Ciaki Ciuka: our Pantescan-style ratatouille. The recipe
The pantescan ciaki ciuka reminds us of a French ratatouille or a Sicilian canazzo stewed vegetable dish with potatoes.
It’s a perfect side dish for summer that you could prepare early and also serve cold with rice.
Like many typical recipes, each family has their own version.
Today, we’ll tell you about ours!
INGREDIENTS
For 4 people:
4 Pantescan zucchini
1 black Sicilian eggplant
300g cherry tomatoes
4 potatoes
1 onion
a handful of salt-preserved capers from Pantelleria
a few basil leaves
breadcrumbs to taste
toasted almonds, chopped
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper
PROCESS
First we suggest you soak the capers in water to remove the salt.
Cut the onion in thin slices and saute them in a deep-edged pan on low with olive oil.
As this cooks, chop the vegetables into medium-sized cubes, as evenly as possible.
When the onion browns a bit add the vegetables, capers and basil.
Cook on medium heat for around 20 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer the vegetables to a baking tray, add the toasted almonds and cover with a sprinkle of breadcrumbs and drizzle of olive oil.
Bake for another 15 minutes at 180°C.
The ciaki ciuka is ready!
Let it cool and enjoy this eruption of summer flavors.
ORIGINS
The phrase ciaki ciuka arrived in Pantelleria from the lands of North Africa.
Its Berber origin, chak chouka, describes a tangled mixture of colours, flavors and seasons, which create this beautiful dish.
It’s an art of weaving together lands of sun and the sea, of sandy deserts, and rocks formed from volcanic lava but it also ranges from carpets to baskets and hats, but also through vegetable gardens (in Pantelleria: magnano) where seasonal vegetables, according to their own colors and flavors, are woven in the kitchen to become a tasty dish.
It is not just the idea of simply assembling the various types of vegetables and greens, but allowing each of them to intertwine causing an explosion (or rather an eruption) of flavors, so intense and strong as to make you feel the goodness of the earth.
