After sharing sweet Cassata Siciliana recipe of Palermo region from Sicily '50 authentic and easy-to-follow recipes from the Silver Spoon Kitchen' (Phaidon Press, April 2013) we move to Trapani for a savory dish.
Cuscusu alla Tarapanese Trapani-style couscous
Preparation time: 2 ¾ hours + 2 ½ hours resting
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves: 6 – 8
Ingredients:
- 6
cups couscous
- 2
– 3 tablespoons olive oil
For
the fish broth
- 6
black peppercorns
- 1
onion, peeled
- 2
bay leaves
- 2
sprigs parsley
- pinch
of saffron threads
- 4
½ lb mixed fish, such a scorpion fish, grouper, sea bream, conger eel, cleaned
- salt
For
the sauce
- 1
onion, very thinly sliced
- 1
clove garlic, peeled
- 2
tablespoons olive oil
- 1
¾ lb tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- ½
cup blanched almonds
- 2
tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2
cups dish stock
- salt
For
the couscousier
- 5
peeled tomatoes, chopped
- 1
onion, chopped
- 3
bay leaves
- salt
and pepper
To
garnish
- 1
cup dry white wine
- 2
tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for deep-frying
- 6-8
swordfish slices
- 6-8
baby squid, cleaned
- all-purpose
flour, for dusting
- 16
uncooked shrimp, shells intact
- 1
bunch of curly parsley
- 1
lemon, sliced
- pepper
Instructions:
First, make the broth.
Pour 6 ¼ cups water into a large pan, add the peppercorns, onion, bay
leaves, parsley, saffron, and salt, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the fish to the pan and simmer for 30
minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside until needed.
Meanwhile, put the couscous in a large dish. Whisk together 7 ½ cups warm water, the olive
oil and a pinch of salt, then sprinkle the mixture over the couscous by
hand. Separate the grains with your
fingertips, cover with a wet towel and let stand for about 30 minutes.
Make the sauce. Pour
water into a frying pan or skillet to a depth of 2 ½ inches, add a pinch of
salt and heat. Add the onion and garlic
clove and cook until the liquid has evaporated, then add the olive oil and
cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-8 minutes, until the onion is lightly
browned. Add the tomatoes, almonds and
parsley, season with salt and cook, occasionally mashing the tomatoes with a
fork, for 15 minutes. Remove the pan
from the heat and discard the garlic.
Lift out the fish from the broth and remove and discard the
skin. Remove and reserve any bones and
flake the fish. Set aside. Strain the broth into the tomato sauce, stir
in the fish stock and cook over medium heat until reduced and thickened. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
Put the tomatoes, onion and reserved fish bones into the
lower pot of a couscousier and season with salt and pepper. Almost fill with water, bearing in mind that
it must not splash the upper pot of the couscousier during cooking. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
Cover the perforated base of the upper pot with a well
wrung-out damp dish towel, letting the 4 corners overhand the side. Separate the grains of couscous with your
fingertips. Put the bay leaves on the
damp dish towel and add the couscous.
Cover with the lid and tie the opposite corners of the dish towel over
it. Put the upper pot of the couscousier
in place and steam for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid of the couscousier, add half the sauce and all the flaked
fish. Close the pan again and continue
cooking for another 10 – 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let the couscousier stand in the warm for 1
hour. Keep the remaining sauce warm.
Meanwhile, prepare the garnish. Whisk together the wine, olive oil and a
pinch of pepper in a large dish. Add the
swordfish slices and let marinate for 1 hour.
Heat plenty of oil in a shallow pan. Dust the squid with flour. Add the shrimp and squid to the hot oil and
cook for 5-8 minutes, until the shrimp
have changed clor and the squid are golden.
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Put the couscousier in the center of a warm serving dish and
arrange the squid, shrimp, swordfish slices, curly parsley sprigs and slices of
lemon around it. Discard the bay leaves
and serve immediately.
(* Recipe from Sicily –April 2013, $39.95– by Phaidon Press, reproduced with permission, all rights reserved)