Last week's feature was dedicated to chick peas, and included a recipe for a Ligurian chickpea polenta called panissa that drew an interesting reply from Maria:

"Gibraltar has a large Italian ancestry, mainly Genoese….

"Anyway, the Gibraltarian National Dish is "Calentita". This is very much like Farinata only that you use half pound of chick pea flour mixed with six cups of cold water and left to stand. Add salt and pepper.

"Pour a quart of olive oil onto oven dish and heat this in hot oven. When the oil is very hot, carefully add the mix (Carefully because it tends to spit). Cook for about an hour until sides are crisp and centre is set.

"This is taken usually as either a snack or evening meal.

"I would dearly love to know which region this comes from. Like I said typically Gibraltarian, probably Genoese, we also have panissas. So there you are. The world is so small."

Calentita could very well be related to Panissa. In addition to the recipe I gave, Mr. Pradelli says that fried panissa makes an excellent snack. Simply make panissa, spread it out in a half-inch thick layer on your work surface, cut it into 3-inch squares, and fry them in abundant hot olive oil (you can use other oil if you prefer). Drain well, dust with salt, and they're done.

This technique works equally well with polenta made from corn meal, and the resulting fritters can also work nicely as an accompaniment to a roast or stew, or as antipasti if you spread them with a topping. The Porcino sauce on the Porcino page, for example.

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.

The Consequences of Clean Air

Moving away from food, the Italian Government is stepping up the war on air pollution; on the one hand they're going to institute emissions checks for motorini -- the 2 cycle mopeds and scooters people use to get around town -- and on the other they're going to ban leaded gasoline. Considering that all the cars made since about 1993 run only on unleaded gas, one would think this wouldn't be that much of a problem. Nor would one expect a provision that will improve living conditions to engender protest. However, people are howling because one of the victims will be the Fiat 500, the classic utility car of the 1950s. Looking vaguely like a shrunken VW bug, it was built to be cheap from the ground up, and initially flopped -- underpowered and too Spartan even by the standards of people who were upgrading from motor scooters (among other things, the windows didn't open). So Fiat sent out refunds to those who had bought the original, something that would be unthinkable today, and introduced a new, slightly more powerful model with windows that opened and other improvements. This time they got things right, and sold 3.6 million of them by the time they retired the model in 1975; 650,000 are still on the road today. Some continue to serve as utility cars, because they can be parked anywhere (they're just 9 feet long) and are so maneuverable that they're ideal for navigating bad dirt roads. However, many owners are now coddling them, having them buffed to a high shine in the winter and using as outing cars in the summer. Will they be declared antiques? It's a distinct possibility because many 500 owners are politicians.

We shall see. What are they like to drive, you winder? Lots of fun, and surprisingly peppy given their top speed is 50 miles per hour. I once managed to catch up with an Audi Quattro on a Corsican back road with my 500, and would still be driving it if it hadn't been stolen a few years back. In the meantime, worrisome news is emerging on European unleaded gasoline. The additive used to prevent knocking contains benzene, which appears to be just as dangerous as lead, causing respiratory problems, leukemia and a host of other ills. "We've jumped from the frying pan into the fire,"said an expert interviewed on the news a couple of weeks ago. There is apparently an additive that is not as dangerous, but it's more expensive. Considering the risks involved (the benzene levels in the heavily trafficked avenues of Italian cities greatly exceed the danger limit) it's time to begin looking into this alternative.

While we're on the subject of cars, crude oil is going up and as a result so is gas -- unleaded now costs more than 2,000 Lire per liter -- 8,000 per gallon, which is steep no matter how one looks at it. Leaded gas is even more expensive. Something to keep in mind when planning your routes this summer if you're going to be here.

Restaurants in Trapani

Speaking of travel, I recently got a request for recipes in or around Trapani in Sicily. Since I haven't been in close to 20 years I'm not in a position to be able to make direct suggestions. However, Gambero Rosso's Restaurant guide speaks favorably of:

Bettina, in Via San Cristoforo 7, tel (0923) 20050, closed Wednesdays in winter. Lots of fish, cus cus, some meats, and local wines, about 45,000 lire/person + wines.

Da Beppe, in Via Spalti 50, tel (0923) 28246, closed Mondays in winter. Again lots of fish, cus cus, timballo (also known as timpano), and more fish; about 50,000 lire/person + wines.

In nearby Marsala they suggest Delfino, Lungomare Mediterraneo 672, Tel (0923) 969 565, closed Tuesdays in winter. Again lots of fish and cus cus, and ravioli di ricotta for dessert; about 55,000 lire/person + wines.

On the Island of Favignana, out on the bay, they much like Egadi, Via C. Colombo 17; tel (0923) 921232. Again much fish, cus cus, and home made rosolio to finish things off. Cost about 55,000 + wines, and you should make reservations, as well as bring cash. No credit cards.

The prevalence of cus cus on the menus, by the way, is a holdover of the period that Sicily was an Arab province, about a thousand years ago. For recipes, see the cuscus page.

And finally, Josephine recently wrote:

"I was wondering if you had a recipe for fig cookies ... I remember baking them with my grandmother especially around Christmas time. It was a sweet dough and we would fill them with figs, almonds and chocolate. I do remember that it required some work and I can almost taste them. An Italian bakery nearby makes this type of cookie at Christmas time --- but they are not the same. My mother used to have the recipe of her mom's -- but where it is now -- who knows? If you could dig a recipe up, I'd like to make it for my mom." Sorry to be so late in getting to this, but here is what I have found, from Pino Correnti's Il Lobro d'Oro della Cucina e dei Vini della Sicilia:

Cosi di Ficu -- Traditional Christmas Cookies with Figs

"During advent,"he writes"the families that set up crèches would invite their friends for traditional carols (often with the contribution of 'u sonu di nanreddi, i.e. violin, contrabass and guitar, generally played by blind musicians in Catania) that were always accompanied by the gentle notes of the pipes. Custom was to offer home made cosi di ficu, fig cookies, at the close of celebrations.

• 1 k (2 1/4 pounds, 2 pound bags + 1 cup) the best flour
• 1 pound 10 ounces (650 g) dried figs
• 1 3/4 cups (350 g) sugar
• 11 ounces (375 g) rendered lard
• 1/4 pound (100 g) raisins
• 1/4 pound (100 g) blanched toasted almonds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 packet vanillin
• Some bitter chocolate
• The zest of a lemon
• The zest of an orange
• The zest of a tangerine
• 1/2 cup espresso coffee
• 1 teaspoon honey
• A handful of diavulicchi (colored bits of sugar)

Begin by preparing the filling: grind the figs, citrus zest and almonds together, then put them in a bowl and add to them the raisins, chocolate (he doesn't say how much; go by eye), coffee, and honey. Mix well and let rest, covered.

Soften the lard by kneading a little hot water into it and combine it with the flour to obtain a dough, working in the sugar and vanilla too. Roll out the dough and cut it into pieces large enough to be folded over balls of filling (he suggests doing recognizable shapes, for example donkeys, barrels, dogs, dolls, baskets, etc). Once the filling is in the dough, take a sharp knife and trace zigzag geometric patterns in the dough, so that when the cookies bake the dough will pull back, revelaing the filling below.

As soon as they are done, brush them with lightly beaten egg yolk and sprinkle them with diavulicchi. To heighten the chromatic effect.

Mr. Correnti doesn't say anything about baking time or temperature (this sort of omission is much more common than you might think in Italian recipes). I'd figure a baking temperature of 360 F (180 C) and bake them until light golden.

A printer-friendly version of all this.

A presto!
Kyle Phillips

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