Blue-fish

Sicilians eat blue-fish at least twice a week.

Sweet and sour dishes of Arab origin are still very popular throughout the island. From macaroni with sardines, wild fennel and raisin, or spaghetti with anchovies and saffron, to fried staffed sardines (sarde alla beccafico), the main feature is the contrast between sweet and sour.

Alessia will show you that Sicilian dishes are accessible to all and she will teach you the difference between staffed sardines cooked in Palermo and staffed sardines cooked in Catania, originating from the ancient rivalry between Arab Sicily and Greek Sicily, which was so good for Sicilian cuisine.

You will learn that the name of this recipe, maybe the most popular of Sicilian fish recipes, originates from a small bird called beccafico, which was the most important ingredient of a dish for the rich in the past.

But above all, you will learn how to cook delicious first courses that you can prepare for your friends when you go back home.

Menu of the day

Blue is the colour we have chosen for SPAZIOBAD’s kitchen. Blue because pesce azzurro (literally blue-fish) is small but tasty and rich in beneficial qualities.

Participants will enjoy the dishes they will have prepared together:

• Saffron macaroni,
• Sardines and wild fennel au gratin,
• Beccafico, Palermo-style and Catania-style sardines.

At the end Alessia will offer you an almond jelly with cinnamon.