Sedgil Cucina | Sicilian Recipes Without Vegetable Oil

Pollo alla Messinese

⏱ 1 hr🍽 4 servings🔥 Medium

Tender chicken thighs braised slowly with green olives, capers, lemon, and oregano. A bright, briny dish straight from the Strait of Messina.

Ingredients

8 bone in, skin on chicken thighs
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, smashed
200 g green Sicilian olives (Nocellara), pitted
3 tbsp salted capers, rinsed
1 lemon, sliced into thin rounds
1 cup dry white wine
2 tsp dried oregano, plus fresh parsley to finish
Sea salt and black pepper

Instructions

Pat the chicken very dry. Season generously with salt, pepper, and 1 tsp of the oregano. Rest 15 minutes.
Warm olive oil and butter in a wide, heavy pan over medium high heat. Place the thighs skin side down and sear undisturbed 8 minutes, until deeply golden. Flip, cook 3 more minutes, then transfer to a plate.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion to the pan with a pinch of salt. Cook 7 minutes until soft. Stir in the garlic, olives, capers, and remaining oregano, 1 minute.
Pour in the white wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan and simmer briskly 3 minutes to reduce.
Nestle the chicken back in skin side up. Tuck the lemon slices around the pieces. Cover and braise on low heat 25 minutes.
Uncover and finish 5 more minutes so the skin re crisps. Scatter with parsley and serve with crusty bread to mop the pan juices.

Sarde a Beccafico

⏱ 50 min🍽 4 servings🔥 Medium

Butterflied fresh sardines rolled around a fragrant filling of breadcrumbs, pine nuts, raisins, and orange zest. The iconic Palermo street food.

Ingredients

16 large fresh sardines, scaled, gutted, butterflied
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the dish
150 g coarse breadcrumbs from stale country bread
50 g pine nuts
50 g golden raisins, soaked 10 min in warm water
4 salted anchovy fillets, finely chopped
3 tbsp grated pecorino
Zest and juice of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
Bay leaves and salt to taste

Instructions

Warm 4 tbsp olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Toast the breadcrumbs, stirring constantly, 4 minutes until deep golden. Tip into a bowl.
Stir into the crumbs the pine nuts, drained raisins, anchovies, pecorino, orange zest, lemon zest, parsley, and a pinch of salt. The mixture should be moist and aromatic.
Lay the butterflied sardines skin side down. Spoon a heaped tablespoon of filling on each. Roll from head to tail to make small bundles.
Heat oven to 200°C / 400°F. Brush a baking dish with olive oil. Arrange the rolls tightly side by side, tucking a bay leaf between every two sardines.
Drizzle with the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and the orange juice. Scatter any leftover crumbs over the top.
Bake 14 to 16 minutes until the sardines are just cooked and the tops are crisp. Rest 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

Caponata Siciliana

⏱ 1 hr 20 min🍽 6 servings🔥 Easy

The legendary sweet and sour eggplant stew with celery, tomato, capers, and toasted pine nuts. Even better the next day, served at room temperature.

Ingredients

2 large eggplants, cut into 2 cm cubes
Sea salt for purging
8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
4 inner celery stalks, sliced
400 g whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
120 g green olives, pitted and chopped
3 tbsp salted capers, rinsed
40 g pine nuts, toasted
40 g golden raisins, soaked
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar, plus fresh basil to finish

Instructions

Toss the eggplant with a heavy pinch of salt in a colander. Set over a bowl and purge 30 minutes. Pat very dry with kitchen towels.
Warm 5 tbsp olive oil in a wide pan over medium high heat. Fry the eggplant in two batches until deep golden on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels.
In the same pan, add the remaining 3 tbsp olive oil. Cook the onion and celery 10 minutes with a pinch of salt, until soft and translucent.
Add the crushed tomatoes, olives, capers, and drained raisins. Simmer gently 15 minutes so the flavors marry.
Return the eggplant to the pan. Stir in the vinegar and sugar. Cook on low 8 minutes more, just until the sweet and sour balance feels right (adjust to taste).
Off the heat, scatter with the toasted pine nuts and torn basil. Cool to room temperature. Best after several hours of resting.

Macco di Fave

⏱ 1 hr 40 min🍽 4 servings🔥 Easy

An ancient dried fava bean soup from the heart of rural Sicily. Velvety, golden, and finished with wild fennel and a generous river of green olive oil.

