In the November 2009 issue of style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Dream

of Italy, Toni Lydecker

writes about href="http://www.dreamofitaly.com/public/737.cfm">how

the Feast of Seven Fishes is celebrated in Sicily

(her article is free to access href="http://www.dreamofitaly.com/public/737.cfm">here).

The Feast of Seven Fishes is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in

Italy. Toni is the author of the new cookbook style="font-style: italic;"> href="http://www.tonilydecker.com">Seafood alla

Siciliana

from which these special Sicilian Christmas recipes are excerpted: style="font-weight: bold;">

Recipe: Baccalà and Potato (con patate) Stew alla Siracusana

Makes 3 to 4 servings

Prep time is 20 minutes (plus 36-hour soaking time for the

baccalà), cook time is 25 minutes.

When I asked style="font-style: italic;">Fiorangela Piccione

why this dish is named after her hometown, href="http://www.dreamofitaly.com/members/718.cfm"> style="font-style: italic;">Siracusa,

I expected to hear a tale harking back to the Greeks.

“Because my grandmother made it this way,” she

replied.

1 small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 cup thinly sliced celery

Hot red pepper flakes

2 large potatoes, peeled, halved, and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces

1 pound baccalà (salt cod), soaked for at least 36 hours

4 fresh plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped, or canned tomatoes,

chopped

1 to 2 teaspoons salt-preserved capers, soaked in water for a few

minutes and drained (optional)

8 to 10 black or green olives, pitted or unpitted

Leaves from several flat-leaf parsley sprigs, chopped

1. In a large deep skillet, combine the onion and olive oil. Cook over

medium heat until the onion is tender but not browned. Stir in the

celery and add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, for a

minute or two.

2. Add the potatoes, then add water to the halfway point (about 1/2

cup). Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are

barely tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the cod into large

chunks. Add it to the saucepan along with the tomatoes, capers, and

olives. Cook with the cover ajar until the cod is heated through, about

10 minutes.

3. Taste the sauce and add more pepper flakes if needed. Add the

parsley. Serve the stew in shallow soup bowls.

Photo by Tina Rupp

Recipe:

Octopus (Polipo) al Nero d'Avola

Makes 8 to 10 appetizer servings

Prep time is five minutes; cooks for about an hour.

Katia

Amore, owner of a cooking

school in Modica,

gave me this family recipe. It calls for simmering the octopus first in

water, and then a second time with style="font-style: italic;">nero d'Avola,

Sicily's best-known red wine. The octopus turns gorgeously

wine colored and delectable.

1 medium octopus (about 3 pounds) or several smaller ones, cleaned

2 lemons

1 bottle nero d'Avola or another fruity red wine

Flat-leaf parsley leaves, whole or torn

1. Place the octopus in a large saucepan with water to cover, plus a

couple of inches. Halve 1 of the lemons and add it to the pot. Bring to

a boil, adding more hot water as necessary to keep the octopus covered

as it curls up.

2. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the octopus is fairly

tender (15 to 40 minutes). Transfer it to another saucepan. Add the

nero d'Avola and enough of the cooking water to barely cover.

Bring to a boil; adjust the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the

liquid is reduced by half, turning the octopus from time to time. Cool

it in the liquid.

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