Donnalucata is a Sicilian stronghold, a small fraction of 3000 inhabitants a stone's throw from Scicli, a UNESCO Baroque land, made famous throughout the world as a natural setting for the TV series of Inspector Montalbano. Here in 1091, Count Ruggero d'Altavilla, thanks to the intervention of the Madonna delle milizia, who, according to legend, descended on a white horse to defend Scicli «mea civitas dilecta», led the Norman Catholic troops to attack the Saracens, defeating them and forcing them to put an end to their age-old domination.
Even the origin of the name Donnalucata has a long history. A traveler and well-known Arab cartographer, Muhammad al-Idrisi, at the time of Arab domination, would in fact have sent a report to the Sultan Saladin in which he said he had found a source it flowed five times a day, at specific times and corresponding to the hours of Muslim prayers. He said he had found ʿayn al-awqāt, or 'the source of the hours, which became Donnalucata in Latin.
Perhaps it will be because influenced by so much history that Antonio Cicero, when, returning from a past of great passion for the world of motorcycles, decided to open a restaurant where to pour all the lessons received in the family on a cuisine that emanated from the flavors of the land and customs of the territory, he was inspired for the name of the restaurant by the book The Council of Egypt by Leonardo Sciascia, standard bearer of Sicilianity.
The book mentioned Il Consiglio di Sicilia, a name evocative of history, culture, legend and reality, all elements that distinguish today not only the cuisine of Chef Antonio Cicero, but also the soul of his restaurant, created by renovating the house of one of his grandmothers, where he took his first steps in the kitchen introduced to the ancient recipes handed down by family tradition. Then a food journalist Roberta Corradin came into the life of the chef, who had to stay for an interview. Galeotto was the article. From her interview we moved on to marriage and with her contribution what was an approach to the Sicilian gastronomic tradition has now become a real laboratory of hospitality and style.
If the chef elaborates refined dishes that are characterized by a sobriety of flavors based on a style that intrinsically speaks of the territory and of high quality, beyond any trend of the moment, his wife Roberta at the helm of a team of women only, introduces the customer with storytelling wisdom in the gastrophilosophical-cultural microcosm that they have created in Donnalucata, an all-round Sicilian stage open to jazz aperitifs, meetings with artisans, actors and artists, "because we believe - underlines Roberta, not by chance the author of 'Ho made a gingerbread … emotional cooking recipes“ – that culture and food marry divinely”. And, for the record, Roberta Corradin's latest book “Piovono Mandorle” is an investigative story set in Scicli and in the Council of Sicily.
The chef's menus bear witness to Antonio's original interpretation of traditional Sicilian recipes. They change according to the catch of the day and the availability of the island's products. Dishes such as octopus salad, spaghetti with clams and Sicilian black truffle from Palazzolo Acreide or stewed amberjack with potatoes and capers, or caramelised ginger and soy sauce, have become classics. Its cannoli siciliano was even named among the island's ten best by the Wall Street Journal in 2017.
This week's proposal by chef Antonio Cicero for Mondo Food readers is caramelized Amberjack. In Sicily it is an old tradition of Arab origin to prepare recipes with the use of caramel not only for desserts, such as biscuits and brittles, but also for savory dishes
In this case the caramelisation is in an evocative sense, as it is a salty dish and not sweet or sweet, it is a pseudo-caramelisation. Soy sauce has its role precisely because it recalls the color of caramel. The protagonist is the Amberjack, a fish that is not found in all Italian seas, but is at home in Sicilian waters. Its meats are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega three, easily assimilable proteins, rich in mineral salts and vitamins A and B and contain a lot of phosphorus.
The recipe for caramelized amberjack
Ingredients for four people
4 slices of amberjack of about 120 g each
ginger, 16 thin slices
soy sauce, 4 tbsp
evo oil, 4 tbsp
sale
potatoes
tenerumi (or leafy greens)
myrin (optional)
Preparation
Marinate the amberjack slices for about ten minutes with thinly sliced fresh ginger and soy sauce, drain from the marinade and roast the slices, making sure to leave the center almost raw. Turn often during cooking which is short, but must be conducted with concentration: answering the cell phone can be fatal, then don't say we didn't warn you.
If you want to give an exotic touch, blend with mirin.
Serve with baked potatoes and tenerumi (long courgette sprouts: if you can't find them, book a plane ticket to southeastern Sicily, and in the meantime replace them with chard).
The Council of Sicily restaurant
via Casmene, 79 – 97018 – Scicli (Ragusa) – Donnalucata
Phone: +390932938062