Ingredients

400 g dried split fava beans, soaked overnight
1.5 liters water or vegetable broth
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 inner celery stalks with leaves, chopped
2 tbsp chopped wild fennel fronds (or 1 tbsp fennel seeds)
1 fresh bay leaf
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
4 thick slices country bread, toasted
Grated pecorino, to finish

Instructions

Drain the favas and rinse well. Place in a heavy pot with the water or broth and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, skim, then reduce to a quiet simmer.
In a small pan, warm 4 tbsp olive oil over medium low heat. Cook the onion, celery, and garlic 10 minutes until soft and sweet. Add the fennel fronds for 1 minute.
Tip the softened vegetables into the bean pot. Continue to simmer, partially covered, 60 to 75 minutes, stirring often, until the favas collapse into a thick puree.
If the soup looks tight, loosen with a splash of hot water. Season generously with salt and pepper. For a smoother texture, mash with a wooden spoon or whisk vigorously.
Ladle over toasted country bread placed in warm bowls. Drizzle each portion with the remaining olive oil.
Finish with grated pecorino, a crack of black pepper, and a few extra fronds of fennel.

Sfincione Palermitano

⏱ 4 hr🍽 8 servings🔥 Medium

The thick, fluffy street pizza of Palermo. Topped with slow cooked onions, tomato, anchovies, oregano, and a snowfall of toasted breadcrumbs.

Ingredients

500 g strong bread flour
7 g instant dry yeast
350 ml warm water
10 g fine sea salt
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
2 large yellow onions, very thinly sliced
400 g whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
8 salted anchovy fillets, chopped
200 g caciocavallo or aged pecorino, cubed
4 tbsp coarse toasted breadcrumbs
2 tsp dried oregano, sea salt, black pepper

Instructions

Whisk the yeast into the warm water with a pinch of sugar. Rest 8 minutes until foamy. Add to the flour with the salt and 2 tbsp olive oil. Knead 10 minutes until soft and smooth.
Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and rise 2 hours until tripled in volume.
Meanwhile, warm 2 tbsp olive oil in a wide pan over low heat. Cook the onions with a pinch of salt very slowly for 35 minutes, until golden and jammy. Stir in the tomatoes and anchovies. Simmer 12 minutes. Season with oregano, salt, and pepper.
Generously oil a deep rectangular tray. Press the dough out gently to fit, pushing it to the edges with oiled fingertips. Rest 30 minutes uncovered.
Heat oven to 220°C / 425°F. Press the cubes of cheese deep into the dough at regular intervals.
Spread the onion tomato sauce evenly across the surface. Scatter the toasted breadcrumbs and a final drizzle of olive oil.
Bake 28 to 32 minutes until the base is deep golden underneath. Rest 10 minutes in the tray before cutting into thick squares.

Cassata Siciliana

⏱ 5 hr🍽 10 servings🔥 Hard

The crown jewel of Sicilian pastry. Sponge cake soaked with liqueur, layered with sweetened ricotta and candied fruit, sheathed in pale green marzipan.

Ingredients

1 sponge cake, 25 cm round, day old
600 g fresh sheep's milk ricotta, drained overnight
200 g caster sugar (for the ricotta)
80 g dark chocolate chips
100 g candied citron and orange peel, finely diced
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
100 ml maraschino liqueur (or sweet marsala)
50 ml water (for the soaking syrup)
300 g green marzipan, rolled to 3 mm
250 g powdered sugar (for the royal icing glaze)
Extra candied fruit, to decorate
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened (to line the mold)

Instructions

Push the drained ricotta through a fine sieve into a bowl. Beat in the sugar and vanilla until silky. Fold in the chocolate chips and diced candied peel. Chill 30 minutes.
Stir the maraschino with the water to make a soaking syrup.
Butter a shallow 25 cm cassata pan or springform. Line the sides with strips of green marzipan, pressing them gently to the wall.
Cut the sponge into 1 cm slices. Layer them across the base of the pan, brushing each piece generously with the syrup.
Fill the lined cake with the ricotta cream and level the top. Cover with another layer of soaked sponge to seal. Chill at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Invert onto a serving plate. Whisk powdered sugar with just enough water to make a thick royal icing. Pour over the top and let it drip down the sides.
Decorate with candied fruit in the traditional pinwheel pattern. Let the icing set 30 minutes before slicing into thin wedges.

Sicilian Cooking Without Vegetable Oil

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Sun Drenched Sicilian Recipes

Pollo alla Messinese

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Sarde a Beccafico

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Caponata Siciliana

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Macco di Fave

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Sfincione Palermitano

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Cassata Siciliana

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