The sauce of this unusual linguini with fresh anchovies combines ingredients that are characteristic of Mediterranean cuisine: olive oil, fish, and the introduction of raisins and dried fruit in savoury dishes. This Middle Eastern touch is typical in the cuisine of Italian cities that were in contact with the Arab world for centuries such as Sicily, whose cuisine was deeply influenced by it, like in the case of Sicilian rolls (link to recipe), as well as other cities on the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Seas, like Venice, Pisa and Genoa, for example.

I had this pasta at Elba, a small beautiful island across from Livorno, rich in iron and exploited since Etruscan times, with a strategic position in the Mediterranean Sea. Pisa and Genoa fought for the dominion of the Tyrrhenian coasts for centuries.

Pisa and Genoa, with Amalfi and Venice were referred to as the Maritime Republics by 19th century historians. They were city-states that were formally independent. During the time of their independence, all these cities had similar (though not identical) systems of government, in which the merchant class had considerable power. Their power and richness came from the economic growth of Europe around the year 1000, together with the hazards of the mainland trading routes, which made the development of major commercial routes along the Mediterranean coast possible. The Maritime Republics’ relationship with the Middle East was constant, alternating periods of peace and fruitful commercial trade with hostility, due to their involvement in the crusades and territorial competition with the Byzantine and Islamic maritime powers. The complex relationship that Italy always had with the Middle East profoundly influenced its cuisine, like this complex sweet and sour taste which cannot be found in other parts of Italy’s cuisine.

Prep Time: 45 minutes | Cooking Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 60 minutes | Yield: Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients for pasta

• 3¼ cups all-purpose flour (400 grams)
• 4 eggs

Ingredients for sauce

• 300 g fresh anchovies, cleaned*
• 40 g pine nuts
• 3 tbsps. breadcrumbs or a slice of stale bread, chopped with a knife
• 30 g raisins, softened in tepid water
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 4 tbsps. olive oil

Instructions for pasta

On a wooden pastry board, pour the flour in a mound, make a well in its centre and crack the eggs into it. Blend by hand, making a dough that you are going to smooth with a rolling pin.  It should be rolled to a 3 mm thickness.  Then cut it into rectangles that will be cut on the chitarra.

Cook the pasta in salted water; if it is fresh, it will cook in a few seconds.

The proportion is always 100 g = 1 egg, per person. Of course since the eggs are never regular you might need to add some flour if the dough is too wet or some water if it is too dry and impossible to work.

TIPS:

As you work it, keep the dough near your belly, when kneading and rolling.

Lean into the dough as you work, exploit gravity, not your shoulders and arms.

Instructions for sauce

In a non-stick frying pan, toast the pine nuts for 2 minutes, and chop them roughly.

Sauté the breadcrumbs in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. When they are golden, add the raisins and pine nuts and sauté together for a minute. Pour everything into a bowl and sauté the anchovies in the same pan for a couple of minutes.

Add the parsley to the other ingredients and mix delicately. Cook the pasta in salted water and add it to the sauce with a couple of tablespoons of its cooking water. Toss with a bit of olive oil and serve.

*Remember to cut off the heads toward the belly and tail, (the direction is important). Pull delicately and the guts will follow too. Insert a finger and detach the spine from the flesh, then break off the spine near the tail.

This stuffed calamari recipe is simple and incredibly good. Quite unusually, compared to traditional fish recipes, we add cheese which confers creaminess.

I added the technique for cleaning calamari, but you can usually find them already cleaned at the fish vendor’s, so you just need to separate the tentacles from the mantle.

Calamari are very easy to cook, and the main thing to remember is that the squid flesh is kept tender by a short cooking time. It can be prepared and kept in the fridge in advance and cooked at the very last moment.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Yield: Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 4 calamari
• 40 g breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsps. grated Pecorino or Caciocavallo cheese
• 2 small garlic cloves, deprived of the green germ
• Parsley
• 3 tbsps. olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 tbsps. dry white wine

Instructions

This simple dish demonstrates the deep interconnection of Italy with the Middle East and the Arab world. In all Italy, mainly along the coasts, we have the introduction of pine nuts and raisins in many dishes; see for example the Liguria cuisine, or Venice one, as a demonstration that along the century the contacts have been intense.

The case of Sicily is special since the Muslim Arab directly ruled it for centuries. This is not a history blog, so I need to summarize briefly a complicated but very interesting period.

Sicily, which was part of the Byzantine Empire, fell under Arab control first in the 7th century, in a short-lived conquest, that ended briefly. The systematic invasion of the island was concluded in 965 after a prolonged series of conflicts from 827 to 902.

The Muslim Arabs created a multi-ethnic society, where the previous Byzantine Sicilian inhabitants and a Jewish minority were “tolerated” and were able to flourish. In agriculture, the Arabs promoted a land reform, encouraging the growth of smallholdings and the subsequent increase in productivity. We also owe them the introduction of oranges, lemons, pistachio, almonds, and sugarcane to Sicily, as well as the improvement of the irrigation system thanks to the Qanats.

Due to intra-dynastic quarrels, which took place within the Muslim regime, the island fragmented into four areas. These internal divisions led to the progressive weakening of the Arab rule and the success of the plot of the princes from the inland, who enrolled Christian Norman mercenaries. The Emirate was conquered in 1071.

The Normans were great admirers of the Arab culture and under their rule, Sicily enjoyed a period of prosperity and the flourishing of Siculo-Norman architecture and art. 

This vocation towards multi-ethnicity perpetuates nowadays: the local dialects and cuisines in centuries have been embracing ingredients and other languages in its local culture, from France and Spain because of dominations, and the culture of the Mediterranean. Nowadays the cultural melting-pot has one of its most poignant symbol in the couscous festival, which is held every September in San Vito Lo Capo.