Part I
DINNER
I’ve never been to Sicily, or any part of Italy for that matter, but through obsessive fantasizing that borders on delusional behavior I sometimes forget that.
Italians are known for going all out for Christmas, and the traditions vary geographically. A meaty ragú is often found on a Calabrian table, while tortellini in brodo—a broth usually made from capon, or a mix of capon and beef or veal—is a favorite across Emilia-Romania. Italian-Americans celebrate with The Feast of the Seven Fishes; as the name might suggest, it’s a seafood banquet of epic proportions. Is there any better way to spend the holidays?! This is my Sicilian inspired holiday menu. It might not be steeped in traditions of Sicily, but rather borrows from its flavors and ingredient a bit.
First is Green Beans alla Trapanese. We always had green bean casserole at Christmas growing up. I have fond memories of loving it, craving it, devouring it. It was creamy, crunchy, and salty—it was everything. That said, I have little interest in eating it now; it doesn’t live up to the taste of my nostalgia so I’d rather leave it as a memory.
But I can’t help but feel a sense of emptiness when I see an absence of green beans on my table. That’s when pesto Trapanese came to the rescue, as it so often does. This Sicilian pesto replaces the pinenuts of pesto Genovese with almonds, its basil with tomatoes, and adds anchovies for a little punch—some versions, including my own, rely on olives for a little extra salt. Typically the tomatoes would be raw, but being that they’re not in season now I give them a quick trip in a screaming hot oven to help boost their flavor a bit (you can make this in the summer when they are in season and just roughly chop them, raw). The sauce here is a little rougher and rustic; the tomatoes are just stirred together with everything else, falling a part a bit on their own, and roughly chopped almonds are scattered over the dish rather than being finely blended or ground—nothing is blended or “pesto’d”.
The green beans themselves are simply blanched in boiling salted water and then shocked in ice water to stop their cooking—dry them off and they can lay in wait at room temperature for a few hours. From there, I sauté them in a bit of oil before splashing in some extra dry white vermouth, clamping on a lid, and steaming them for just a few moments to reheat and soften up a bit more, though you can cook them as much or as little as it suits you. The pesto can be made in advance, save the nuts, as can the blanch-and-shock of the green beans; finish the green beans while the turkey cooks, assemble everything in a wide and shallow casserole dish, and put it into the now turned off oven once the turkey comes out. So good.
Then there’s my Baked Mascarpone Semolina. This is the new mashed potatoes (and while I would never totally abandon my favorite mash, this is so good and so much faster it’s hard not to consider it). I know that semolina cooked in this manner isn’t quite typical of Sicily, it being more of a Northern Italian concept, but with Sicily being such a hub of durum production I couldn’t help but include it here.
Semolina is ground durum wheat—the stuff of pasta! It’s got a natural sweetness to it, a bit like corn, that works well with other sweets things; sugar, honey, vanilla, cinnamon. When it really shines for me, though, is when it’s fed well on salty and savory goodness… cheese. A hefty helping of Parmigiano-Reggiano—salty, nutty, and glorious—opens up the nuances to the semolina that beg, no, force you to take another bite. And then another. You can’t help it. Each time you taste it is like the first time. You can’t believe it. You have to try it again—for research purposes, of course.
It’s really as simple as bringing some water, milk, and cream to a gentle boil, seasoning liberally with salt, and gradually sprinkling semolina into it while you whisk with all your might—it’s not that different that making grits or polenta. It only takes mere minutes at a low simmer to soften. After that, fold in some butter, mascarpone (to heighten its silken creaminess), Parmigiano-Reggiano, a bit of nutmeg, and some more cream (it is the holidays after all). From there you can serve it as is or turn it out into a buttered baking dish and bake until the top just browns. You can even make it in advance a bit and stick in the oven once its shut off and the turkey is out to stay warm.
Speaking of turkey… This is going to change your life; my Herbed Sicilian Butterflied Turkey. The turkey is butterflied (or spatchcocked, if you want) so it roasts in record time—a 9 pound turkey could take up to 3 hours to roast whole, but butterflied we’re talking about an hour. AN HOUR. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, either. Flip the turkey over so it’s breast-side down and, using kitchen shears snip out the backbone. Make a small slit in the cartilage that connects the breast—on the underside of the turkey where the breasts come together at the top of the bird—then flip it over and press on the breasts with your palms to crack the bone so it lays flat. Done.
