As we wrap up our food-and-wine tour of Sicily, I thought I’d finish with one of Sicily’s most under-appreciated seafoods, the octopus. This is my take on an octopus dish at Sotto Restaurant in Los Angeles, and it shows that the octopus is a versatile palette for the flavors of Sicily.

The key to this recipe is finding good octopus. And while the soft texture of a stewed octopus is great, grilling them just before serving, with breadcrumbs sprinkled on top, adds a really nice crunch.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I did not mention how important seafood culture is to Sicily. When Michele, my Aunt Mary, Mark and I vacationed in Calabria in 2007, we took an overnight trip to meet up with my relatives who were traveling to the Catania Airport in Sicily. On the way, we stopped at a tiny little beach resort called “Sunkisses”. We ate all varieties of seafood for lunch, and we all desperately needed a nap afterwards. Everything we ate was fresh-caught nearby that day. The images of the Sicilian fisherman returning home with a great catch is still alive and well today on this magical island.

So go find some octopus and imagine a lunch on the beach in Sicily!

Ingredients and Directions:

• 1 large or two small octopus  – cleaned
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive Oil
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 or 3 olive oil packed anchovies (high quality if available)
• A small pinch of chili flakes
• 1 cup of white wine
• 1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes (preferable San Marzano)
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley – 1/2 reserved for garnish
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained
• Rough chopped pitted Sicilian green olives
• One cup cooked ceci (chickpeas/garbanzo) beans
• Toasted breadcrumbs (toasted in a dry saute pan over medium heat)
• Crusty Italian bread

Special equipment:

• Medium heavy cast iron pot
• Outdoor grill or grill pan
• Long tongs for grilling

1. Fill the heavy cast iron pot with salted water and place over high heat. When boiling, add the cleaned octopus and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the octopus to a strainer, discard the water, and wipe the cast-iron pot dry. Cut the octopus into large pieces (I like to cut them so each piece has 2-3 tentacles, as shown in the photo, for easier grilling).
2. Place the cast-iron pot over medium-low heat and add a splash of extra-virgin olive oil. Add the anchovies and chili flakes and, using a wooden spoon, break up the anchovies in the olive oil until dissolved.
3. Add the garlic, cut up octopus and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Increase heat to high and add the white wine.  Boil stirring occasionally for 4 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as you add them. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook partially covered for 30 minutes. Add half the parsley, all the capers and chopped olives. Stir and continue to cook for an additional 1/2 hour.
5. Carefully remove the octopus from the stew to a plate. Add the drained cooked ceci beans to the stew and cook for another 15 minutes over low heat, letting the chickpeas absorb the flavor of the stew. The stew should be nice and thick at this point. If not, continue to cook until thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Heat the outdoor grill or grill pan. Oil the grill by dipping a paper towel in olive oil and, using long tongs , rubbing on the grilling grate. Grill the long octopus tentacles for 1-2 minutes and flip and grill for another 1-2 minutes. You want a nice char on the tentacles.
7. Serve some of the stew and chickpea mixture in a bowl. Top with a few grilled tentacles. Finish off with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and toasted breadcrumbs. Serve.

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I first set foot in Montalcino in 2006 by pure happenstance.  Our family had finally pulled off that family reunion we had been talking about for years – the one that was always discussed after too much wine at holiday dinners. Mutual promises to finally visit the relatives in Florence and stay in that villa in Tuscany.  In 2006, we managed to pull it off and one afternoon, our little ragtag group of 13 headed our cars to the little hilltown of Montalcino. We spent a leisurely afternoon strolling its peaceful cobblestone streets; lunching for hours at a restaurant; listening to the bell tower chime at every hour and half hour (albeit a bit late).

Family Reunion 2006

I felt the magic that afternoon.

After that, the poor Montalcinese couldn’t get rid of me.  I kept going back each year – for a week or for a few days as time permitted.  Now years later, the 3 hour drive from Rome to Montalcino has become rather routine. My foot no longer shakes on the gas pedal as I drive at dizzying speeds up the autostrada.  (Although I must admit that I still find my shoulders tightening whenever I have to pass a big ass truck or when I have to figure out how to get my manual-drive car out of park heading straight up a hill.) I have learned to wear flat shoes so I don’t trip so much on the cobblestones. At the local market, I now know that I have to weigh my vegetables before I get to the check out. And I still feel the magic.  Yes, one could certainly argue that it is through either rose-colored glasses or copious amounts of Brunello that I view life in a town I barely know but frankly, with the pace of our lives today, it is a view I cherish.

