The thing traveling to places far and wide is that you carry in your heart a little part of everywhere you’ve ever been.
And just like that, you can relive a moment, a memory, a taste and at that moment you’re back there, transported as you were.
And for our family, Ferro Di Cavallo will always be favorite restaurant in Palermo. It doesn’t matter that it’s a pokey little place, where service is snail pace, once the food arrives that’s it – all vexations melt away.
Even now, a few years later, we often reminisce about the flavors of the Involtini di melanzane (because If you’ve spent any time in Sicily you know how much eggplant is loved) and the sardine meatballs and of course Bucatini with dill & sardines.
Quite simply there’s nothing quite like such a meal. It stays with you. So back home, in our little urban dwelling, it’s nice to recreate as best as I can, some of the dishes based purely on a memory of flavor and texture.
The bucatini with fresh dill and sardines is a celebration of everything I love about Sicilian cuisine. The purity and simplicity of flavors. The feeling that each bites tastes of the terra from which it was born.
This is the way pasta was meant to be eaten – 4 ingredients and no fuss. I admit, for me to get fresh sardines in the market is a rare thing. So I buy the best wide caught, sustainably harvested canned sardines in olive oil I can find in the supermarket. And it works fine.
All this recipes needs is bucatini from Italy made with semolina flour, some good quality olive oil with oomph, a nice bunch of fresh dill, some onions, garlic and of course the sardines.
And dinner comes together in 30 minutes. Rustic, real, delicious resplendent with the magical flavors that are created when fresh aromatic dill meets oily, creamy sardines.
So if you’re a fan of these ingredients and getting on a plain to Palermo doesn’t seem to be on the agenda in the near future, then treat yourself to the next best thing. A taste of Ferro Di Cavallo in your home.
The next best thing, to the real deal!
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