Delicious Wonders of Sicily..

Sicily is famous for many things but the two most delicious things ( In my opinion) are the blood oranges and the cannoli (more on the cannoli later)...

If you have never tasted a blood red orange from Sicily you are really missing out on one of life's wonders. They are worth a trip to Italy just to taste them or savor freshly squeezed juice..nothing like it...it is like eating orange candy..so sweet..and now is the season..

I remember the first few times I had breakfast in a coffee bar here and began seeing the barristas squeezing thes oranges for fresh orange juice during the seaason. I decided to try a 'spremuta' (fresh juice) myself one day and became hooked. When assembling The Basic Art of Italian Cooking Kitchen here in Italy-that was one of our first appliances- a stainless steel orange juice squeezer..so that we could use the fresh juice in many recipes.

Everyone seems to be praising them and their virtues...

Here is a recipe to try, if you can't get the blood oranges of Sicily- navel oranges should do.. (certainly won't be the same but can be an acceptable substitute)

Braised lettuce with Oranges
For 4 people

1 head of romaine lettuce (1 pound)

1 can of chick peas

1 tblsp of extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

pinch of red hot pepper

4 fresh oranges

fresh coriander

salt and pepper to taste

Peel oranges and cut or break into sections or slices. Keep the juice that comes out of the oranges while cutting, in a glass.

Wash ,dry and chop the lettuce. Place 1/2 tblsp olive oil in saute pan, heat, place in chopped lettuce, pinch of salt, 2 cloves of garlic and pinch of hot red pepper. Place chick peas in food processor with 1 tsp of olive oil, pinch of salt ,reserved orange juice and blend into a cream. Place cream on a flat dish.

Top with braised lettuce and top with orange slices, coriander leaves, drizzle with remaining olive oil adn a pinch of freshly ground black pepper.

Do you have any favorite recipes or foods from Sicily you can share with us..we'd love to hear...

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Here is a recipe for a lower calorie verison of the cannoli
http://notecook.com/desserts/pastries/making-italian-cannoli-lower-calorie-
version/#comment-8901

Join me on March 12th at 6-8 PM at the Harleysville Book Shop, 674 Main St, Harleysville, Pa for a special Welcoming Spring Book Signing of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking and a cooking demo. Free and open to the public. For more events go to :
http://www.marialiberati.com/appearances.php

Oranges to Your Health....

Here in Italy we are getting ready for the Appointment with Oranges for your Health (L’Appuntamento con L’arance della Salute). This is held every January 26th to emphasize the health benefits of eating oranges, but not just any oranges these are the ones that are produced this time of year in Sicily.
I have been enjoying their benefits for over a month now, it is hard to have a day go by without eating an orange or two-so sweet and luscious.
But these oranges are rich in antioxidants, thanks to their vitamin C content which is 40% higher than the other citrus fruits. But their benefits don’t stop there- they help fight free radicals, are also rich in vitamins A and B and flavonoids- all the substances necessary to maintain your immune system.
In celebration of these wonderful little packages of delight, the association for prevention of cancer here in Italy jointly will be offering cases for sale in all the piazzas in Italy. A percentage of the profits go to the Cancer Society here in Italy.
And as the Cancer Society reminds us that colorful fruits and vegetables provide many health benefits and the health benefits are doubled when you eat different fruits and/or vegetables together.
If you can get your hands on an orange from Sicily it may be well worth a try. But you can use any orange for the recipe below; by the way another ingredient with many anti-aging properties is also included-sardines....
Hope you enjoy it, this will be today’s ‘pranzo’ (lunch)
Orange & Sardine
2 lbs of fresh sardines, cleaned
½ cup of green olives, pitted
2 tblsps of pinoli nuts
1 large organic lemon
2 oranges
1 small dried hot pepper
2 tblsps of extra virgin olive oil
½ cup plain bread crumbs
1 small handful of fresh Parsley (leaves only no stems)
Pinch of salt
In a small food processor or chopper place olives, pinoli nuts and half of small handful fresh parsley, hot pepper. Chop finely.
Cut lemon into thin slices.
Drizzle olive oil to coat the bottom of round pie pan.
Place one layer of cleaned sardines, pinch of salt, remaining parsley chopped finely, cover this with thin lemon slices. Repeat with another layer of sardines, but cover this layer with juice of one orange, then drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil and top with the bread crumb mixture.
Place in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Let cool before serving. Cut second orange into slices and serve with orange slices as decorations. If you would like more recipes from Italy in the winter go to:
http://www.trifter.com/Europe/Italy/Winter-in-Italy-with-Winter-Recipes.66858
http://www.trifter.com/Europe/Italy/Friuli-Venezia-Giulia-The-Overlooked-Region-Of-Italy.60609
http://www.gomestic.com/Cooking/Traditional-Italian-Feast-of-the-Seven-Fishes.58592

http://www.notecook.com/Bread/Panettone-for-Christmas.57131

Check out my new blog at:
http://mediterraneandiet-healthy.blogspot.com/
Get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking http://www.marialiberati.com and get $5 off retail price and free shipping.