serves 6

Ingredients

1 lb. Fresh Sardines (small size)

2.5 Bottles of Star Pummaro`(700g each) Tomato Puree (or other high quality Italian tomato puree)

1 lb. Bucatini or Spaghetti

1 Bunch Fresh Wild Fennel boiled in salted water (until soft and tender), drained, and cut into 2-inch pieces*

2 Cans Cuoco “Seasoning for Macaroni with Sardines”

2 pcs Agostino Recca Anchovy Fillets in Pure Olive Oil

1 Spanish Onion, chopped

Olive Oil

1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tbsp Mediterranean Pine Nuts

2 cups Plain Breadcrumbs

1 tbsp Raisins

Salt & Pepper

Phase One: The Sardines

Clean and fillet the sardines by removing the head and interior parts, including the bones & pins.  Leave the skin on for now, wash under cold running water, and scrape the scales off with a sharp knife.

Pat sardines dry with paper towel.  Prepare a mound of flour, salt & pepper and dip the sardines on both sides.   Place a frying pan over low-med heat and coat bottom of pan with olive oil.  Sear the sardines lightly for just a few seconds on each side.  Remove from heat and peel the skin off the fillets with a fork.

(Be sure not to overcook the sardines – They will continue cooking in the sauce later!)

Phase Two: The Sauce

Saute` chopped onions in olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.  Place 2 pcs of Agostino Recca anchovy fillets in the pot and cook with onions for 2 minutes.  While the onions cook, open the two cans of Cuoco Seasoning and remove and discard the sardines from the cans.  When onions are translucent, add the fresh wild fennel, pine nuts, raisins, and the Cuoco seasoning mixture.  Cook two minutes.  Add the tomato puree, and refill the tomato jar with water and add as well (to dilute the tomato puree).  Bring to a boil, then add baking soda, salt, black pepper, and a pinch of sugar.  Cook uncovered for about 20 minutes on med-low heat.  Cut the fresh sardines into about two-inch size pieces, and add to the sauce. (Be sure not to cut the fresh sardines too small, as they will melt in the sauce if too small) Continue cooking for 7 minutes.

Phase Three:  The Breadcrumbs

While the sauce is cooking, prepare a frying pan with very little olive oil and place on medium-low heat.  Add breadcrumbs and season with salt & pepper.  Toast the breadcrumbs by stirring them in the pan until golden brown.  Set aside.

Phase Four: The Pasta

Bring salted water to a boil in a medium pot, cook the bucatini VERY “al dente,” and drain.  Mix the pasta with 2 tbsp of sauce in a large bowl.  Return the empty pot to a cool stovetop, add 1 tbsp olive oil and coat the bottom of the pot with toasted breadcrumbs.  Add 5 tbsp of sauce, and top with 1/3 of the pasta.  Layer the pasta with a generous amount of sauce, and toasted breadcrumbs.  Repeat the layering process by adding another 1/3 of pasta, sauce, and breadcrumbs, and again the last 1/3 of pasta, generous amount of sauce, and breadcrumbs.  (Be sure to include enough sauce to prevent burning in the next step.)  Return the pot to medium heat and cover.  Cook for 5 minutes, remove from heat and set aside uncovered.  Let the pasta sit for 10 minutes to absorb all of the flavors.

Turn out and serve sprinkled with toasted breadcrumbs.

*Fresh Wild Fennel is very hard to find.  Many Italians cultivate them in their own backyards.  From the Summer until mid-March, they freeze and preserve them for use in the traditional St. Joseph’s Day Pasta Con Le Sarde.  This dish, along with many, is served on the “Tavolata di San Giuseppe.”  Read more about this Holiday Tradition here.

Setteveli Cake

Asking what Capello’s Setteveli Cake is in Palermo, is like asking what Crumbs Cupcake is in NYC.   You’ll receive that same, “Are you serious???” eyes in both places, not even meriting a verbal reply – just a pull on the arm guiding you to the nearest location to get one.  An indisputable journey…

After experiencing these hypnotic, sensualized dessert creations, I adopted the same pitiful attitude toward Setteveli or Crumbs virgins I’ve encountered since…and for good reason.

