Tag: pasta
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Pasta Fresca at a Trattoria
Pasta is glorious when its freshly made and served hot at a local, unassuming trattoria. Sure, there are fancy, chef-run restaurants in Sicily, and I do take our guests to those too, but I’ve learned that they prefer family-run local, casual spots, like this one, La Ruota, that I always look forward to patronizing in…
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Savor Sicily, Relish Cavatelli
Savor Sicily on our small-group tour this September 22 to October 4! We have 4 spots left on this multi-sensory, locally seasoned experience that is just a month away. Yes, you could relish this cavatelli pasta and learn how to make it with your own hands too! Discover Sicily at our special, limited-time price of…
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It Holds the Pasta
This Thursday, Aug. 11, the town of Salemi celebrates the 12th Edition of the Sagra della Busiata; That is, a culinary festival dedicated to the corkscrew-shaped, long pasta particular to Trapani province. In this photo, taken in May by Vincent Titone, I am attempting to make busiate. Our Sicilian hostesses in Castellammare del Golfo made…
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Pasta from Scratch
Here’s a way you can really impress your friends: Invite them over for dinner and in front of their eyes, make pasta from scratch! Furthermore, you can say, “I learned how to do this from a local mamma in Sicily.” Oh, yeeeaaah. That’s right, we’ll spend the evening of Day 4 of Experience Sicily’s September…
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Ridge Over Common Forchetta
Cavatelli pasta–a fresh pasta from Sicily–is formed with ridges using your thumb and a fork. Give it a try with Experience Sicily and GoSicily this September 15-22 during our Stirring Sicily trip in conjunction with Zest! Thanks to GoSicily and Gelsomino Imports for another fantastic event today!
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Stuffed Sardines Siciliana
Sarde a beccafico, or stuffed sardines, is arguably my favorite “secondo,” or second dish. Tonight at Zest!, GoSicily: Sicilian Cooking Experience’s Annalisa Pompeo taught us how to make this signature Sicilian recipe. With assistance from beloved teacher Nino Elia, we learned how to make the stuffing mixture, prepare the fresh sardines, and fry them up.…
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Passing on Love
As we were reminded yesterday by Annalisa of GoSicily, Sicilian Cooking Experience, the traditions of food preparation and recipes are passed from one generation to the next. Grandmothers to mothers to daughters and sons… Here, Cacio e Vino’s owner, Giusto Priola, is showing one of our New York event’s guests how to make fresh cavatelli…
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A Signature Dish: Pasta alla Norma
Maccheroncini alla Norma (Maccheroni pasta, in this case, bucatini, with tomato sauce, eggplant, and grated ricotta salata cheese on top) is a classic Sicilian recipe. There are many theories about why it’s named “alla Norma,” the most convincing being that the name pays homage to Vincenzo Bellini’s opera, Norma. Bellini (1801-1835) was born in Catania,…
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Black Lipstick… Sort of
In recognition of this week’s NY Times article, “In Sicily, Tasting Seafood with a Skeptical Son,” this intrepid traveler and writer wanted to share my love of black seppia ink/cuttlefish pasta with you all. It may not be for everyone, but for those of us who are adventuresome, the rewards are great! Travel encourages you…