La Bella Sicilia!  Beautiful Sicily.  Rugged, Coarse,
Arid, Tropical, Colorful, Animated...this is a land almost manic, extremes of weather, landscape, emotions.  Possibly
the most animated of all Italians, the Sicilians are quick to love and quick to yell...In fact, growing up in a half Sicilian
home I can attessed to the explosions of temper which mimic the flare ups of Mt.Etna on Sicily's east coast.  My nephew
commented at an airport in Sicily, while watching another group of Sicilian travelers communicate (translate, YELL) with
each other, that he sees where we get this attribute from.  I suppose after an Island nation has been run over with almost
every group in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, you get a little edgy....My explosive temper (harnessed by the
happy, ever singing Napoletana side within me) is one of the legacies from my Dad I have inherited.  Viva Sicilia!
BTW, that is a painting of the Harbor of Sciacca above.

     From time to time I will blog post about Sciacca, my paternal ancestral home.  The anchovies so loved in Sicily have
figured in many of my recipes.  I use AGOSTINO RECCA http://www.agostinorecca.com/ anchovies almost exclusevely
since they are considered one of Sicily's best, they are available in most Italian American Salumeria or on line, and
they bring a little of my ancestry directly into my cooking.  Try to find these tasty treats, I always buy them in the bottle,
in oil or salt, with hot pepper or not, choice is yours.


This chicken dish is not a regional Sicilian dish, it is my ode to all ingredients Sicilian. I have included fennel, chicken, olive
oil, anchovy, pignoli, raisin, tomato, hot pepper, onion, caciocavallo cheese, mint and basil, capers, all to harmonious blend
into this 1 skillet dish.  Let's do this...
1 1/2 lb. boneless cubed breast of chicken, salted, and then rinsed under water. Pat dry with paper towels.  Dredge in
a seasoned flour and saute in olive oil for about 5 minutes per side on medium heat.  With a slotted spoon, removed
the cubes to a platter.  Make sure you use salt, pepper, and finely chopped basil in the flour.  This gives a nice herbal
note to the meat before it is added to the sauce.
 Actually my cubes are more like strips.up to you.


In the same skillet, add a little more olive oil, chop one onion and 1/4 cup of finely diced fennel bulb.  Let this saute' till
they are quite soft, about 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring.  Add 2 Anchovy filets, pressing them into the oil, then add
a slice clove of garlic.  Let this saute' together for 4 minutes.  Now add 1/8 cup of Marsala wine.  Let this bubble and
froth for about 5 minutes...salt and pepper...then add 1 28oz can of San Marzanos, crushed with your hands or in a
processor.  Let this come to a boil then let it simmer, for about 15 minutes.  Add a few torn mint leaves, and a few torn
basil leaves, 1 tsp. of well rinsed capers, then the chicken.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp. of red hot pepper flakes.  Simmer for 10
minutes.  Check the sauce for seasoning,adding addtional if necessary, to taste.   Finely dice 1/2 cup of good
caciocavallo cheese.  Sprinkle this over the top and cover for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted
into the top of the dish.  Sprinkle with pecorino and serve.  Serves 4-6, serve with pasta or rice on the side.


All in one pan.  No fourteen pots, pans, etc etc to create a meal that is kind of a play on Chicken Parmigiano, but
with a few flavor twists that will take you to the steamy coast of Sicily....knock back an orange scented iced
Espresso with lots of cane sugar...like Grandma did...such a treat, there was always a Tupperware pitcher of
it in her fridge. Lots of ice.