Written on behalf of Emanuele Malara, Ciccio's Pizza and Gelato.
Every Chef has a dish that takes them home. For Emanuele Malara, that place is Messina – the sapphire blue edge of Sicily where the sun meets the sea and where food is both inheritance and art.
Growing up, whenever his mother wanted her children to eat fish, she knew exactly what to make. Her swordfish pasta.
Think thick slices of pesce spada, sweet golden raisins, toasted pine nuts and velvety fried eggplant. The perfume of the sea mingled with the subtle sweetness of dried fruit. Flavours that shaped Emanuele’s earliest understanding of food, family and love.
He remembers standing on a wooden stool, eagerly watching his Mother fry the eggplant, always saying: "Friggi la melanzana e lasciala riposare” – "fry the eggplant and let it rest, only then it becomes perfect.”
It wasn’t about just lunch. It was a ritual. The clatter of forks, the scent of garlic in the air, the Summer breeze blowing through the house. Watching his Mother wiping her hands on her apron. Quiet moments that stitched his childhood together.
Years on, whenever he goes back home, that is the first dish he asks her to prepare.
Now the memory has made it way to Australia, not as a pasta, but as a pizza.
At Ciccio’s Pizza and Gelato, Emanuele has transformed those nostalgic flavours into something new, the pesce spada pizza. Built on a contemporary style dough, it’s topped with smoked swordfish, roasted eggplant, pine nuts and raisins. A reimagining of a classic family dish and a love letter to Messina.
The swordfish brings the sea, the eggplant brings comfort, the raisins offer sweetness and the pine nuts offer a subtle crunch. A flavour profile rooted in Southern Italian tradition but married to innovation. Just as Sicily itself is a meeting point of cultures across centuries.
This is a memory that has been made edible, carrying the spirit of Sicily. A reminder that food and traditions evolve with us and that the best dishes are the ones that hold a story within every bite.
The pesce spada pizza is his story. One slice at a time, he invites you to taste the past, feel the sun and remember that sometimes home, no matter how far away, can always be found on a plate.
Passed Down the Table is a heartwarming holiday series celebrating the recipes that transcend time — dishes carried in memory, shaped by hand, and seasoned with stories. From humble kitchens to festive tables, these are the meals that connect generations, one bite at a time.