From there you make the marinade—an herby little number. Lots of parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme get blended in olive oil with garlic, a red chili, some toasted and ground fennel seeds, lemon zest, and orange zest. It’s the orange that really makes this special and gives it a Sicilian feel to me. If blood oranges, which hail from Sicily, are available you could always use those, but I love the fresh, citrusy, slightly floral essence you get from oranges here. Don’t let this deter you, though; this isn’t an orange turkey, but rather a turkey layered in such nuanced flavor that your mouth will water for more even while you’re eating it.
The marinade gets rubbed under the skin, right on the meat, so all that flavor gets into the flesh rather than just sitting on the skin—doin’ a whol’otta nothing, making tasty skin but bland meat. Simply slip your fingers in between the skin and the meat to separate the two. Take your time separating the skin so you don’t tear any of it, taking care to not neglect the thighs or legs (it can be a bit tough to get between the skin and meat on the wings but do your best). I then spoon some of the marinade between the skin and meat and start working in throughout the chicken, massaging the skin. Lather, rinse, repeat. Once that’s done set it on a wire rack set over a roasting tray, and then into the fridge, uncovered, for about 24 hours, giving it time to marinade and for the skin to dry out so it roasts to a golden, golden crisp.
It roasts the same as any other bird—on a wire rack over a roasting tray of stock or wine—but it does so even faster. Serve it with some gravy that’s been fortified with Marsala and you’ll be reeling in the festive spirit.
The recipes here are written to serve 6, but as you can see they can easily be adapted to serve more—you’ll just need to utilize larger pots, pans, baking dishes, and (obviously) a larger bird. The turkey recipe also works incredibly well with chicken, so feel free to swap out two 4 – 5 pound chickens for the turkey. I also want to mention that, for what I feel are obvious reasons, the chickens would be great for the summer, too (especially on the grill!). I might make up a larger batch of the marinade and reserve some to doctor with a bit of lemon juice and serve as a sauce in lieu of a gravy.
This may not be the traditional Sicilian Christmas menu, and having never been I can’t even make the argument that it’s authentic at all, but I’m not worried. Given the spirit of the season—friends, family, celebration—I think it’d be a welcome festivity by all.
And wait until you see dessert…. Stay tuned.
And follow me on BLOGLOVIN’. It’s all I want for Christmas.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 6 | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 50 - 70 minutes (or 40-50) | 26 hours |
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Butterflying a turkey cuts down the cooking time considerably, and it's a good thing! This herby Sicilian-inspired one is so good. You're not going to want to wait!
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- 1 9 - 10 pound turkey (or two 4 - 5 pound chickens)
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest about 2 lemons
- 2 - 3 t-spoons orange zest 1 large orange
- 1 - 2 red chilies such as cayenne
- 3/4 cup parsley leaves whole
- Heaping 1/2 cup roughly chopped sage
- Scant 1/4 cup rosemary leaves whole
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 6 - 8 cloves garlic
- 1-1/2 t-spoons fennel seeds toasted and finely ground
- 1/4 cup fennel frons (optional)
- 1 - 1-1/4 cups olive oil regular
- 2 t-spoons kosher salt
- 4 cups turkey stock divided
- 1 cup dry Marsala
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
- pan drippings
- Put everything (except the poultry, obviously) into a blender and puree until smooth—it helps to start on a slow setting, working your way up, and let it blend for a minute or so once it’s all combined to make sure everything is minced. Set aside.
- Remove the backbone from the turkey/chickens with kitchen shears. Open the bird up and cut through the cartilage right between the two breasts up towards (what was) the neck area. Open the bird up with the skin facing upwards and with the heel of your palm press on the breast, in the middle towards the top, to break the breastbone.
- Pour about a third of the marinade into a separate dish and set aside.
- Take the remaining marinade and spread over the underside of the bird and underneath the skin, right onto the meat. I gently slide my fingers between the meat and skin and then spoon the marinade in, gently massaging the skin to spread the marinade over the meat. Spread whatever remains over the skin itself.
- Set the bird(s) of choice on a wire wrack in a roasting tray and marinade, uncovered, in the fridge for 24 hours (give or take an hour or two).
- Let the turkey come to room temperature for 2 hours before you start cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 450°.
- Pour 1 ½ cups of the stock in the bottom of the pan. This serves two purposes, one being for basting, but also—and perhaps more importantly—prevents any drippings from burning in the pan as they fall from the bird.
- Roast in the preheated oven—50 to 70 minutes for a turkey, 40 to 50 minutes for the chickens, or until they register 160° on a digital thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. Baste it every so often, particularly the breast, taking care not to keep the oven door open too long.
