Ancidda a Picchi-Pácchiu all'Auruduci
Region: Italy, Sicily
Category: Stews
Season: Any
Difficulty: Labor Intensive
Sicilians are noted for culinary preparations with
vulgar names. It's not clear when this
tradition began, but many of these dishes are sexual in nature and considered part of what would be called cucina erotica.  (Sicily) (3)LO600.jpg)
One particular style of preparation--and actually the name
of the sauce in a variety of preparations--is called picchi-pácchiu, referring to various sauces made with tomatoes and
onion with the addition, depending on the cook, of eggplant, anchovy, basil,
and garlic. It is said the word has no meaning--just a silly made-up word. However, some lexicographers suggest it is a corruption and diminutive of pacchiuni, a vulgar Sicilian word for the vagina, intimating that
the deliciousness of the sauce can be likened to the eroticism of
cunnilingus. Another meaning to the word
pácchiu is buttocks. Yet another theory links the word to the
Italian word pacche which refers to
the kinds of extravagant abundance one would find in the imaginary medieval
utopia of the Land
of Cockaigne and is said
by some linguists to derive from the Old High German word pahho meaning belly or buttocks.
As far as the sauce goes, it is a sauce that was born in Palermo but is found throughout Sicily now and can be used over spaghetti
although a number of dishes are done in this style, such as babbaluci a pic-pac, snails pic-pac style. Pic-pac
or picchi-pácchiu is always the name
of the sauce.
It seems
likely, using volume 1, page 105 of R.
Dozy's Supplément aux dictionnaires
arabes published in 1881 [1991], that the word may actually come from the
Tunisian Arabic word bakbak, meaning to chop
small, which derives from the Spanish word picar
as used by the sixteenth-century lexicographer
Pedro de Alcala after the transformation of the phoneme "p" into "b" as
is typical in Arabic. On the other hand,
the word may derive from the Hindi pakku, meaning cooked, ripe, or
solid, akin to the Greek passein, to
cook. This word has entered the English
language as pukka which can also mean genuine, authentic.
In place of eel, you can use monkfish, angelshark, or
swordfish. If using eel, have the fishmonger remove its skin and although it's nice serving the eel boneless that's where the work involved will enter. To make it a bit easier go ahead and cook the eel on the bone then remove the flesh after it's cooked. In the U.S. eel is most commonly found around Christmas time, so that's when you're most likely to make this preparation.
Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
Preparation Time: 1:45 hours
Olive oil for frying
1 large eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium onions, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut in half, seeds squeezed out, and grated against the largest holes of a grater down to the peel
6 salted anchovy fillets, rinsed
5 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
5 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves
3/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled and dissolved in 4 tablespoons water or white wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 pounds boneless and skinless common eel, cut into
2-inch pieces
1. Preheat the olive oil for frying to 375 degrees F.
2. Cook the eggplant, in batches, until golden brown, about 6 minutes in all. Remove and drain on paper towels.
3. In a large casserole, heat the extra-virgin olive
oil over medium-high heat, then cook, stirring frequently, the onions and garlic until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, anchovies, parsley, basil,
saffron, salt, and pepper, stir, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low
and simmer 30 minutes. Add the eel and
reserved eggplant, raise the heat to medium-low and push the eel down into the
sauce. Cover, and cook until the eel is
firm, about 25 minutes. Serve hot with the bread.
Note:
If using swordfish, the cooking time will be less so check.
Posted: 01/03/2008