When I visit, I find myself quickly slowing to the rhythm of life in Montalcino.  If my friends back home could see me lingering over my cappuccino for hours at the caffe, they would wonder if the real Michele had been kidnapped. But it is the heart of this town with which I have so fallen in love.  It is the big smiles I see when those folks I know welcome me back. It is the occasional ‘Ciao Michela!’ as I walk for my morning cappuccino. It is the fresh torta that I find waiting for me in my rented apartment, baked by the owner’s mother.

Last Wednesday in Montalcino I was reminded once again why those of us that love to travel do. How the magic of spending time in a foreign country opens our hearts, our minds, our worlds and how golden moments come to pass that return you to the essence of what matters most.

The village was celebrating their patron saint’s day with a dinner to be held in the piazza (the entire village was invited).  It also coincided with tombola (Bingo) night for the locals.  I watched as the piazza first filled with folks of all ages. Most of the elderly were dressed to the nines – many having come from the surrounding countryside to play; each clutching their  Tombola card.  A band soon marched up the main street to usher in the start – a band

Waiting for Tombola!

comprised of young and old, each clearly enjoying their role.  Tombola soon began and the locals enthusiastically played until the finish.  The band departed the way it had come and preparations turned to the festa about to begin. The tables had been laid out under the loggia during the day. Montalcino is a huge archery village and divided into four quartiere (or ‘quarters’) normally fierce rivals but this evening, each quartiere prepared food for the meal with everyone pitching in to help.  After we took our food, we found a spot at a table, happily chatting with our neighbors while munching on fresh fava beans and spring pecorino.  Old and young mingled.

Dinner under la loggia

Following the meal, together we all walked up to the top of the hill. Traffic was halted along the road. The streetlights were turned off. (Try that one in America!)  The band returned. Fireworks began above the fortress.

It was during the fireworks when the band played the Montalcino anthem and everyone sang along that I realized how special this evening was for me.  One little village coming together to celebrate not only life but their way of life.  Long held traditions that still mattered. I was humbled and grateful to be part of this evening, even in the smallest way.  And now I find myself tucked back at home with a smile still on my face, reminding myself to slow down, to celebrate the little things in life, and to hold close what matters most. And that, for me, is the beauty of travel.

The post The Magic of Montalcino and Why I Travel appeared first on Our Italian Table.

The pizza oven at Sotto using white oak. The oven was imported in pieces from Italy and constructed by a master Italian pizza oven craftsman. The oven is still hot enough in the morning that they bake their nicely crusty bread in the oven.

I had an opportunity to hang out in the kitchen with the staff at Sotto earlier this year. Reality food TV would have you believe that professional cooking is all about what you can do with a secret ingredient in 60 minutes, or marshmallow peeps in 20. The truth is that real professionals are focused on repeatably and consistently producing dishes, night after night, that have been fine-tuned way before the actual restaurant service. Every time I asked the staff at Sotto about an order being made, I got quite exact answers about technique, quantity, time and seasoning level.

Don’t get me wrong, the culinary arts are an intensely creative field. It was clear that each dish at Sotto had gone through a fun-but-sometimes-disappointing development process. But consistency is the name of the game in a restaurant, and Sotto does this well night after night. This appreciation prompted me to go home and make fresh pasta three different ways so I could decide the best one. One might think this frustrating, but I found it very satisfying (but not to be done the evening of a dinner party).

Being in the kitchen at Sotto also gave me a better appreciation for the much-maligned white-hat French chef’s concept of “mise en place”. Every spare moment at Sotto was devoted to prepping for the service and cooking ahead the scratch-made ingredients used to make a perfect dish. I even got some advice when I was cleaning peppers for the staff. I had the prep bowls arranged in an odd way that led to odd hand motions. A simple rearranging of the bowls doubled my speed. The suggestion was so natural it seemed to come from second nature among the Sotto staff about seeing something out of place and correcting it.

