On the second day of our just finished “Secret Sicily” tour, we got our hands dirty while making Trapani-style pesto and fresh busiate pasta (an upcoming post) and this, pictured: Couscous from raw grain! Yes, we practiced the message-style, meditative hand technique that is required to create the proper couscous texture, and we made the…
Tag: foodie
A Different Kind of Sandwich
One of my favorite things to eat in Sicily is panelle and cazzilli stuffed in a seasame seed bun (pictured). Panelle are flat chickpea-flour fritters made with fresh parsley, lemon juice, salt, and olive oil. Cazzilli, which is a vulgar way of saying “little penises,” are potato croquettes made with mashed potatoes, fresh parsley (or…
Pastella: Another Dream from Palermo’s Menu
A snippet from the article I wrote for Dream of Italy‘s April issue about Palermo and its street food… Pastelle, pictured, are deep-fried, hand-held dreams. Vegetables such as broccoli, carduna, artichoke hearts, eggplant, and squash are coated with a thick flour-and-water batter, while sardines are lightly battered. One could compare them with Japanese tempura, yet with…
Sicily’s Rare Goat, the Capra Girgentana
Distinguished by their spiral, tall horns and long hair, this rare breed of goat, called capra girgentana, is valuable for its milk that possesses an equal amount of fat to protein. The name girgentana recalls the old Sicilian name of the city of Agrigento, Girgenti. During the mid-twentieth century, throughout southwestern Sicily, girgentana goats numbered…
Buona Pasquestta! Easter Monday
Pasquetta, or Easter Monday, is a day to celebrate spring’s arrival with good friends. At my cousin Evelina’s home two years ago, that meant firing up the outdoor grill and cooking a big feast featuring local sausages and other specialties. Buona festa!
Your Bread Tells a Story
Bread is a complex subject. Not only in Sicily, but around the world. But here, I’m just going to focus on Sicily. Along with my client Norman, when we traveled together for Enchanting Sicily 2015, we had a running commentary about the different style of breads from town to town within Sicily. The texture, the…
Happy New Year 2017!
Happy New Year! I’m making Sicilian-style lentil soup today. Lentils look like little coins, so Italians eat them to attract good fortune for the year ahead. Bring it on!
Keeping It Simple for Christmas Eve
Very different than our Italian-American tradition for Christmas Eve, which is to have a large, family meal often with fish, my cousins in Bagheria, Sicily have a simple meal for “La Vigilia.” Their tradition is to have sfincione Bagherese (pictured), pan-fried cardoon (artichoke thistle), and maybe a small serving of pasta. They reserve their large,…
The Joy of Pane Cunzato
It’s mid-afternoon, and you feel a little hole in your stomach. You want to eat something satisfying and tasty, yet don’t want to ruin your dinner–this is where pane cunzato, or seasoned bread, comes in. Depending on who makes it, the recipe varies, but essentially, pane cunzato (like the one pictured, from northwestern Sicily) is…
Stirring Sicily, Day 4: Sweet Sensations from Favara
Today during our hands-on cooking class with GoSicily and Zest of Lititz, PA we are in the process of making the very characteristic Favara marzipan lambs, traditionally made for Easter in Sicily. Marzipan is almond paste (almonds and sugar). These are spectacular because in their center, they have sweet pistacchio paste as well. Che buonissimo!…