My list of things I love about Sicily is long. Too long to cover in one post but high on the list is their love affair with meatballs.
Meatballs in Sicily can be made out of vegetables, fish or meat. I spied in Catania a popular restaurant named Polpetteria (sort of like a pizzeria but for meatballs) which had 45 varieties of meatballs on the menu, including sweet options. Trips to the grocery store involved meat counters with a glorious choice of numerous meatball and involtini (roulade) options. As meatballs were a good way of using up leftovers, the varieties abound.
Some of my favourite meatballs I tried in Sicily were made of aubergine and mentuccia (pennyroyal), fish cakes and skewered meatballs wrapped in lemon leaves which we found in Macelleria Pennisi in Linguaglossa that we grilled at home on the barbecue. The lemon flavour of the leaves perfectly perfumes the meat without being overpowering. Back home in the dead of winter desperate for a taste of sunshine, I tried these successfully in the oven.
Traditional Sicilian fish cakes can be made out of amberjack, mullet, tuna, swordfish, sardines, anchovies and whitebait (nunnata). The fish can be flavoured with garlic, oregano, parsley, capers, lemon, pine nuts, raisins (use dried currants), mint, basil, rosemary and/or pecorino. The fish cakes are fried and sometimes are served in tomato sauce.
Let me know which one you prefer. See both recipes below:
Polpette di ricciola (fish cakes) – Sicilia
7 grams capers, finely chopped
15 grams flat leaf parsley, rinsed, leaves removed, dried and finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
30 grams breadcrumbs
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 lemon cut into 4 wedges
Black pepper, freshly ground
Flour for dipping
Extra-virgin olive oil for frying
Mix the fish, capers, parsley, egg, breadcrumbs, 1/2 the lemon zest and 5 mls (1 teaspoon) of the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste together until well blended.
Make 4 cm patties and dip them in the flour. Heat a frying pan with 60 mls olive oil in the pan until hot. Add the patties and fry until golden and then keep turning them until golden all over (about 5 minutes per side). Remove the fishcakes to a kitchen paper lined plate and continue cooking the fish cakes until all done. Serve immediately with a wedge of lemon.
Polpette con foglie di limone (meatballs wrapped in lemon leaves) – Sicilia
Click here for step-by-step illustrated instructions.
1 large egg or 2 small eggs
15 grams breadcrumbs
60 mls milk
10 grams flat leaf parsley, rinsed, dried, leaves removed and finely chopped
60 grams pecorino cheese (can substitute Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese)
15 fresh lemon leaves, rinsed and dried
Black pepper, freshly ground
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Mix the meat, egg, breadcrumbs, milk, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Roll the mixture into 5 cm cylinders. Roll a lemon leaf around the meatball and secure with a toothpick. Place the meatballs in a baking pan and bake for 15 minutes or until 65C (150F) inside. These can also be barbecued. Serve immediately.