Left to right – Juan, Daniel, Merrin and yours truly

That evening, Chef Steve Samson hosted me and taught me how to cook a whole fish on the grill (details below). Staff members Daniel, Merrin, and Juan could not have been more welcoming and open to my constant curiosity. Daniel was at the pasta station, Merrin on pizza, salads and desserts, and Juan manned the white-hot white-oak-fired grill.

Sotto is distinctive in that the “front of the house” staff and the kitchen staff work so well together. They are one team and work great together seamlessly. I think back to my high school days as a busboy at a Chinese-Italian-American restaurant in my hometown (yes, really!) when the Chinese chefs would chase waiters out of the kitchen with knifes after an argument. Or my waiter days in college when chefs reduced servers to tears over how quickly food got picked up. This is not Sotto. There, folks work well together and like each other. It’s really all about the tone that’s set by Chefs Steve and Zach.

The fish flipper and Mr. fish

How to Grill a Fish

At Sotto they use Orata (sea bream) for this dish. I used striped sea-bass on my home grill. Chef Steve gave me just a few really simple steps conquer what seems like an impossible task.

1. Have the right equipment — a fish flipper (this probably has a more professional sounding name) and a pair of tongs.
2. Take the cleaned fish and season the inside well with salt and pepper. Gently stuff with lemon slices and herbs. I used Rosemary, sage and oregano from my garden.
3. Make sure the fish skin is dry. Use a paper towel to dry the fish very well.
4. Oil the hot grill with olive oil. Just dip some paper towels in olive oil and rub on the metal grill using the tongs.
5. Place the fish on the grill on a diagonal and DON’T MOVE IT. The fish will let you know when it’s ready to flip it. The fish will release when the skin is cooked. Test it by lifting the fish up by the tail to see if it’s released from the grill.
6. Now for the flip. Using the tongs by grabbing the tail, raise the fish guiding it with the fish flipper. Now holding the fish with the fish flipper, reposition the tongs to the center of the fish and flip to the other side.
7. Now the same goes for the other side. The fish will release when done. Using both the fish flipper and the tongs, remove to a serving platter.

I brushed the fish with a simple Sicilian marinade right after it came off the grill. Bagna Oreganata is 1/4 cup each of white wine and olive oil, a small pinch of dried oregano, 1 minced clove of garlic, salt and pepper. Combine and whisk. Brush over the hot fish.

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Our driveway became a banquet hall for our rehearsal dinner in 2008

2006 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna DOC Rosso was a recommendation from The Wine House  in West Los Angeles (just east of the 405 on Cotner north of Pico) for the rehearsal dinner of our 2008 wedding. We had quite a few bottles left over, but now we’re down to our last one, which I imagine we might open this June, at five years out (unless we can manage to leave it in the wine fridge until our tenth anniversay — the wine clearly has enough substance to make it that long). It was an excellent choice for a special dinner celebration with a diverse menu: not too expensive to serve 45 people (under $20), complex yet light, subtle and smooth, something like a Pinot Noir yet unmistakeably Italian. It paired well with everything from the shrimp appetizers to the lamb “lollipops” our family made for everyone that night (with a big table down the driveway of our house). The 2006 might be hard to find these days, but more recent vintages are available.

The wine is produced from vineyards on the slopes of Mount Etna, using indigenous Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Capuccio grapes. They are grown organically by a team that has worked hard to resurrect the Etna region as a top wine producer. The wine is a great value — not much more expensive than some of the wines we previewed from the mass market, but worth the search.

A more recent favorite is 2008 Passopisciaro, recommended by our neighborhood wine merchants in Los Angeles, Du Vin Wines. Passopisciaro is also from Mount Etna, blended with the same varietals as the Tenuta, but with a designation of IGT. (As we have discussed before, while the DOC and DOCG designations are meant to be guarantees of quality, some of the most interesting and creative producers don’t want to be limited by the requirements of qualifying for the strictly controlled DOC and DOCG designations, and so work within an IGT — Indicazione Geografica Tipica — to have more latitude to create just the wine they are after.)

