Messina, · Sicily Techniques

A sealed pastry pie from Messina: a golden short-crust or olive oil pastry encases a filling of swordfish cubed and dressed with capers, olives, tomato, pine nuts, raisins, and fresh basil — the agrodolce marine tradition of Messina. Sealed and baked, the filling steams inside and the flavours meld into something deeply complex. Related to the Palermitan scaccia and the mainland impanata tradition, but distinctive for the swordfish — Messina is the straits-crossing point for swordfish migration.

Messina's most beloved dish: rehydrated stockfish braised with potatoes, green olives, capers, pine nuts, raisins, tomato, and celery — the same Sicilian agrodolce sweet-sour treatment applied to the Nordic dried fish. The Messinesi eat stockfish with an intensity matched nowhere else in Italy — there is a local guild (the Norcini del Pesce Stocco) dedicated to its preparation, and the specific recipes are passed down through families. The potatoes and stockfish exchange moisture during the long braise and become inseparable.