appunti di un viaggio gastronomico
Those who have never tasted the first courses seasoned with “cuttlefish ink”, for sure they will turn up their noses just thinking about eating this black like the coal sauce. But if you just win the initial mistrust and taste a forkful of cuttlefish ink pasta, you will forget about all of the fears and doubts and you’ll get lost into that typical “see flavor” that this course offers….
tuna fish eggs Bottarga – Vermicelli
The tuna fish eggs (Bottarga – Vermicelli), called Bottarga, are a very old speciality produced by the tuna-fish making. Its origins are very ancient and we can date them back to the Phoenician age. The fish eggs are obtained by the eggs of the tuna-fishes and its production follows an ancient and meticulous ritual practised by the “men of the tuna-fish” (called tonnaroti). The tuna fish eggs are very precious, and they are eaten as an appetiser and they are grated and sprinkled on first courses whose taste is incomparable.
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The anchovies are perhaps the most known species of blue fish, it is really common in the kitchens of all the world. As a matter of fact you can find this fish almost in all of the seas. A characteristic common to all the species called “blue fish” is the great nutritional value and the remarkable contribution in good fats, Omega 3 and Omega 6, their tasty meat offers. Another quality of the blue fish is that of having a reasonable purchasing price and therefore it is frequently used in the daily diets, all to the good of health.
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This wonder of the Sicilian (particularly Palermo) cooking seems to have been created by chance during the siege of the Arabs in Sicily. It seems that the person assigned to the nourishment of General Eufemio’s army, not having anything else available than pasta and sardines, besides not so fresh ones, used what the nature offered him in the surroundings, i.e. the wild fennels that grew up spontaneously.
They were very tasty and had a strong characteristic smell which softened the smell not so agreeable of the sardines. He also added the pine-kernels, which by that time were considered as a panacea for food poisonings, thus avoiding the drawbacks that could come from eating the food he used.
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