The Passopisciaro has a higher alcohol content (15%, versus 14% for the Tenuta), and this does show a bit — over time it will undoubtedly mellow, and can be opened anytime for the next 8-10 years. But the acidity, substance, and long finish of this excellent wine justify the higher price (in the $35-dollar range). The silky texture coats the mouth with rich hints of orange peel, iron, minerals, and dark red fruit. It is a multi-layered experience.

It’s almost surprising that both these wines are made from the same varietals, because the Passopisciaro is a bigger, denser wine. But this is the magic of intentional, creative, thoughtful winemaking. Both are wonderful wines to drink, with very different characters, but tons of versatility, and unmistakably Italian.

Both these wines are examples of the best Sicily has to offer, and demonstrate how rich, complex, and rewarding Sicilian wines can be — and what a great value! While there is plenty of wine from Sicily available, much of it harks back to the not-so-distant past when imported wine from Italy — especially from the south — was more about quantity than quality. Producers like Passopisciaro are working to change all that, and we applaud not only their efforts but the outcomes, which we enjoy whenever we want a full-bodied, complex, rich, smooth accompaniment to big southern Italian — or any Italian — cuisine.

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I can honestly say that I only meant to make one pesto yesterday. Really. My goal was to recreate a simple, unique pesto that I have had in my mind for a few weeks since perusing photos of my trips to Sicily….a delightful pesto typically made from pistachios grown around Bronte, Sicily and their wonderfully sharp pecorino.  So yesterday afternoon after a just spectacular spring day here on the east coast, I headed to the local farm market intent on making pasta with pistachio pesto for dinner. However, the fish at the market was incredibly fresh. Uh-oh. I couldn’t resist. So now with fresh fish in the basket, I needed a topping for this beauty..nothing too overpowering; just enough to highlight the freshness of my catch (pun intended )!  Well, thought I, why not two pestos? One pistachio based for a side of pasta and one tomato based for my little fish friend?  Ta-dah! I had a sparkle in my eye….a pesto festa was born!

First up-was the pistachio pesto.  Friends used to make this one in Sicily and I hope I am remembering the ingredients correctly. They used almonds along with pistachios. A few Sicilian recipes online also used almonds so I went with my instincts on this one. You will need to blanch the almonds but the process is very quick and rather fun. Just take peeled almonds (the kind we typically find here in the markets) and toss them in boiling water for about 4 or 5 minutes. Drain and allow them to cool a tad. Then just take each almond and pinch – the skin comes right off. It actually is rather fun as you can aim the almonds at the bowl and see who gets the most almonds IN the bowl versus elsewhere. Quite fun for a Sunday afternoon! Next up was the pesto from Panelleria. I used a recipe from Academia Barilla which is shown below. I added a few notes to clarify the instructions a tad.  You can use these pestos as a topping for fish, over pasta, spread on grilled crostini, on a pizza or as a spread on a sandwich – the sky is the limit.

I have to admit that I now have enough pesto to feed a crowd – so if you are in the neighborhood, just come on by for a taste!

Buon appetito, Michele

Pistachio Pesto (‘Pistu cu Pistacchiu’ in Sicilian)

Ingredients:

6 ounces unsalted almonds, blanched and peeled

6 ounces unsalted pistachios, shelled

1/2 cup parsley

1/2 cup basil

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup pecorino cheese, grated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Blanch the almonds (ok this is easier than you think): Toss the shelled almonds in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain. Squeeze each almond between your fingers and the skin should easily slip off.

2. Toss the first 4 ingredients (almonds, pistachios, parsley, basil) into the food processor and blend. Add in the olive oil with the processor running.  Place in a bowl and stir in the cheese and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Taste – adjust seasonings. Ready to go!

