Cassoletta of sweet and sour rabbit bites

Spending for 4 people:
1,200kg of boned rabbit legs, 1 red onion, 3 celery stalks, 20 pickled green olives, 60g of small desalinated capers, 400g of tomato pulp, extra virgin olive oil, 100cc of red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, salt and pepper of the whirlpool to taste

Method:
Cut the rabbit legs into small pieces, wash and dry them. In a non-stick pan pour extra virgin olive oil and brown the rabbit well until golden brown on each side, remove from the pan and put it aside. In another pan, put a little oil and, when cold, add the julienne-shaped onion and the diced celery. Let them stew, stirring often and adding a little warm water if necessary, add the desalted capers, the olives and the tomato pulp. Cook for 5 minutes and place in a bowl. Put the pieces of rabbit in the pan and pour over the sauce, add salt and pepper and add a glass of hot water and cook covered over medium heat for about half an hour. Mix the vinegar with the sugar in a glass until it is lightly sliced. When the rabbit is cooked, raise the heat and pour in the vinegar, let it evaporate and finish cooking for another 10 minutes. Serve warm at your pleasure.

Word of Chef Giuseppe Argentino: Classic dish of the Sicilian tradition, white meat is enhanced by sweet and sour. It is a dish to be served warm to better enjoy the combination of flavors.

This recipe was created by Chef Giuseppe Argentino for the Pro Loco of Marzamemi.

Swordfish rolls with pine nuts, raisins and Mediterranean flavors

Spending for 4 people:
480g swordfish fillet, 50g pine nuts, 50g raisins, 150cc moscato di noto, 150g of breadcrumbs, 400g of spinach, 2 sprigs of thyme, 2 marjoram sprigs, 1 sprig of oregano, 8 mint leaves, lemon zest untreated, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper of the whirl q. b.

Method:
Wash the fish and dry it with absorbent paper. Obtained from the swordfish 8 slices of 60g each and beat them with the beat meat (protect with a sheet of film), so as to flatten well. Soak the raisins in a bowl with Muscat for 20 '. Heat a non-stick frying pan and toast the pine nuts (they must have a golden color). Put the grated bread in a bowl, the toasted pine nuts, the finely chopped aromatic herbs, the grated lemon zest, a pinch of salt and pepper, mix together, pour a little oil and mix well. Arrange the slices of sword stretched out side by side, distributed in the center of each about 40g of the prepared filling, roll them on themselves, forming 8 rolls, and close them with a toothpick. Transfer the rolls into a baking sheet covered with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180 ° for 12 '. Remove them from the oven, remove the toothpick and cut them in half. Arrange in the center of the plate as you like the rolls cut in half to show the farce above a bed of spinach salad decorated with pine nuts and a string of extra virgin raw.

Word of the chef Giuseppe Argentino: A dish that is a tribute to the Mediterranean, its colors, aromas and flavors. It is a healthy recipe, simple but able to give emotion to the palate

This recipe was created by Chef Giuseppe Argentino for the Pro Loco Marzamemi.

Turbante of fresh pasta filled with ricotta mousse with tuna bottarga on cherry tomatoes coulis.

Ingredients for 4 people:
For fresh pasta: 200g of 00 flour, 200g of durum wheat flour, 2 egg yolks, 1 whole egg, a pinch of salt.
320g of cow's milk ricotta, 120g of tuna bottarga, a sprig of mint, 80g of onion, 80g of carrot, 80g of celery, 500g of Pachino tomatoes i.g.p. 50g of tomato paste, extra virgin olive oil, vegetable stock q.b. salt and pepper of the whirlpool.

Method:
Mix the fresh pasta as you do traditionally, let it rest by wrapping it in a kitchen film for an hour. Meanwhile prepare the tomato coulis. In a saucepan, place the onion, celery and carrot, cut into cubes with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and brown. Add the tomatoes cut in two that you have washed before. Cook for five minutes over low heat, add the tomato paste and let it season for a few minutes, add the broth to cover the salt and pepper tomatoes and cook. After you take a hand blender, blend the tomatoes and pass them with a colander to obtain a fine sauce. Prepare the ricotta mousse, putting it to drain to remove the excess liquid, after putting it in a food processor with salt and pepper, operate the robot until a smooth mixture is obtained. Pour the mixture into a container, cut the bottarga into very small cubes and add it to the ricotta, add salt and pepper to taste with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Take the fresh pasta and make four sheets of 22 cm by 12 cm, boil them in plenty of salted water, and then cool them in water with ice, dry them and wrap them in a 10 cm diameter mold and form a turban that you will fill with the ricotta, put them in the oven preheated to 170 ° for 8/10 minutes and take them out of the oven. Take a plate, pour the cherry coulis at your pleasure and lay down the turban, garnished with tuna roe

.

This recipe was created by Chef Giuseppe Argentino for the Pro Loco Marzamemi.

The territory of Pachino with Marzamemi is not to be considered exclusively a seaside destination to be enjoyed in the summer months for the crystal clear sea and its beaches, but with its fascinating countryside offers the opportunity to experience unique and sensory experiences. A set of colors and scents that, according to the time of year, take on irreproducible nuances in no other part of the world, which remain in the mind and especially in the eyes of those who choose our locations.

