SICILIAN BLOOD ORANGES RECIPES

SICILIAN SALAD WITH ORANGES, RED ONION AND OLIVES

This traditional Sicilian recipe is a colourful and tasty appetiser or a fine side dish to accompany roast or grilled fish. Peel and chop the Tarocco oranges, take off the white pith and seeds. Add some tomatoes (better if from Pachino), pitted olives and thinly sliced red onion. Season with salt, mint, basil and extra virgin olive oil (choose from Sicilian PDO). Serve cold and experience the true essence of Sicily.

PASTA, SWORDFISH AND ORANGES

Pasta with swordfish and Sicilian oranges combines the scents, flavours and colours of the island. The tasty Sicilian oranges perfectly combine with Messina swordfish and Bronte pistachios – it’s a triumph of taste! Fillet the swordfish and cut it into small pieces. Put a pot of water on the stove to cook your favourite pasta. Warm extra virgin olive oil in a nonstick pan, add a little chopped onion and fry it for a few minutes. Add the swordfish chunks, salt and pepper. When the fish is almost white, grate the peel of one orange and set it aside. Squeeze out the juice of the fruit, pour it into the pan with the fish and let it cook until the sauce has slightly thickened. Turn off the heat and add a handful of pistachios and the grated orange peel. Your seasoning is ready: drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Once served, sit down and breathe in Sicily.

SICILIAN ORANGE JELLY

The Sicilian orange jelly is a very easy alternative to the traditional gelu i muluni (watermelon frost). It’s a dessert for a perfect island lunch, or a good, healthy “grandmother’s” snack. To prepare it, you need about three oranges to make 500ml of juice. If you want the jelly to be clearer, you can further filter the juice. In a glass, melt, without leaving lumps, 40g of cornstarch in 100ml of juice, and put the remaining 400ml in a pan with 80g of caster sugar. Boil and add the juice to the melted starch. Cook all together on a low flame for about 5 minutes, constantly stirring. When it becomes creamy, pour into moulds. Let it cool and then refrigerate for about 4 hours. Delicious!