Today, with great pride, I want to talk to you about a dish that belongs to the gastronomic tradition of my territory, and more specifically, my hometown! From the fruit and vegetable stalls of Acireale and its province, I present to you the purple turnip cabbage more commonly known as ‘cavolo trunzu of Aci‘! For a long time, it was one of the most prosperous native productions of these areas of Sicily, only to disappear for several years. Its peculiarity, appreciated both for its beneficial properties and its taste, is mainly due to the lava-rich soil, which gives it the typical purplish color, capable of influencing its very taste. Only recently, for these numerous qualities, it has been rediscovered and has become a Slow Food Presidium, thanks to a small group of producers who decided to follow sustainable farming practices. Some time ago, I also told you about its versatility, as it can be enjoyed in every part, even raw in a salad as our grandparents often did. However, if there is one representative dish of the Aci lands so rich in history and myths, it is certainly pasta co’ trunzu. A main course that in the city where I grew up, has become a true staple of Sicilian cuisine! Tradition dictates that trunzu is enjoyed strictly with a type of short pasta, but nothing prevents you from using spaghetti or bucatini. Few and simple ingredients, all local and without contamination, that offer incredibly intense flavors to the palate where a scarpetta will be mandatory!
CURIOSITY: Did you know that the name “cavolo trunzu“, was once a playful nickname used by the inhabitants of Catania to tease those from Acireale? As ‘trunzu’ was a way to refer to the ‘jacitani’ with the expression ‘turnip heads’ or “trunzu heads”! “Aci babbana civitas tronzorum cavolorumque magna mater est” or “Acireale foolish city is the great mother of trunzi cabbages”, a recurring rhyme in local rivalries where trunzo, derived from Spanish, meaning the stalk, stands for stubborn, hard to understand! And even today, this sort of Etna and city superiority over the countryside seems to linger, albeit less prominently than back then!
If you are Sicilian or like Sicilian cuisine, I invite you to try these delicious preparations:
- LINGUINE WITH FISH EGGS SAUCE (Sicilian Recipe)
- PASTA WITH SARDINES AND WILD FENNEL (Traditional Catanese Recipe)
- CASERECCE WITH YELLOW CHERRY TOMATOES, CAPPER CRUMBLE, AND TOASTED BREADCRUMBS
- PASTA WITH TENERUMI, POTATOES, AND CHICKPEAS (Sicilian Revised Recipe)
- FARFALLE IN CAULIFLOWER AND PISTACHIO CREAM
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while costing you nothing extra!
- 3 bunches red turnip cabbage
- 320 g rigatoni
- 2 fresh scallions
- 400 g tomato puree (I use Sicilian cherry tomatoes)
- 90 g Sicilian pecorino cheese (aged)
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (+ as needed)
- as needed salt
- as needed pepper
Tools
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pot
- 1 Pan
- 1 Slotted spoon
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Lid
Steps
Start by cleaning the bunches of turnip cabbage, removing the stems and the tougher, yellowed, or damaged outer leaves.
Gather all the green and tender leaves, detaching them from the head, then remove the central rib with your hands or using a small knife.
Peel the turnips removing the outer, hard, and tough part.
Slice the leaves into thin strips and cut the turnips into pieces that are not too thick.
In a saucepan, bring lightly salted water to a boil, then drop in the turnips and let them cook for about 15 minutes, stirring them occasionally.
Meanwhile, in a large pan, brown the fresh scallions sliced into rings with 4 tablespoons of oil
Add the cherry tomato puree, cover with a lid, and let cook for 10 minutes.
Drain the trunzi with a slotted spoon, checking they are cooked. If the tines of a fork can easily penetrate the flesh, they are ready, but keep in mind that the turnips should be soft, but not mushy. Keep aside their cooking water.
Then pour the cooked turnips into the sauce and cook for a few more minutes just to blend everything together.
In the same pot where you prepared the trunzo cabbage, boil the pasta.
Drain the pasta al dente, that is, 2 minutes before the cooking time indicated on the package, add it to the sauce with a ladle of cooking water and let everything blend together.
Plate, drizzle with a swirl of raw oil and sprinkle with a generous grating of Sicilian pecorino.
And voilà… the pasta with cavolo trunzu di Aci is ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appétit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Tips, Notes, Variations and Suggestions
🟣If you prefer a spicier taste, I also recommend adding a pinch of fresh chili together with the sauté or some chili powder at the end of cooking.
🟣For an even richer and more delicious version, try adding to the turnip cabbage sauce a handful of black olives from Etna or your local area.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What can I substitute for cavolo trunzo?
If you can’t find this typical vegetable from the Acireale area, yellow and white turnip work well as substitutes. While cabbage, always cut into julienne, can replace the leaves of cavolo trunzo.
How can I substitute Sicilian pecorino?
You can use any cheese from your local area as long as it is aged.
