Sicilian dominations, Cagliostro’s chicken in pipirata sauce (XVIII century)
«I found inspiration for this recipe in the book by Pino Correnti, the Golden Book of Sicilian food and wine, in which a certain spiritual scene transpires: Giuseppe Balsamo, count of Cagliostro born in 1743, is questioned about his favorite dish. He replies – with a full mouth – “that incredibly spicy number: puddastri ca pipirata”. I have instinctively modified the dish by replacing the pipirata (a sauce made with peppers and chili) with a homemade harissa sauce that is just spicy enough to leave heat in the mouth. A mediumistic dish, therefore, dually inspired.»
Two Aia Gaia chicken thighs are braised skin-on, served with their skins crispy. Two sauces accompany the dish: salsa pipirata – cinnamon, ginger, cloves, honey with macerated rosehip and elderflower – and salsa harissa – cumin, cardamom, yellow squash, bell pepper, and chili pepper.
Giuseppe Balsamo once described: I do not consider myself from a certain period or a certain place; aside from time and space, my spiritual being lives in eternal existence…
Beyond the Count’s many scandals, it must be acknowledged that Cagliostro was able to foresee the French revolution as the guillotine of the sovereigns, and that his long life elixir (Egyptian wine and refreshing powders) cured many sick and dying – without compensation – and was widely diffused.
Ciccio Sultano
a practical mind
