AuthorBen WatsonCategoryLunch, Spring, Summer, VegetableDifficultyBeginnerWhen chef, Rowley Leigh, suggested serving a frittedda at our, somewhat premature, 'end of covid' celebratory lunch in June, 2021 I thought he was talking a bout an omelette. I missed the lunch because my daughter came back from London with, guess what, covid, so it was a while before I really familiarised myself with Sicilian frittedda. Since then it's become a family staple and I'm particularly partial to extending the primavera theme by adding a few Jersey Royal or Cornish new potatoes. Obviously fresh peas and beans are best but frozen will still give a pretty good result. Just adjust the cooking times accordingly. I also like to add a little preserved lemon. It's not traditional but, with North Africa just across the Strait of Sicily, it doesn't feel too sacrilegious.
Frittedda is a tasty vegetable stew / salad originating in the Sicilian capital, Palermo. Prepared with fresh broad beans, peas, asparagus and artichokes, it’s a ‘primavera’ classic for spring (in Italy) or early summer in the UK and can truly be called “spring on a plate”. The vegetables are slowly sautéed, and gently shaken rather than stirred in order to preserve the textures and flavours of each ingredient – the sweetness of the peas, the pleasant bitterness of the artichokes, and the nutty flavour of broad beans.
These flavours can be rounded with the addition of agrodolce, sauce made with caramelized sugar and vinegar. Our Frittedda will work with the antipasto, as a side dish with the cheese tart of pork, or a vegetarian main course. Back in Palermo, it is often served with panelle – Sicilian chickpea/gram flour fritters.
My artichokes were so young that no choke had formed at the centre; larger ones will have to be quartered and the chokes carefully removed. Fresh peas can be added to the mix, or as a substitute for asparagus.
The agrodolce sauce (one part sugar dissolved in two parts white wine vinegar and reduced by half) can be gently mixed in, warm, at the end. How much you add is a matter of choice. If you're serving frittedda as a side dish, you don't want it too fierce so keep it minimal. If it's as part of an antipasta platter a stronger agrodolce flavour might be in order.
Trim the artichokes, cutting them across their basis and halfway up the bulb, then remove the outside leaves with a sharp knife. Rub the bottoms with lemon and toss in a bowl with vinegar. When they are all done, split them in half, checking there is no choke.
Trim the spring onions, cutting them halfway up the stalk and splitting them in half. Put them in a pan with the artichokes and olive oil. Bring them to a simmer while you pod the broad beans, which should be added five minutes later with the white wine. Simmer, covered, for another five minutes.
Peel the bottom half of the asparagus spears and cut them in half. Add these, together with the peas, to the stew. Season well with salt and pepper and cook gently for another six to seven minutes, or until the asparagus is tender. Turn out on the serving dish and allow to cool. Season with a pinch of sea salt and some milled black pepper, arrange the mint leaves around and sprinkle with a little more very good olive oil.