Third slice from Sicily '50 authentic and easy-to-follow recipes from the Silver Spoon Kitchen' (Phaidon Press, April 2013) after sweet Cassata Siciliana of Palermo region and Trapani Style Couscous is served.
We move to Messina.
Involtini di Spada alla Messinese
Messina-style Swordfish Rolls
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
- 12
thin slices of swordfish, about 2 ¼ lb, skinned
- ¾
cup grated caciocavallo cheese
- 2
tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 1
tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1
sprigs basil, chopped
- olive
oil, for drizzling
- salt
and pepper
For the sauce
- 1
celery stalk
- 1
small onion
- 8-9
ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
- 2
tablespoons olive oil
- 2
tablespoons capers preserved in salt, rinsed
- 1
cup pitted Gaeta olives, halved
- salt
Instructions:
Trim the swordfish slices to make neat rectangles, reserving
the trimmings. Cover each rectangle with
plastic wrap and beat lightly with the side of a rolling pin, being careful not
to break the flesh.
Chop the trimmings, and mix them with the grated cheese,
breadcrumbs, parsley and basil in a bowl.
Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix again.
Lay the fish slices on the work counter and divide the
filling among them, then roll up and secure with wooden cocktail sticks or
toothpicks.
Make the sauce.
Blanch the celery in salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes, then drain
and slice. Pour water into a pan to a
depth of ¾ inch, add a pinch of salt and onion and cook over low heat for 15-20
minutes, until the onion is softened and translucent. Add the tomatoes, oil, capers, olives and
celery and simmer, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
Add
the swordfish rolls to the pan of sauce, cover and cook for another 10
minutes. Life off the lid, remove and
discard the cocktail sticks or toothpicks and cook for a few minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat and serve the rolls
hot or cold with the sauce spooned over them.
(* Recipe from Sicily –April 2013, $39.95– by Phaidon Press, reproduced with permission, all rights reserved)