- For the gravy, reduce the Marsala in a saucepan over medium-low until you’re left with nothing but about 2 tablespoons of thick, syrupy liquid—about 15 – 20 minutes. Pour in the remaining stock and bring to a boil. If you’re stock is boiling before the bird is done just cover it and keep over low heat to stay warm.
- When the turkey is done roasting remove it from the oven and lightly tent it with foil to keep warm and carry-over cook for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring the stock back to a boil. Put the flour into a liquid measuring cup. Set a fine mesh sieve over it and pour some of the liquid from the bottom of the pan through the sieve and into the cup. Whisk to combine, adding more liquid until you have a smooth, pourable slurry.
- Pour the slurry into the boiling stock, whisking it vigorously to combine. Let it boil for another minute or two before reducing the heat to lower, simmering until thick.
- Decant the gravy into a gravy boat and carve the turkey.
- If you need a good Turkey Stock recipe look no further that HERE.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 6 | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 30 minutes or less | 20 minutes |
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Creamy, cheesey, comforting—this is so good and so fast to prepare it might just replace mashed potatoes at your holiday table.
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- 3-1/2 cups milk
- 1-1/2 cups water
- 1-1/2 cups semolina
- 2-1/2 t-spoon kosher salt
- 3 ounces mascarpone room temperature
- 2 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 2 tablespoons butter plus a little more for greasing a baking dish
- 1-1/2 cups heavy cream divided
- A few grates nutmeg
- Bring milk, water, and 1 cup of cream to gentle boil. Season with salt and whisk in semolina, gently streaming it in. Boil a minute or two whisking constantly, then simmer about 5 minutes until thick and soft.
- Meanwhile, beat the mascarpone, butter, nutmeg, and remaining ½ cup of cream together in a separate bowl. Once the semolina is soft, whisk the mascarpone mixture into it.
- Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish with butter and pour the soft semolina into it. Spread the top out so it’s even.
- This needs about 15 – 20 minutes in a 400 – 450° oven to just get the top a little brown and bubbly so you can simply throw this in the oven about 10 minutes before the Sicilian Inspired Butterfly Turkey comes out of the oven (or put it in 15 – 20 minutes before the turkey is done and removed, then shut it off to keep it warm and gently rewarm the Green Beans alla Trapanese).
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 6 | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 20 minutes |
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My take on Pesto Trapanese—the Sicilian pesto of tomatoes, almonds, and anchovy—spooned over tender-crisp green beans. Perfect alternative to green bean casserole for the holidays or as a bright and fresh side for the summer.
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- 1-3/4 pounds green beans trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 - 4 tablespoons extra dry white vermouth
- 1/2 t-spoon kosher salt plus A LOT more for blanching
- 10 - 12 ounces cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 - 2 cloves garlic minced into a paste
- 1 - 2 anchovy filets minced into a paste
- Scant 1/2 cups almonds roughly chopped
- 1 - 2 tablespoons pecorino or Parmigiano Regiano grated (or peel a handful of strips)
- 1/4 cup pitted olives (black, green, or a mix)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- A few pinches kosher salt
- Preheat the oven to 500°
- Toss the tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of regular olive oil on a sheet tray and roast for about 5 – 7 minutes, until they start to burst and brown a little. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool a bit.
- Mince the garlic and anchovy with a little kosher salt, working into a paste by dragging the knife across the cutting board and mincing for a few minutes. Add to a bowl and whisk in the extra virgin olive oil.
- Slice the olives and fold them and the tomatoes into the punchy extra virgin olive oil. Set this aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a full and rolling boil. Salt it heavily and drop in the trimmed green beans. Boil for just a minute before draining and immediately drop into a bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking further. Drain the beans and dry them off a bit.
- Heat the olive oil for the green beans in a large pan and drop in the green beans. Toss them about, seasoning with a bit of salt, before pouring in the vermouth. Clamp on the lid and steam them for just a few minutes more.
- Scatter the beans over a serving platter and spoon the tomato pesto over them. Sprinkle the roughly chopped almonds over the dish, followed by a light snow or scattering of peels of pecorino or Parmigiano.
- The pesto can be made several hours in advance and kept covered at room temperature, or made the night before and stored in the fridge—just let it come to room temp for a bit. Whatever you do, DO NOT mix in the almonds until the last minute.
- The green beans can be blanched and shocked several hours in advance and stored at room temperature—just be sure to dry them really well.
- You can assemble the whole thing while the turkey cooks. Once the bird is done, remove it from the oven, shut it off, and throw this in to gently warm it up a bit.