Duck breast with tarocco risotto

Tarocco oranges are the famous blood oranges from Sicily. Their soft flesh is almost seedless, juicy, and sweet and the colour varies from orange with some light pink to deep ruby red. Their sea on is fairly short; from winter to spring. 

In a French guidebook about Sicily, I happened to notice a local dish: risotto with tarocco and saffron. Because some sweet fruit goes very well with duck breast I got the inspiration for the following recipe. The combination was so delicious that this recipe is to be repeated whenever tarocco oranges are in season.

2 servings

1 duck breast, magret de canard

120 ml risotto rice

1 tarocco blood orange

Olive oil

1-2 shallots

1 clove garlic

150 ml white wine

1 dose saffron, in filaments

About 500 ml chicken stock

2 handfuls of grated Parmesan

Peel and chop the tarocco blood orange into fairly small chunks. Set aside, these will be added to the risotto when it is cooked at about the same time as the Parmesan. 

Cook the risotto the classic way. Add the saffron to the risotto early when you start adding wine and stock to the risotto. Saffron filaments need time to develop their distinctive flavour in warm liquid and to give a nice colour to the dish. Cooking risotto takes about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the criss-crossed duck breast over medium heat 10 and 8 minutes per side starting with the skin side. Place the duck on carving board and slice.

Divide the duck and risotto on the plates. Serve with some greens, for example fried courgette slices or steamed broccoli.

Madonie, Sicily: Pizzo Carbonara

Pizzo Carbonara (1979 m), the second highest summit in Sicily  after Etna, can easily be reached along marked trails from Piano Battaglia in the Madonie Regional Nature Park.

We bought the 3 € hiking map in Cefalù, but it gave a more general information about hikes in the Madonie, not detailed info about specific itineraries. We did some research beforehand and concluded that it is best to do the hike counterclockwise. The trail number was 551, and clearly marked white/red.

Meadow in Piano Battaglia

Trail551 leaving Piano Battaglia

Good markings to Carbonara

Pizzo Carbonara 1h

Trail551 to Pizzo Carbonara

Approaching Pizzo Carbonara

Pizzo Carbonara summit

Pizzo Carbonara view southwest

551 trail leaving Pizzo Carbonara

Deer near Pizzo Carbonara

Coast seen from Carbonara trail

Autumn parmigiana

 This is a rich dish best served with some beef, like a nice fillet steak, on a dark evening. A glass of good red wine and a green side salad will complete the meal.

2 servings

1 aubergine

Olive oil

About 300 g tasty organic tomato sauce

A handful of basil leaves

1-2 cloves of garlic

2 handfuls of freshly grated parmesan

Freshly ground black pepper

About 100 g full fat goat cheese cut into small pieces 

Wash the aubergine and cut into thin slices. Fry them in olive oil over medium high heat on both sides until golden. Set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 210° C roast.

Oil an oven-proof dish with some olive oil. Place half of the aubergine slices in the bottom. Top with half of the basil leaves, some pressed garlic, black pepper, and half of the tomato sauce. Top with half of the goat cheese and parmesan. Follow with a second layer the same way.

Sprinkle with some olive oil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. 

Madonie, Sicily: Hike to the Quacella Ridge

When visiting the Madonie Park in Sicily, we had decided to do the Vallone Degli Angeli loop hike as it was considered one of the most popular walks in the region. A description in English can be read here. On the other hand, good topographic updated hiking maps are not available in Italy, signposts can be old and explanations unclear.

Start of hike SP119 road

Soon after leaving trailhead

Shortcut path from trailhead

Polizzi Generosa viewed from trail

Madonna degli Angeli trail closed

Crossroads after forest hut

Trail forks to Quacella

On trail to Quacella

Portella Colla seen from Quacella

Quacella southwest view

Madonna degli Angeli Valley

Nebrodi fir

Kale, red rice and green lentils

Red rice has a nutty flavour and a high nutritional value due to its antioxidants, anthocyanins, which give the red colour. Red rice is now cultivated also in Camargue, in the South of France, so you can choose a local product. Most of the brown rice comes from Asia. 

Kale is one of the healthiest greens. And organic local kale is an even better choice for your dishes. 

The following recipe makes a nice, super healthy lunch in autumn and winter. By topping each bowl with a soft-cooked egg you can complete the vegetable proteins from lentils with some animal protein.

2 servings

4- 5 sprigs of organic kale

3 tbsp. olive oil

About 2 handfuls of cooked red rice

About 200 ml cooked green lentils

1 shallot, chopped

1 tsp. dried Provençal herbs

Freshly ground black pepper

2 soft-cooked eggs

2 tsp. capers

Cook the red rice and green lentils according to the advice on the packages. Red rice needs about 40 minutes cooking time and green lentils normally about 25 minutes. Drain and set aside. 

Meanwhile wash the kale leaves. Warm the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and cook the kale leaves for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the shallot, herbs, and some black pepper to the pan and continue cooking for about 5- 10 minutes. Stir now and again.  Add the rice and lentils to the pan and stir.

Divide the mixture into two bowls and top with a soft-cooked egg. Sprinkle the eggs with the capers and serve.

Cefalù, Sicily: La Rocca

The famous cliff ( 268 m), La Rocca, overlooking Cefalù, Sicily  certainly is one of the major attractions of the historical town located on the northern coast of the island.

We decided to hike up to the summit together with numerous other visitors on the first day of our visit.  Undoubtedly most hikers go there because of the magnificent views even though several medieval ruins can be explored by the trail and on the mountaintop.

Corso Ruggero Cefalu

Cefalu Cathedral

Stairs in Cefalu

Near viewing point above Cefalu

View east from La Rocca Cefalu

View west from La Rocca Cefalu

Scallops with citrus sauce

This elegant recipe is at its best in the Mediterranean winter when local citrus fruit are in season. Blood orange will give a delicious red colour to the citrus sauce. Serve the dish as a first course or a light lunch combined with some salad, goat cheese, and bread.

2 servings

6- 8 scallops

1 orange

½ lemon

1 tbsp. olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

A pinch of Piment d’Espelette or other mild chilli powder

Chopped fresh herbs

Press the orange and lemon halve and cook the juices in a saucepan until reduced by half. 

Cook the scallops in 200° C oven for 4 minutes. Slice the scallops and divide on the plates.

Whisk the olive oil in the reduced citrus sauce. Grind in some black pepper. Pour the sauce over the scallops and sprinkle with a little piment d’Espelette. Decorate with some herbs and serve at once.

Cime de Restaud above Menton

The most impressive coastal mountains in Alpes-Maritimes are located in the eastern part of the department, notably those bordering Italy.

We have frequently used the perched village of Castellar (350 m) above Menton as the starting point for our hikes. Having climbed up to Roc de l’Ormea (1132 m) some years ago, we now wanted to hike to the neighbouring Cime de Restaud (1148 m) on the Italian border.

Castellar

GR51 above Castellar

Towards Col du Berceau

Trail to Col du Berceau

Menton seen from Trail

Nearing Col du Berceau

Roc de l'Ormea seen from Restaud

Ventimiglia seen from Restaud

View to north Cime de Restaud