Layers of Chocolate Ladyfingers, Dark Chocolate Mousse, Cereal Praline, Bavarian Cream, and seven veils of Crunchy Chocolate, all sound like incredible ingredients on paper, but the only way to fully understand the level of amazingness of this Setteveli Cake is to introduce your taste buds.  Only then will this wicked obsession be understood.

The Sicilian Setteveli Cake is one that is not well-known in the United States, however, there’s a better chance some have heard of the Dance after which it is named:  The Dance of the Seven Veils. 

According to Christian Mythology, the Biblically referenced dance of Salome`was performed to entrance King Herod and seductively request the head of John the Baptist on a platter.  The dance is referenced and featured in numerous cultural media, perhaps most notably in Oscar Wilde’s play Salome` and Strauss’s opera adaptation.  Some may argue that the most memorable Dance of the Seven Veils was performed by Rita Hayworth in the 1953 play Salome.

Now is your chance to experience the temptation and irresistable desire of the Sicilian Setteveli Cake, right here in downtown Princeton.  D’Angelo Market will be introducing this dessert fatale in all sizes – just in time for Valentine’s Day, starting February 12th.  As you will find out, this is not your average box of chocolate!

Rita Hayworth performing the Dance of the Seven Veils

In just under 2 weeks, Nutella lovers from around the world will celebrate “World Nutella Day,” an unofficial holiday created by two enthusiastic freelance writers living in Italy.  In its 7th year, social media sites and blogs are buzzing about this day, with members sharing creative recipes, stories, and discussions about this famous chocolate hazelnut spread.

What will you be doing for World Nutella Day?

Now through February 5, 2013, D’Angelo Market will feature the “12 Days of Nutella,” countdown to World Nutella Day with new bakery items made in-house to include this mouth-watering ingredient.  This is a good time to break your resolution – after all it is a holiday!

Don’t miss out on this 1st-annual celebration right here in Princeton—your taste buds will thank you!

Click to Enlarge

1/2 lb. Baking Potatoes

3 Leeks

1.5 oz. unsalted butter

6.5 cups Chicken Broth

1 pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 scallions, thinly sliced into 10 strips and then chopped

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1.) Wash the leeks and remove the outer leaves as well as the bottom rind and chop into thin slices.

2.) Melt the butter in a pan, add the leeks and scallions, season with salt and pepper, cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.

3.) Peel the potatoes, rinse and cut into cubes.

4.) Add the potatoes to other ingredients in the pan and pour hot chicken broth over it.  Season with a pinch of nutmeg and bring to a boil.

5.) Cover the soup and let cook for 30 minutes on low heat.

6.) Puree the soup using a food processor, add salt if needed.  Add the heavy cream, turn out and garnish with chopped scallions.

(Believe it or not, this soup is also very good in the summertime, served cold.)

In Italy, today (January 6th) is actually the culmination of the holiday in celebration of the feast of the Epiphany.  A national holiday, the Epiphany commemorates the arrival of the Three Wise Men bearing gifts to Baby Jesus.

You may be confused by “La Befana,” or the legend of a witch in the customary Italian celebration of the Epiphany.  In Italy, there is no witch on Halloween because there is no Halloween.

The Italian tale of a witch is linked to the night on which the Wise Men traveled to see Baby Jesus, when a pit-stop was made at an old woman’s house along the way.  The North Star inspired her to join them, bearing gifts that belonged to her deceased child.  Legend has it that she never made it to the manger, getting lost along the way.

Much like her American counterpart, the Italian Befana is believed to fly around every year delivering gifts to well-behaved children, and coal to the fresh and not-so-nice kids (a universally clever parental tactic).  She leaves the sleigh at home, choosing a broom as her means of travel.

Last night, on January 5th, the eve of the feast of the Epiphany, children throughout Italy hung their stockings and went to bed awaiting the surprises of “La Befana.”  More than likely, the following popular poem has been recited throughout the country on the weeks preceding today’s holiday:

La Befana va di notte

Con le scarpe tutte rotte

Porta chicchi e porta doni

Ai bambini che sono buoni

Ai bambini cattivoni

Porta cenere e tizzoni

Buona Epifania 2013!