Erica De Mane

Recipes:

Cauliflower Salad with Saffron, Raisins, and Pine Nuts
Preserved Tuna with Tomatoes, Black Olives, and Red Onion
Cantaloupe with Marsala

This menus is filled with all the sweet and sharp flavors of Southern Italy.

Cauliflower Salad with Saffron, Raisins, and Pine Nuts

Pasta with cauliflower, raisins, and pine nuts is a classic Sicilian dish often served at room temperature. If you’d like to make it, see page 90 of my book Williams-Sonoma Pasta). Here I’ve used those same flavors to create a summer salad. Make it a day ahead if you want to. The flavors deepen as it sits.

(Serves 4, or 5 as a side dish)

1 large cauliflower, cut into small flowerets
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
A pinch of ground clove
A small wineglass of dry white wine
A generous pinch of saffron threads, dried and ground to a powder, and dissolved in a few tablespoons of warm water
A palmful of pine nuts, lightly toasted
A palmful of raisins, soaked in a little warm water for 10 minutes and then drained, if they’re hard
A few sprigs of fresh dill, chopped
A squeeze of lemon juice

Set up a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Add a tablespoon of salt and drop in the cauliflower, blanching it for about 3 minutes (it will still be somewhat crunchy). Drain the cauliflower into a colander and run cold water over it to stop the cooking. Let it drain.

In a large skillet, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and let them soften for a few minutes before adding the cauliflower. Season with salt, black pepper, and a tiny pinch of ground clove. Sauté until the cauliflower is tender and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the white wine and let it boil down to almost nothing. Add the saffron water, the pine nuts, and the raisins, and simmer a minute longer to blend the flavors. Add the dill and taste for seasoning. Give it a drizzle of fresh olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice and toss gently. Pour the cauliflower into a serving bowl and let it come to room temperature before serving. Or refrigerate it overnight and bring it back to room temperature before serving.

Preserved Tuna with Tomatoes, Black Olives, and Red Onion

Tuna is in season in the New York area starting in early June, and Phil Karlin, at the Union Square greenmarket, has the freshest, most beautiful looking tuna of all. He carries not only bluefin but also the lighter-colored albacore, which people often pass over. I think they skip it because it’s not gleaming ruby red, but it does have excellent flavor. Either kind is fine for this dish.

Sicily has a long history of tuna canning, and even though the business is not as big as it once was, the island still produces some of the best canned tuna in the world. The tuna is slow-cooked in olive oil, making it very tender. Here is a home version of preserved tuna that takes about 15 minutes and gives excellent results. Use the delicate belly cut if you can find it. Ventresca is what they call this cut in Italy, and the best Sicilian canned tuna is often so labeled.

Preserved tuna can be added to all sorts of salads, and it’s especially good with chickpea, potato, or rice salads. It’s also great included in a hot or cold pasta dish. If you’re adding it to hot pasta or any hot dish, add it at the last minute, off the heat. Cooking preserved tuna spoils its delicate taste and texture.

(Serves 4 or 5)

For the tuna:

About 2 pounds bluefin or albacore tuna, the belly cut if you can find it, cut into chunks approximately 1 1/2 inches thick
Sea salt
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
1 bay leaf
A few black peppercorns
A few small sprigs of rosemary
A few large sprigs of marjoram
A few long strips of lemon peel
About 2 cups supermarket extra-virgin olive oil (you needn’t use your best estate-bottled oil)

For the salad:

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 scallions, chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced
A handful of black olives, chopped and pitted
The preserved tuna, gently broken up
Sea salt
Black pepper
A handful of lightly chopped basil and parsley leaves
Olive oil
Lemon juice

To make the tuna:

Place the tuna chunks in a high-sided saucepan. Sprinkle on a tablespoon of sea salt (the salt both flavors the tuna and preserves it), and give it a good stir. Add the garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, herbs, and lemon peel. Pour on enough olive oil to cover the tuna by about 1/4 inch. Heat the oil over a low flame until it is hot to the touch but not boiling (this should take about 8 minutes). At this point the tuna should still be a little pink in the center. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the tuna and oil cool to room temperature. The waning heat from the oil will continue to gently cook the tuna through, making it very tender and infusing it with flavor. You can use the tuna right away (just lift what you need from the oil) or cover it tightly and refrigerate it. It will keep for about a week. Just bring it back to room temperature before serving.

To make the salad:

In a large salad bowl, combine the cherry tomatoes, scallions, garlic, olives, and tuna. Season with salt, black pepper, and the basil and parsley. Add a drizzle of fresh olive oil (you can use the oil from the tuna, but I find it a bit strong for this salad). Squeeze on a little lemon juice and toss. Serve on a bed of arugula or escarole.

Cantaloupe with Marsala

Here’s a simple Sicilian dessert to make when cantaloupe is ripe and sweet. I usually don’t get fussy about using kitchen gadgets in my recipes, but I have to say that using a melon baller here makes a difference in the presentation.

(Serves 4)

1 large, ripe cantaloupe
A large wineglass of sweet Marsala wine (a high-quality brand like Florio is best)
A drizzle of honey
A pinch of ground cinnamon
A few short strips of lemon peel
A pinch of salt

Halve the cantaloupe and remove the seeds. Using a melon baller, scoop out all the insides into a pretty serving bowl. Pour on the Marsala and add the honey, cinnamon, lemon peel, and a tiny pinch of salt (the salt heightens the flavor of the melon in a subtle but worthwhile way; my grandfather always ate cantaloupe wedges heavily sprinkled with salt, and that is the concept behind pairing melon with prosciutto). Give it all a few good stirs, cover the bowl, and refrigerate it until everything is chilled, stirring occasionally. Serve cool.