Palazzolo Acreide is a beautiful Syracuse village with a baroque soul. Greek and Roman occupations have left a visible imprint on the architecture but also on the culinary traditions.
The roots of the preparation of sausage date back to the arrival of the Romans, who always brought pigs and sheep along on their journeys in order to always have meat and milk, essential for subsistence. Each family in Palazzolo A. therefore started to raise one or two black pigs, which soon became an important resource for everyone. The inhabitants shared slaughtering techniques within the community and learned how to get the best from these animals. Among the different preparations, sausage was the one that best allowed the use of different parts of the pig and also to obtain a tasty product. The sausage could be eaten fresh and enrich traditional peasant dishes, or it could be barbecued. The local population also began experimenting with different processes for drying the sausages until an excellent product was obtained that could be eaten all year round.
The sausage of Palazzolo Acreide is a product that tastefully blends local products and is the synthesis of the culinary wisdom of a people. It is a speciality not to be missed and to be tasted on the spot in order to feel the flavours and scents of a unique land that is easy to be fascinated by.
It is distinguished by its particular cut and taste, so much so that today it is rare to find butchers who make the right cut of the sausage according to the original recipe, which is why an association or rather supply chain was set up to preserve the tradition of Palazzolo Acreide sausage, made up of farmers, butchers and restaurateurs.
Today we propose an innovative version of this product created by chef Paolo Didomenico.
Palazzolo Acreide sausage meatball on Arancia di Ribera DOP pesto, stabilised orange, onion shoots and rosemary flowers
(click on the image to watch the video recipe)
For the meatball
500 gr. slow food presidium sausage of Palazzolo A.
1 riberella D.O.P. orange
Thyme honey q.b.
Process
Remove the sausage from the casing and place it in a container together with the orange zest.
Knead the mixture into meatballs.
In a non-stick pan, pour a little honey around and over the meatballs and cook them.
For the pesto of Arancia di Ribera DOP
40 g almonds
80 gr. green courgettes
200 gr. oranges
4 basil leaves
8 leaves of parsley
extra virgin olive oil
orange zest to taste
salt to taste
Process
Blend all ingredients
For the stabilised oranges
Peel 2 oranges and put them in the oven at 110° mixed humidity 50% for 6 minutes.
For the composition of the dish
Put the pesto on a plate and place the sausage meatball in the centre with the stabilised orange on top. To finish, decorate the plate with onion sprouts and rosemary flowers.
Enjoy your meal!
