“Anatra all’Arrancia” from “SICILY”

Kirstin: Blood oranges are all the Sicily vibes. Add the duck on a rainy summer’s evening and we were all sold. A day so rainy in fact, that I spent a good few hours in the afternoon catching up on a few episodes of The Hunter, a fantastic series about the mafia in Sicily. This meant I was a tad late when starting to cook the recipe which then led to the faceplant part of the evening where I read the directions PUT IN THE FRIDGE FOR THREE HOURS. I gave ours 10 minutes. And then removed most of the salt (but not all) before cooking. The oranges were cut into plinths onto onto which the duck pieces balanced for cooking. Once cooked, I removed the duck legs and made a sauce using the cooked oranges. A really clever recipe that had incredible depth of flavour. I’ve already underlined the three hours part for the next time I make this. And next time I watch The Hunter I will try and limit the number of episodes I watch.

“Limoncello semifreddo with cherries” from “SICILY”

Kirstin: Finally, to end this Sunday meal, I went all out and made a semifreddo. I haven’t made semifreddo for years. Which is mad because I used to make it all the time; it was one of my signature desserts! But something happened along the way and I started to use different recipes, you know how it is. Anyway. Mr Tish has a lovely picture of this recipe in his book which lured me in. And I thought I really should give semifreddos another try. It was easy to make; three bowls, one with egg yolks and sugar, another with egg whites and the last with double cream. The contents of each bowl was whipped and then folded together with some limoncello. I made the cherries much later with a little more limoncello and icing sugar to add some sweetness. A glorious dessert filled with summer flavours. I am planning to make this one for an outdoor dinner in the future because I am sure it will taste EVEN BETTER in the evening light in the garden. Also. Doesn’t it look pretty!

“Whole Roast Chicken stuffed with wild fennel, lemon leaves, garlic and bay” from “SICILY”

Kirstin: Next up was the chicken. Sunday night in our house is often roast chicken night. This recipe from Ben Tish’s Sicily book had all the right ingredients with fennel, garlic and shallots. The chicken was carefully stuffed with fennel butter under its skin. He then used his clever technique of plinthing the chicken on top of the vegetables. The chicken was juicy, moist and full of flavours. What more can you ask from a roast?

“Chilled green beans with toasted almonds, shallots, raisins and orange” from “SICILY”

Kirstin: It’s another cold and rainy Sunday in London. So cold that our heating as come on. But here I am, having cooked up an entire Sicilian feast for dinner to try and conjure up some sunny weather. Rather than jamming the entire meal into one post, I will start my posting with the salad, will post the main course tomorrow and the dessert the day after. All the recipes are from Ben Tish’s book; Sicilia, a love letter to the food of Sicily.

As readers of this blog will know, I was previously not a fan of sweet and savoury in the same dish. Well hello me, because this recipe has green beans, oranges AND raisins. The dressing is made from orange juice and vinegar which make a lovely combination with the beans. Mr Tish also asks for fresh almonds which I couldn’t source. I used pine nuts instead but I did manage to find some Sicilian oranges (thank you Natoora) which I am sure added some liquid sunshine to the meal.

“Clams with lemon leaves, chilli, mint and pistachio” from “SICILY”

Kirstin: Today is the hottest day of the year in London Town. Tate and I visited Knole as we are visiting ALL the Bloomsbury places. But before we left on our adventure, I ventured to our local Chinese supermarket and located Clams. I wasn’t sure which of the several clam recipes to choose from all my many Sicily books, but Ben Tish’s looked interesting. It had lemon leaves (tick), pistachios (tick) and also mint (tick). Two of those items were found in our garden. And they weren’t pistachios.
We love this recipe. Ben is completely right when he describes the pistachios adding a dukkah texture, while the overall affect is a little North African. Yes, even with the butter. Would I make this again? I’m already being asked when. Ben, you are a genius. It is not often I find a new take on a clam recipe. Thank you.