always present in the iconic dishes of the Palermo cuisine such as pasta with sardines, tuna in sauce (tunnina ammuttunata) and meatballs d'anciova (anchovy). To make it happen you need three basic ingredients: tomato, salt and sun. To these are then added the expert movements of the expert hands of the ladies of Aspra who have been dealing with this preparation for generations: the tomatoes are cleaned, washed and left to dry overnight. The next morning we proceed with the squeezing. The sauce obtained is arranged, with slow and always the same gestures, on large wooden tables (the maidde) perfectly clean and dry so that the sun – with its warm and persistent rays – can dry the tomato. A process that lasts an entire morning. Afterwards, the concentrate to which Sicilian sea salt is added is collected at the center of each table (80g per 10kg), to then be leveled again with your hands. In the afternoon we finally proceed to the collection of the extract, arranged in smaller tables and left to rest in the shade for two days. "Processing in the past took place in the courtyards because it required a lot of space," says Pina, "and from time to time the shift family involved in the preparation was helped. They were days of celebration because whole families gathered. But they also required so much effort, in fact I remember that no one cooked for fatigue and ate only bread with oil and tomato . The last phase is the bottling of the concentrate: with well greased hands of oil it is placed inside large glass jars covered with a white cloth surmounted by a little mound of salt to absorb the moisture of the extract. The ladies of Aspra still practice this custom: "I remember that Dad," adds his sister Nina, "wanted to always have at home a" badduzza "(ball, note) of extract at hand, to give even more flavor to the dishes prepared by mother .
Appointment for all in September
For those wishing to experience the magic of this ancient rite, on 8 and 9 September the Cultural Association Altura organizes the event in Aspra Ciauru ri astrattu (extract fragrance). "The ritual of preparing tomato concentrate," he says Rosellina Mantini, president of the association, "accompanied our summers when we were children, as well as the smell of tomato lying in the sun. We cannot risk that this heritage should be lost and our commitment is to celebrate and highlight an all-female knowledge that is handed down between generations and that can be saved from oblivion only by recalling it .
Two whole days to discover stories, legends and anecdotes about the preparation of tomato concentrate, its link with the salt extraction activities and with the catch. Instead, it will be up to local chefs to show the public its use in the kitchen. Original the idea of Antonio Sciortino, owner of the restaurant Colapisci, to create a pizza with a mixture of 5 Sicilian grains and a topping that reproduces the seasoning of the typical pasta with sardines (the concentrate is a fundamental ingredient of the recipe), today proposed as a welcome to the guests of his beautiful restaurant on the seafront of Aspra .
The event will also feature some of the most talented Sicilian chefs: Martina Caruso, 1 Michelin star chef of Signum of Salina, Marco Baglieri of the restaurant Crucified in Noto, Giacomo Caravello of Balice in Milazzo, inaugurated this summer, e Bonetta Dell’Oglio, the chef champion of the protection of Sicilian biodiversity.
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