Dubbesi Restaurant – Sicily

A delicious four-course Sicilian menu from the kitchen of Executive Chef Salvatore Barbara of the Dubbesi Restaurant in Sicily.

This month, we are in the kitchen with Executive Chef Salvatore Barbara of the Dubbesi Restaurant at the Kempinski Hotel Giardino di Constanza Resort & Spa in Mazara del Vallo, Sicily, Italy who shares his recipes for a delicious four-course Sicilian menu. As they say in Italy, “mangia.”

Swordfish Carpaccio with Aubergine Caponata and Citrus Flavored Tomato Jam

Ingredients for 4 persons:

Tomato jam: Sauté the onion and garlic in a little oil, add 5 grams of vinegar and let it evaporate; add the bay leaf and the tomato concentrate diluted in a little water, basil, 5 grams sugar, 300 grams of tomato concassé and orange juice, cook for about 30 minutes until smooth, season with salt and pepper and allow to cool.

Caponatina: Salt the eggplant brunoise and let it drain for 30 minutes. In the meantime, brown the sugar lightly in a small pan, add the remaining vinegar and reduce to a syrup. Sauté the onion, add the celery, cook for a couple of minutes, add the raisins and pine nuts and the eggplants that were previously fried in plenty of  oil. Stir in the tomato concassé and the vinegar syrup, add a little chopped basil, and remove from the stove; season with salt and pepper and allow to cool.

Swordfish carpaccio: Slice the swordfish thinly (three slices per portion), put the slices on plastic wrap, marinate them lightly with a little salt and pepper and a few lemon drops. Mix the salad with half of the orange wedges, and season with salt and pepper. Put the salad in the centre of the fish slices and make a roll with the help of the plastic wrap.

Presentation: Take a soup plate and put a cylinder mold in the middle, and spoon in the caponatina. Press slightly and remove the mold. Pour a little tomato jam, put the carpaccio on top of the caponatina, with the celery julienne on top. Put 3 orange wedges on the internal border of the dish, sprinkle with oil and lemon juice, grind some pepper on top of it and serve.

Lasagna with Scampi, Sautéed Courgette Leaves and Aniseed Flavored Fish Stock

Ingredients for 4 persons:

Preparation: For the pasta: Mix 300 grams flour with 3 whole eggs, 2 spoonfuls of olive oil and a little lukewarm water. Spread the pasta dough with a pasta machine to make a thin sheet.

For the fish sauce: Peel the scampi, pull out the black strip and put them aside. Prepare a stock: mix celery, carrots, onion, a clove of garlic (not peeled) one bay leaf, half an aniseed, olive oil and sauté the scampi, flambé with brandy and sprinkle with a little flour. Toast the scampi heads and crush them with a ladle, then cover with 600 ml of water and boil for about 20 minutes, pour everything though a Chinoise, season with salt and pepper and cook until smooth.

Wash the courgette leaves, removing the stems and hard leaves, dip them in salted boiling water, chop them and sauté in a pan with some chopped onion, 1 clove of garlic (not peeled) and olive oil. When they are soft, take them out and mix them with 2/3 of the scampi (diced) and use some of the stock to add flavor to the mixture.

Pistachio pesto: In a blender, mix together 30 grams of parmesan, 80 grams of pistachio nuts, 1/2 a clove of garlic, olive oil and a little salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta sheets (cut into rectangular shapes, 4 pieces per portion) in salted boiling water for a few seconds, take them out, lay them out on a table and spread them with a little pesto.

Line a baking tin with parchment paper, make a layer with the pasta sheets and cover with the scampi, sprinkle with bread crumbs mixed with a little pesto and bake in the oven until golden.

Presentation: Set the lasagna in the middle of the plate and make a decoration all around it with the sauce.

Grilled Sea Bream Fillet with Aubergine Caviar and Mint-Cinnamon Sauce

Ingredients:

Eggplant caviar: Cut the eggplants in half, season with salt, pepper and oil, put them in the oven, cook until soft to the pressure of a fork. Spoon out the pulp, chop it with a knife and let it drain for about an hour. Chop a little garlic, season with salt and pepper and finely chopped mint leaf.

Mint and cinnamon sauce: Scale and clean the fish, take out the fishbone and fillet them, rinse, dry them and put them aside. Keep only the backbones and rinse them in running water for about 10 minutes.

Prepare a fish stock: Sauté celery, onion, one bay leaf, a clove of garlic, add half a glass of white wine and let it evaporate; add two pinches of ground cinnamon and two mint leaves. Cover with water and let it boil until reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper and strain.

Presentation: Take the fish fillets and spread lightly with olive paté. Prepare a pan with hot oil, a clove of garlic (not peeled) and sauté quickly the tomato strips, salt them and take them out immediately. In the same pan, thoroughly cook the fish fillets and season them lightly with salt and pepper. Put a fillet on the dish, spread with aubergine caviar, cover with another fillet and repeat, decorate with the tomato strips and the prawn tails, previously sautéed. Add a little extra virgin olive oil to the sauce in the pan, mix well and use it to decorate the fish fillets.

Cassatina

Ingredients for the sponge cake:

For the almond dough:

Ingredients for the ricotta cream:

Decorations for the Cassatina:

Grand Marnier
bitter chocolate
candied fruits

Sponge cake: Beat the eggs and the sugar with an electric mixer, add a pinch of salt, and when the sugar is completely blended in, add the sifted flour. Spread the mixture on a parchment paper lined baking tin, until it is about ½ cm thick. Bake for 6-8 minutes and put aside.

For the almond dough: Grind the almonds to a flour-like texture, mix with powdered sugar, a little lukewarm water and some green food coloring, knead until you get a smooth compact dough, form it into a rectangular shape and let it rest in the refrigerator.

Ricotta cream: Drain the ricotta and mix it in a blender with the sugar, until the mixture is very smooth.

Cut the sponge cake in half and drench it slightly with syrup made with Grand Marnier, water and sugar. Spread the ricotta cream with a spatula and sprinkle with bitter chocolate flakes (made with a knife). Roll the sponge cake, cover it with the almond dough spread with a rolling pin, and put it in the refrigerator to firm. Cut it in half lengthwise, and then cut it again to obtain 8-10 portions, and decorate with candied fruit and serve.

Kempinski Hotel Giardino di Constanza Resort & Spa
Via Salemi Km 7,100
91026 Mazara del Vallo, (TP) Sicily, Italy
Telephone: +39 0923 675 000
Toll free: 00 800 426 313 55
Fax: +39 0923 675876
Email: info.mazara@kempinski.com
Email: Reservations.mazara@kempinski.com
www.kempinski-sicily.com

Read our other articles on Sicily and the Kempinski Hotel Giardino di Constanza Resort & Spa in our Destinations, Hotels & Resorts, Spas, Restaurants and Wine Cellar sections.

For information on Sicily, Italy, please visit the Italian Government Tourist Board, www.italiantourism.com.

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