Pantelleria Pesto  (‘Ammogghiu’ in Sicilian)

Adapted from: Academia Barilla website 

Ingredients:

1 pound tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic

2 handfuls basil leaves

1 leaf of mint

1 sprig oregano

Chili pepper

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt

15 minutes preparation

The post A Sicilian Pesto Festa: Pistachio Pesto and Pantelleria Pesto appeared first on Our Italian Table.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients and Directions:

• 1 pound fresh sardines, cleaned – see note 1
• Extra virgin oil olive
• 2 anchovies packed in olive oil, drained
• 1 medium-to-large head of fennel, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup raisins – plumped by soaking in hot water for 15 minutes
• 1/4 cup white wine
• Pinch saffron
• 1 pound bucatini pasta (or spaghetti)
• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
• Breadcrumbs, toasted – see note 2

Note 1: Sardines — first off, you can use canned sardines if you can’t find fresh ones or don’t want to clean them. This would be the time to buy higher-quality sardines. Use 2 or 3 4-ounce cans instead of 1 pound fresh sardines. Drain the oil and chop as indicated.

If you use fresh sardines, cleaning them is messy but easy. Follow these steps:

1. Cut off the heads and fins but not the tails
2. Remove the scales (they rub off with your fingers)
3. Slit the body down the belly, remove and discard the guts and rinse under cold water
4. Holding the fish in your hand, belly up, run your finger down the inside of the belly to open like a book
5. Remove the backbone with your other hand breaking it at the tail
6. Rinse again

Note 2: Breadcrumbs, toasted – Simply toast breadcrumb in a small skillet pan over medium flame stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove to a bowl when browned (important to remove from skillet). Alternatively, add a little olive oil to the pan over medium heat. Add some anchovies and chopped garlic.  Stir until the anchovies dissolve. Add breadcrumbs and still until the breadcrumbs toast and become a dark golden brown.

Directions:

1. Reserve 2 whole cleaned sardines (4 filets) for garnish and rough chop the remaining sardines. If using canned sardines, skip the garnish.
2. In a small non-stick skillet, warm one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Fry the reserved sardines on both sides until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Separate the two sardines (if using fresh sardines) into 4 fillets for the garnish.
3. Heat the white wine (in a small bowl in a microwave for 30 seconds works great) and add the pinch of saffron. Leave to steep for 15 minutes.
4. In a large skillet pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the fennel until golden brown. Remove to a bowl and reserve.
5. Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and add the anchovies. Stir around with a wooden spoon until the anchovies have dissolved. Add the onions to the pan and saute until translucent.
6. Add the reserved caramelized fennel. Drain the raisins thoroughly and add as well. Also add the wine with the saffron.



7. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon to combine well, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
8. Cook the pasta to 1 minute less then the package directions.
9. Drain but reserve some of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the pan with the sardine mixture.
10. Over medium heat, slowly stir the sardine mixture and pasta with a wooden spoon for 1 minute to let the pasta absorb the sauce’s flavor. Add a little pasta water if the mixture becomes too dry.
11. Serve the pasta in bowls and top with the breadcrumbs and a reserved sardine fillet (if using fresh sardines). You can also drizzle a little high-quality olive oil over the pasta just before serving.

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Four BevMo Sicilians, all Nero d’Avola

Our local wine shop offers a small but interesting range of Sicilian wines

First things first: how did I manage to spell incorrectly the greatest of Sicilian varietals in my first Sicilian post? I wish I could blame it on the wine, but I hadn’t had any when I started spelling Nero d’Avola with an “i.” Many apologies, but I’m sure my credibility has been shattered in many minds. I will work to restore it.

Meantime, let’s check in on the assortment I picked up in my recent quest for easily accessible Sicilian wines.

Notalusa — not-a bad-a! This inexpensive BevMo! (a big box beverage store in the western USA) selection was what you might expect for under $15, but not undrinkable. For the price, it’s not a bad choice, and it is from Sicily.

Villa Tonino –  An excellent value at around $10 from our local wine merchant Du Vin Wines. This agreeable Nero d’Avola brings the full experience of the varietal out, without bitterness or blandness. A full, complex wine for the price, and an excellent introduction to Nero d’Avola.

Morgante, Gina, and Vino dei Fratelli — sorry, dear reader, but I couldn’t make myself open these wines to try them. Just not worth the calories and my meager weeknight alcohol allowance. If anyone out there has tried them, please let me know what you thought. I’m afraid I may not be up to the task of assessing the offerings at BevMo! in the future, so you’re on your own. Costco is another story, of course, but there isn’t a Costco near us, so for now you’re on your own there too.

Planeta La Segreta — a very appealing $10 Sicilian with good heritage — the Planeta name means dependable wines for the price.

