Cardi and Sanape Rise to the Aristocracy of Sicilian Food

Hello Foodies,

Cardi (cardoons) and sanape (mustard greens) are two wild herbs that have been used in preparing traditional dishes in Sicily for generations. Today, some more elaborate versions of these dishes are emerging.

Cardi (left) belongs to the family of artichokes. Each plant produces one single, very spiny "artichoke," which is not edible but the plant is.


The seeds of the sanape plant (right) are used to make mustard, but the plant is very tasty as well.

Along the Simeto river near Bronte, the community elders continue to pick wild cardi and sanape like their ancestors have done for centuries. Farmed cardi and sanape also exist, but the taste is not the same.

Recently, acclaimed Sicilian Chef Roberto Spitaleri proposed several sophisticated recipes, even if still simple to prepare, using these two incredible herbs.

Let's start with cardi. The difficult part is cleaning them and removing the spikes. After that is done, pour a little extra virgin olive oil in a pan and fry some fresh chives, cardi (cut in small pieces), and dried salted cod (cut in small cubes). At the same time, cook some conchiglioni (shell-shaped) pasta. When the pasta is ready, add the fried cod and cardi, grated pecorino and finish with toasted bread crumbs.

Sanape has been traditionally eaten boiled with extra virgin olive oil or lightly fried with olive oil and garlic. But it is also excellent with pasta. After washing and boiling, lightly fry it with extra virgin olive oil, a little garlic and small cubes of bottarga (the roe pouch of tuna or grey mullet that has been sun-dried, cured in sea salt). Prepare spaghetti al dente, and when ready, mix the pasta with the sanape, bottarga, fresh ricotta cheese, and finish it with grated bottarga.

Why not plan to join Tour de Forks in Sicily to discover cardi and sanape?

Enjoy,

Giuseppe

From Katia at loveSicily Cookery School!

Hello Foodies,

Good quality food has always been a central element in my family life. My grandparents taught us all about the joy of sharing with others and Nonna Elvira was never jealous of her recipes. My mother and my aunt, have often taken notes while Nonna Elvira was cooking. Over the years, they used to talk about Nonna's precious recipe books but we seemed to have lost most of them.

One day, while we were emptying the house, before beginning the restoration project to turn it into our cookery school, I found her books and notes in one of the bottom drawers of her kitchen. I cannot describe the joy! These books are the best family legacy and even my daughter now is tasting her great-grandmother's food. I am sure Nonna Elvira would be very happy to share her version of "Calamari Ripieni" (stuffed calamari) with you.

CALAMARI RIPIENI DELLA NONNA

30 minutes preparation time: 40 minutes cooking time

Ingredients:

4 calamari
2-3 tomatoes
3 onions
3 tbsp Parsley
1 tbsp Garlic
2 slices of bread (possibly from the day before)
2-3 eggs
4 tbsp Olive oil

Clean the calamari, remove the tentacles and set aside.
Blanch the tomatoes, remove their skins, seeds and chop them.
Chop the onion and tentacles and mix with the chopped tomatoes.
Sauté the mixture in olive oil and set aside
Crumble the soft part of the bread into a large mixing bowl and soak in water or milk
Add it to the mixture of onion, tentacles, and tomatoes together with 4 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp chopped parsley, and 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic.
Stir the mixture and add also beaten eggs, just to keep the filling moist, salt and pepper.
Stuff the calamari, close using a toothpick and place in a tray with a splash of good white wine. Then place in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30 minutes.
Cover the tray with a lid for the first 15 minutes, then remove for the remaining cooking time.

Extra tips: If you have any mixture for the filling left over, smear it onto the stuffed calamari after you remove the lid on the tray. I like to add also a tbsp chopped capers and chilly pepper to the mixture and, usually, sprinkle the calamari with toasted breadcrumbs just before serving them.

As a side dish I suggest a nice potato and topinambur (Jerusalem artichoke) pureè, sprinkled with chopped sun-dried tomatoes in olive
oil.

Hope you enjoy it!

Katia
loveSicily