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A tour of Italy: classic regional recipes to try at home

Carla Grossetti

Rosa Mitchell's pasta e piselli.
Rosa Mitchell's pasta e piselli.Murdoch Books

Sicily

Rosie Mitchell, of Rosie's Kitchen and Rosa's Canteen in Melbourne

"Sicily was invaded by so many different cultures and that history has had a huge influence on our culinary traditions. For instance, the Greeks influenced the food on the East Coast of Sicily, while the West Coast has a lot of North African ingredients like couscous, sultanas and saffron. Sicilian food is about cooking what is around you. If you lived on the coast, you ate calamari or sardines, while those who lived inland ate mostly vegetables. My family grew up in the mountains and our diet was mainly vegetarian. Sicilian food is cucina povera. You have a few vegetables leftover in the fridge, you add a bit of pasta and that feeds a whole family. You don't need a million ingredients. One of my favourite dishes is pasta with peas and it has just four ingredients. My nonna cooked this dish, my mum cooked it and now my daughter cooks it."

Eugenio Maiale's zuppa di pesce.
Eugenio Maiale's zuppa di pesce.Supplied
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Pasta e piselli (pasta with peas)

Serves 6

Ingredients

Tony Percuoco's Sardine dorate e' fritte.
Tony Percuoco's Sardine dorate e' fritte.Supplied

3 tbsp olive oil

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3 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped

1kg frozen peas

500g ditalini​ or other small pasta

extra virgin olive oil, to serve

Method

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Place the oil in a large frying panover medium heat. Add the spring onions and cook for about two minutes until translucent.

Rinse the frozen peas under cold water in a colander. Add the peas to the pan, add salt to taste and put the lid on. Reduce heat to low and cook the peas slowly, stirring occasionally.

When the peas start to dry out, add ½ cup water, a little at a time. The secret to this recipe is to cook the peas in as little water as possible, so they stew in their own juices. Only add enough water to stop them sticking. Cook for about 30 minutes, until the peas are sweet and almost mushy.

Add three litres (12 cups) of water to a large pot and bring to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente according to packet instructions. (If you prefer more broth, just add half the pasta.) Drizzle with a little olive oil, to serve.

Recipe and image from My Cousin Rosa: Rosa Mitchell's Sicilian Kitchen by Rosa Mitchell (Murdoch Books, $39.99).

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Naples

Tony Percuoco, of Tartufo Restaurant, in Brisbane

"In Naples, we think we are the best cooks in the world, but we are thieves. When all the countries that invaded us brought their food with them we stole it and made it our own. Those influences - such as the use of pinenuts and raisins - enriched Neapolitan cuisine. The biggest lesson of Neapolitan cuisine is: the main ingredient is the star. Tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil are at the heart of our cuisine - either on a pizza or as a sauce for pasta. The pizza in the north is not pizza … we call it focaccia [laughs]. San Marzano grows the best plum tomato on the planet and then you have Gragnano, the town famous for its dried pasta. When you have that marriage of pasta with tomato you have sunshine caressing the dish. One of my favourite Neapolitan dishes is sardine fritters. Everybody cooks this dish in Naples. It's beautiful. It's on my brother Armando's​ menu in Sydney [at Buon Ricordo]and is a real Sunday dish."

Sardine dorate e' fritte (sardines golden and fried)

Serves 4 as a main course, 6 as an entree

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Ingredients

4 large eggs

½ bunch continental parsley

40g Grana Padano​ or parmesan cheese

Vegetable oil, for frying

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20 fresh sardines

Plain flour, to coat

bunch curly endive

Lemons, quartered

Method

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Whisk the eggs, parsley and cheese into a batter in a small bowl.

Place a shallow frying pan on the stove and heat the oil until it is hot enough for frying.

Dredge the sardines through the flour and shake off any excess.

Dip the sardines in the batter and slowly place sardines in the hot oil. Fry until golden, then drain on a paper towel. Season.

Arrange the white part of the curly endive on a plate, place the sardines on top, add a squeeze of lemon juice and serve.

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Abruzzo

Eugenio Maiale, of A Tavola and Besser, Sydney

"My parents are from Palmoli, in the provincia di Chieti in Abruzzo, in central Italy. It's a region famous for its lamb, its beautiful sweet peppers, tomatoes in abundance and pasta, which is always eaten as a first course. Abruzzo is home to arguably the best pasta producers of fresh and dried pasta in the world. The region where my family is from is very mountainous - the men spend their days herding sheep and moving them around the mountains. Traditionally, while the men were outdoors, the women would be preparing high-carb pasta dishes to keep them strong for the next day. Abruzzese are big on rustic, robust food. We love pulses like chickpeas and really hearty soups. One Abruzzese dish I love is zuppa di pesce. I love dunking my bread into the juice, breaking up the crab, and sucking on the prawn heads. It's often on the menu at A Tavola and it's fantastic."

Zuppa di Pesce (Fish and shellfish soup)

Serves 4

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Ingredients

For the soup base:

Olive oil, for frying

1 clove garlic

1 star anise

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3 juniper berries

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 cinnamon quill

1 fennel bulb (cut in 8)

100ml Cinzano Bianco

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1 tin whole peeled tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 litre fish stock

pinch dry chilli

⅓ bunch basil

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Fish and shellfish:

200g black mussels

100g vongole​

200g latchet fillet (or gurnard)

200g snapper fillet

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200g ocean trout

2 scampi – cut in half

Fresh basil leaves, torn

Crusty bread, to serve

Method

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Place a frying pan over a medium heat. Add olive oil, garlic, star anise, juniper, fennel seeds, cinnamon and fennel bulb. Once the garlic begins to colour, increase the heat and immediately add the mussels and vongole.

Once the mussels and vongole have started to open, add the Cinzano Bianco.

When liquid comes to the boil remove mussels, vongole and fennel and set aside.

Add tomato, a pinch of dried chilli, bay leaf and fish stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes until you reach a soup consistency.

Using a stick blender, pulse then strain through a fine sieve.

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Bring fish soup base to a simmer and gently poach fish until just cooked, remove from heat and add cooked mussels, vongole and raw scampi to pan.

Cover with lid and stand for five minutes before serving.

Divide soup between four bowls. Add basil and a drizzle of olive oil and serve with a slice of crusty bread.

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