The other two wines pictured I will write about soon.

At the end of the day, if you’re trying a recipe from Sicily, try a Sicilian wine! They’re not impossible to find, and one of the great lessons of Italian cuisine is that the wines of a particular region pair perfectly with the food of that region. Nero d’Avola is a wonderful varietal, and while it works best with bigger foods, the flavors of Sicily are big themselves. So pair up and enjoy!

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A few years back, I was on a mission to visit as many of the islands of Italy as I could.  I still have quite a few to go but managed to visit Sardinia, Capri, the Aeolian islands, the little islands off Venice and my much loved Sicily. In August 2008, I set my sights on the island of Pantelleria, a tiny speck of land that sits closer to Tunisia than it does to Sicily and home to the famed caper berry.  My visit to the island was and continues to be simply one of the most memorable trips of my life. I blogged about this very special island when I returned. You can find those posts below:

Pantelleria – Hugged by an Island

Insalata Pantesca

Ricotta and Mint Ravioli in a Sage-Brown Butter Sauce

Daughter of the Wind

Weekly Photo Challenge: Journey

I fell in love with the wild nature of the island – a dramatic outpost where the winds of North Africa blow from across the sea.  I learned more than I ever thought possible about caper berries. I sampled the freshest ricotta I had ever tasted. I spent evenings with new friends who befriended me after learning I was traveling solo. I had a Giorgio Armani sighting. I spent hours driving around the wild fennel fringed roads. I lingered for hours over lunch near the sea, chatting with the wonderfully warm islanders.  I was almost stranded after taking a wrong turn down what I mistakenly thought was a road and turned out to be an old lava field (oops.)

I loved the little island so much that I returned in October of that same year, a time of year when there were no direct flights to the island.  After landing in Palermo, I had a driver take me to Trapani where I boarded an overnight ferry to the island.  I shared my overnight cabin with 3 Italian ladies on their way to the island for a brief vacation.  As my friends chatted way into the morning hours, I lay in my top bunk staring out at the sea from my little porthole, feeling exhilarated and exotic, one of those rare, special moments when I truly understood why I find travel so intoxicating and so transforming.

One afternoon, after a few hours spent hiking along the sea, I wandered into a restaurant in town, La Risacca. There I had the most amazing pasta dish prepared with little island shrimp, fresh breadcrumbs and toasted almonds.  Almonds have found their way into many a Pantescan dish due to the Arab influences from the land not so far off its shores.  I attempted to re-create the dish when I returned home and since that time, have made my version time and time again, each bite always taking me back to those magical days on the little wild island. I made this dish again last week for dinner and thought you might enjoy as well.

Hope you enjoy its unusual flavor as much as I do,

Baci,

Michele

Pasta with Shrimp and Toasted Almonds and Breadcrumbs

Ingredients:

About 1/2 pound of pasta of your choice (I like this best with spaghetti or something similar)

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided)

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)

1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs

3/4 cup fresh ground almonds

1 lb. uncooked, peeled, deveined shrimp (I used smaller shrimp as they did in Pantelleria)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 cloves garlic, diced

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 cup pasta cooking water

Chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. In a large pot, cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

2. In the meantime, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds and breadcrumbs and saute until the crumbs are just golden (approximately 8-10 minutes).  Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Wipe out skillet.

3. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet over medium high heat. Add the shrimp and saute until the shrimp are opaque (about 4-6 minutes). Season with salt and pepper and remove shrimp from pan. Set aside.

4. Melt remaining teaspoon of olive oil and butter to the skillet. Add in the garlic and saute until fragrant and golden, about 2 minutes. Add in the white wine and allow to simmer until slightly reduced. Add the shrimp back in to the skillet. Adjust seasonings.

5. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and mix well. Add about 1/2 the reserved cooking water. Toss and saute briefly.

6. Stir in about 2/3 of the almond/breadcrumb mixture and toss. Add in remaining pasta water if a bit dry.

7. Put in serving dish, top with remaining almond/breadcrumb mixture. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

Serve and enjoy!

The post The Magical Little Island of Pantelleria: Pasta with Shrimp, Toasted Almonds and Breadcrumbs appeared first on Our Italian Table.