Tunnu Squadatu d'u Capu Rais, or the Rais's Boiled Tuna: Sicily was under Arab rule for a time, and despite the centuries since then the heritage remains, as is obvious here. This recipe will serve six, and is a tasty, unusual way to prepare fresh tuna.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- A single piece of fresh tuna weighing about 2 1/2 pounds (1.2 k)
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) whole milk
- Several seeded slices lemon, without rind
- A medium-sized bunch of parsley, minced
- The juice of a lemon
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
Preparation:
To begin, some backgound:
According to Pino Correnti, The Capu Rais was (and is) the leader with the sharp eyesight who realizes that the school of tuna is entering the series of nets that lead to the tonnara, where the fishermen will slaughter them. Also, the word rais sounds Arabic because it is, a holdover from the years when Sicily was one of the richest of the Arab lands.
And now the recipe:
The piece of fish should be boiled, whole, in lightly salted water to which the milk and the lemon slices have been added. When it is well cooked (figure 10 minutes boiling for every inch (2.5 cm) of thickness at its thickest point) drain it, slice it, and serve it with a simple sauce made by mincing the parsley and adding to it the lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper to taste.
A wine? An Etna Bianco might be nice.
According to Pino Correnti, The Capu Rais was (and is) the leader with the sharp eyesight who realizes that the school of tuna is entering the series of nets that lead to the tonnara, where the fishermen will slaughter them. Also, the word rais sounds Arabic because it is, a holdover from the years when Sicily was one of the richest of the Arab lands.
And now the recipe:
The piece of fish should be boiled, whole, in lightly salted water to which the milk and the lemon slices have been added. When it is well cooked (figure 10 minutes boiling for every inch (2.5 cm) of thickness at its thickest point) drain it, slice it, and serve it with a simple sauce made by mincing the parsley and adding to it the lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper to taste.
A wine? An Etna Bianco might be nice.
