A cure-all for your heart: cavati with pork gravy

I didn't frequently perform this recipe until my father had been saved from a hearth attack by these cavati with pork gravy. I'll tell you this tale briefly.

We were here in Scoglitti and we was having dinner. It was actually a little party, there were relatives came from Australia and cousins from Florida. They were all very happy to be returned in Sicily for a little holiday, so my father and my mother had cooked for all salami, cavati with pork gravy and grilled sausages. And a 5 kg cassata. There were also a lot red wine.

My father was playing the squeeze box, he's really a maestro.
But I was worried and I told him: "Oh pa', viri ca ccu ssa cosa ti pigghia 'ncuorpu, levacci ma nu ca cciù si biecciu. Manciati a pasta ca viri ca s'arrifridda", that in good english sounds like: "The old squeeze is too much for you daddy, it's really weigh. You are not a young boy anymore, why don't you stay quiet and eat your cavati?"

My father was quite fatigued but fortunately get down the sqeeze box and catched the fork.
Just in time!
He felt ill and we brought him at the hospital immediately. Fortunately was only tachycardia, the physician in the hospital told us my father was saved by Mediterranean diet.
In fact, we consume only Mediterranean pork.

But now stop with thick talk and let's go with cavati!

You need:
for the cavati pasta
- 1 kg cornflour (better abound then in short supply)
- water

Mix water and cornflour until you have a firm dough. Make with your hands long worms having a diameter of 2 cm, and cut them in little blocks. Finally squeeze this blocks with a fork: here we are cavati! Spread them on with a lot of cornflour and cook the pork gravy.

for the pork gravy:
-2 kg pork bacon
-1 kg pork chuk
-1 celery
-3 onions
-2 carrots
-1 garlic head
-olive oil
-bay laurel, 4 leafs
-tomatoes, 1 kg
-a glass of red wine

Cut carrots, celery and onion and fry them with olive oil, low fire, for 30 minutes, adding water if needed. Then cut the meat, boost up the fire and add to fried vegetables. Then add a glass of red wine. When the wine is boiled off, add pealed tomatoes, take down the flame and cover. Now you can go to play scopa (or poker, after all you are Americans): your gravy must stay on fire for 3 hours. Once in a while ensure yourself it's not too much dry. If it is, add some water.

Ok, now you have to boil your cavati. A lot of water, a big pot are needed. Bring water to boiling point, add a handful of salt and throw in the cavati. They will be good when will float up. Take off them from water and mix with pork gravy. Grate on cheese and eat them quickly.

Now I know that cavati can save a life, so I always cook them for my father.
Enjoy!

Just a little and light side dish

Ok. Let's start.
I was only a young boy when my grand mother Matilda, here in Scoglitti, told me:

"Little boy, you have to eat a lot to became a strong a big man. You have to eat a lot and cook your dishes with a lot of olive-oil, because olive oil will make you beautiful."

My grand mother was 4 feet and 11 inches tall and weighed 170 lb. She was beautiful, so I had trusted her.

I've learned from her how to cook an Authentic Sicilian CAPONATA, and now I reveal my secrets to you. Only foolish people can believe that caponata is similar to French ratatouille. The question is simple: caponata is good and ratatuille is stench.
It's a full vegetable recipe, so it's really light (I know, you americans are obsessed by diets). In fact it contains only vegetables.

INGREDIENTS:
- 2 eggplants
- 2 sweet pepperoni
- 2 onions
- 2 stem of celery
- 1 red hot pepper
- a handful of green stoneless olives
- a spoon of capers
- a spoon of sugar
- olive oil (a lot)
- salt (the right)
- vinegar (just a little)

You have to cut the eggplants in big pieces without peeling and put them in a little of water with salt for 1 hour, to take away the bitter.
In the meantime, cut onions and pepperoni pinstriped and celeryin little pieces.

You must cook pepperoni, onion, celery and eggplants SEPARATELY in a frying pan with a lot of olive oil, medium fire, until vegetables are soft and soak of olive oil. Then put all together in a pan, add olives, red pepper and capers, then salt, sugar and finally vinegar.

If you have pine nuts add someone of it.

You have to savour it cold, with fresh olive oil and some fresh basil leafs, with beef steak or other grilled beef. It' just a little and light side dish.

When I finished my caponata, my grand mother always said me: "eat it more, may be are you sick? Just a little" and gave me another dipper. So I've become big, strong and beautiful as her was.
Enjoy.