No one knows who Norma was, but we don't care/Amir Menachem
"Not long ago we returned from Sicily," says Yehiel Malihi, chef of the Oliveri restaurant, "which is not called the cradle of the culinary world for nothing, and which is also not coincidentally the birthplace of 'Oliveri'."
Let's make real Sicilian couscous with sardines
. According to him, the restaurant started with a recipe for Sicilian pizza that Noam the owner got 15 years ago from a local pizzeria that "blew his mind", and since then every time he travels, he "uploads" menus from all kinds of local places and puts new dishes on the menu inspired by them.
"Over the years 'Olibri' has become an Italian restaurant that specializes in Sicilian cuisine, the abundance here is simply dizzying and there is no end to what can be done."
He joined the last trip, "to delve a little more into the local variety, and come back with inspiration for a new menu. We landed in Catania and continued to Palermo, the capital of Sicily. A crazy port city that reminded me so much of Tel Aviv. People from all over Italy come there to live and work, and everywhere they serve A maddening aperitif with Aperol. In my life I have never seen such a variety of the freshest seafood available, and huge oysters, the biggest I've ever seen - an abundance that for me is a circus."
From Palermo, the trip continued to Cacha, "the fishing town where 'Olibri' was actually born", as he defined it.
"The proximity to Tunisia has led to a constant stream of immigrants from Africa and the culinary influences are evident everywhere. They even hold an annual couscous festival in San Vito lo Capo, and this mixing has given rise to a fascinating local cuisine full of combinations unique to the region, and lots of street food to grab along the way. So, we traveled and ate, everywhere When we fell in love with the dish, we just went into the kitchen and asked for a recipe."
Europe, Africa, Israel.
Oliveri's/Amir Menachem's Sicily menu
"We returned from there not only with amazing recipes," says Malihi, "but with some life insights that need to be adopted. The locals don't work between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., the world dies, they close and go eat pasta at their mother's, and at 4:00 p.m. They come back and turn on the stove to heat it up, and start making pizza. Around 6:00 p.m. in the evening, the whole city - young people, adults and families - go out to eat around the city. So the most important conclusion of all is that there is nothing like mother's food and pizza is a completely legitimate dinner."
The attached recipe, according to him, is a recipe for classic pasta in tomato and eggplant sauce that you will find in any local restaurant and is easy to reproduce at home and you will always find a version of it on the restaurant menu.
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Ella Norma pasta recipe
Ingredients:
1/3 cup of oil
Cook pasta according to manufacturer's instructions (500 grams)
8 cloves of chopped garlic
10 grated tomatoes (maggi preferred)
Fresh oregano stalk separated
2 tablespoons Kalamata olives
1/4 teaspoon minced red chili
1 eggplant, peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes
Ricotta cheese salad (or pecorino)
A simple and popular dish that creates a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Oliveri/Amir Menachem
Instructions:
1.
Fry the eggplants and keep aside.
2.
Cook the pasta according to the manufacturer's instructions.
3.
Fry garlic on medium heat (be careful not to burn) until it starts to get color, add the chopped chili, stir for 20 seconds and add the grated tomatoes on high heat, until they break down completely.
4.
Add the fresh oregano and olives until a uniform sauce is obtained.
Season with salt to taste.
5.
Add the pasta we cooked in advance and mix well until there is almost no liquid left (very important).
6.
Add the pre-fried eggplants, mix well and transfer to a plate.
Grate ricotta salad or the pecorino on top and serve.
More on the same topic:
Sicily
Italy
pasta
eggplants