Discovering the Nero di Pachino
Pachino is the home of Nero d'Avola who wrote the story of the end of the 19th century thanks to one of the greatest interpreters of that period, the Marquis Antonio Di Rudinì. Belonging to the Starrabba family, founder of the city, he was the one who had the intuition of making Pachino the undisputed center of wine in all of Sicily. The Palmento Di Rudinì, considered a veritable industry of transformation of the Nero d'Avola grapes, represents today the living history of that golden age ... all the wine produced on the island was called Nero di Pachino.

The calcareous-clay soils, the sea, the sun and the climate with mild winters and warm summers have allowed this vine to find the favorable habitat to be able to express itself with intense ruby ​​color, marine sensations, great structure and power.

Leaving behind the city of the Baroque, in the direction of Pachino-Marzamemi, we will immediately be enveloped by an expanse of "sapling" trees that look at the Vendicari Reserve and continue towards the great crus ... Maccari, Bufalefi and San Lorenzo. Important wineries arise along the way to Pachino.

Entering the countryside, on the S.P. Pachino-Rosolini, we will be surrounded by rows of vines that from March to November color our eyes with light effects and blue reflections of the clear sky of the sunniest country in Europe. Baroni, Burgio and Buonivini are the other areas of great importance for wine and certainly deserve a tasting stop.

Pachino is therefore the Nero d'Avola par excellence with two reference Docs, Doc Eloro with Sottozona Pachino and Doc Noto which includes another important vine like Moscato di Noto.

Our trip can not be concluded without a visit to the important Palmento Di Rudinì, today the Mediterranean Eco-museum located in front of the Port Fossa di Marzamemi for strategic and commercial reasons. Also worth mentioning is the Museo Nobile del Vino in Pachino, a fascinating collection of over 300 pieces that narrate stories of men and millstones.

Il Pomodoro ... Pachino red gold
The territory of Pachino can be considered a reservoir of flavors and excellent food and wine capable of translating its uniqueness. Tomato is one of the most popular jewels in the world that combines the warmth of the earth, the energy of the sun and the salty breeze of the sea. In fact, the crops lie close to the coasts and precisely in the area of ​​Portopalo di Capo Passero, in the most extreme point of Europe with the Isola delle Correnti. The sandy soils and the slightly salty water of irrigation give the tomato that sweet taste that can only be found in fruit thanks to the sugar content that reaches 80 ° Brix. The red and uniform color in the maturation phase is the result of the high level of brightness concentration; in fact, the European Union has declared Pachino the most sunny country in Europe. The secret lies in the territory with its extraordinary characteristics and deserves to be discovered. Exploring the countryside close to the sea you can reach in the direction of Portopalo di Capo Passero, the Isola delle Correnti and Carratois, heavenly beaches and desirable destinations not only for swimmers but also for those who want to confuse in the transparency of the Mediterranean Sea, in the red expanses of tomato, in the ocher reflections of the clay while the African wind caresses you and makes you find yourself.

In your path it is easy to come across different companies of Pomodoro di Pachino IGP production and you can ask for a visit, participate in the harvest and taste the tomato in its different qualities.

The palace of the Prince of Villadorata, which occupies the whole west side, overlooks the square. It was built in 1752, in sandstone, by the famous Spanish architect Vermexio. Vermexio used to sign his works by placing the relief shape of a gecko on the sides of the central cornice. The entrance consists of a wooden door, whose portal is represented by an arch, which has, in the middle, a key with the family crest. On the left side of the façade there is a balcony and a door. On the limit, next to the last door there is a marble plaque, dedicated to those killed in the war. On the right side of the facade, there are two square windows, protected by grilles. On the upper part of the façade, placed at the same height and at the same distance from each other, there are five channels (two have been lost) of rainwater discharge, which have the shape of large shelves, terminating, anteriorly with human viri. The building has no artistic beauty inside, it was rich in furniture, paintings, silverware, precious objects; but it was looted during the last world war. A large central courtyard gives air and light to the interiors; a stone staircase, with two flights, leads to the prince's apartment, which has a very simple structure. From this apartment you enter a large terrace, where were built seats, in stone, now destroyed by time. The walls of the terrace have loopholes, which served to shoot at the pirates. Always from the prince's apartment, but, on the opposite side of the terrace, you enter a small balcony, from which the prince overlooked, to control the work of the fishermen in the warehouse below. This warehouse called "Camperia", has arches, on which were placed sacred images and bowls, intended for offers for the feast of the patron. Inside the warehouse there are the boats used for tuna fishing, the "scieri" and the "muciare", the hooks, (which were used to pull up the fish) and the nets. In a corner of the warehouse there was a small office where the tuna was recorded and weighed.

The "Balata" is, together with the "Fossa", one of the two small natural ports of Marzamemi. The Balata is like a small square, partly limited by houses, and partly by the sea. It is paved with compact limestone slabs, rectangular in shape. Inside the "Balata" space there are two buildings: the "old Ice Factory" and the "Casa Cappuccio".
The "Vecchia Fabbrica", is preceded by a large arch, is of ancient construction and belongs to the Prince of Villadorata. Next to the "Vecchia Fabbrica" ​​is the "Casa Cappuccio", named after a tenant of the tonnara, it is very important for the point where it is located, in fact, three of the four facades are facing the sea.

The façade, closer to the sea, has a terrace which ends with a very characteristic protective wall. From the remains, we note that the house had, in addition to the ground floor, an upper floor, with a terrace overlooking the natural harbor.