The Sicilian tradition of preparing tomato preserves for the winter turns into a family feast

July and August are the hottest months of the year in Sicily. During this period many Sicilian families still continue the tradition of preparing preserves for the winter. They use any fruit of the garden (peaches, apricots, prunes, figs, etc.) to produce delicious jams and jellies to enjoy during the cold winter days.

Vegetables such as eggplants, peppers, beans and tomatoes are preserved as well. It is unbelievable how many dishes can be prepared with tomatoes which are usually preserved in bottles or jars under the form of tomato sauce, concentrated tomato sauce, sun dried tomatoes and peeled tomatoes.

The preparation of the bottles of tomato sauce is a real event! The whole family gathers to help with the many steps of the preparation. When I was a child, I always looked forward to this day. It was an occasion to stay with my cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles – obviously children only see the fun part of it all!

To avoid the heat of the summer day, they start very early in the morning, even 4AM! The tomatoes are selected, rinsed and boiled inside of big copper pots, called quattare, on the wood fire.

The tomatoes are boiled and strained to separate the pulp and juice from the seeds and peels, the bottles are sealed and put back into the quattara filled with boiling water. They boil in bagnomaria style (slowly in water) for about 20 minutes to guarantee the preservation of the sauce and eliminate acidity.

By noon the event is over and the whole family enjoys a well-deserved lunch consisting of a delicious plate of maccarruna ca sarsa (pasta with tomato sauce)!

By Maria Lina Bommarito

A Mafia’s place turns into a peaceful agriturismo

For the series ONLY in Sicily as Sicily Scene called a post a few days ago, here is another story that a friend pointed out to me. This time the New York Times writes about this magical island. The article by Joshua Hammer describes how a Mafia’s place turns into a peaceful agriturismo. The agriturismo mentioned is Portella della Ginestra. I googled it and the results that came up are not for the agriturismo: they mostly lead to the so called Portella della Ginestra massacre. Portella della Ginestra is an agriturismo that is part of the project Libera Terra. This association’s main goal is to promote businesses that are mafia free.

It could have been the rural retreat of a hedge-fund magnate or an Italian prince: a two-story villa of beige stucco and stone, perched in isolation on a rise overlooking the Jato Valley in northern Sicily. The front doors opened onto a refurbished dining room with high ceilings, terra-cotta tile floors and a row of stone arches that suggested a Roman amphitheater. Antique brass lanterns, pottery and other curios hung from the walls. Soft light filtered through the windows. It was getting toward lunch, and in the spacious kitchen, three chefs were preparing dessert: miniature pastries made with honey and chestnuts cultivated in nearby orchards. A narrow staircase wound upstairs to the villa’s three rustic bedrooms, with 10 beds, each of which looked out upon pale-green meadows sloping upward toward bald-faced granite mountains.

In fact, this 17th-century farmhouse once belonged to Bernardo Brusca, the capo of one of Sicily’s most brutal crime families. A member of the Cupola, the Palermo commission that directed operations and settled disputes within the Cosa Nostra, Mr. Brusca may well have used the place as a safe house from which to plan killings and other crimes. Mr. Brusca’s son, Giovanni, now 51, detonated the bomb that blew up the Italian prosecutor Giovanni Falcone, in 1992; the next year, he kidnapped the 11-year-old son of a Mafia informer, held him for 26 months, then strangled him and dissolved his body in a barrel of acid. The younger Mr. Brusca later turned state’s evidence and went into a witness-protection program. Bernardo, a member of the Mafia old school that swore by omerta, organized crime’s code of silence, was captured in the 1980s, sentenced to multiple life terms for a string of murders, and died in government custody in 2004.

Acting under a law passed in 1996, the Italian government seized his properties and turned the farmhouse over to a consortium of municipalities in the area. Cooperativo Placido Rizzotto, named after a labor leader who was shot dead by the Mafia in 1948, was given the house six years ago. The cooperative now runs the property as a bed-and-breakfast and has turned Mr. Brusca’s neglected, overgrown fields into an organic farming commune.

“All the municipalities in the area were part of a long, violent mafioso history that they wanted to leave behind,” said Emiliano Rocchi, the head chef, who has worked there since the inn opened in 2004. “Turning these Mafia properties into socially beneficial projects is a way of doing that.”

The Brusca house, known as the Agriturismo Portella della Ginestra, was the first such Mafia property in Sicily to become a bed-and-breakfast, and it may have started a trend. Libera Terra Mediterraneo, an umbrella group of cooperatives founded a decade ago by an Italian priest, recently opened a second inn — once owned by the Sicilian boss of bosses, Salvatore Riina — across the Jato Valley and has announced plans for more. These former Mafia villas offer guests a chance to soak up the island’s most beautiful landscapes — and, perhaps, get a frisson of horror and excitement overnighting in places filled with ghosts from Sicily’s criminal past.

Read more at NYTimes.com

An archeological site of unfinished public works in Giarre

I really did not know that Giarre in Sicily has an archeological site of unfinished public works. I read the news on Il Corriere della Sera. I am not surprised that Sicily has the highest number of unfinished public works in the country 160 out of 380, but I am really fascinated how some volunteers in Giarre turned this shameful record into an entertaining festival.

The First Festival dell’Incompiuto Siciliano – which pretty much translates into festival of the unfinished  Sicilian works – took place  in this small town of the Catania province on July 2-4, 2010. Not sure if the event was successful, but I bet it was considering that drew the attention of the main Italian newspaper.

The Video – Giarre: Unfinished Public Works is hilarious. It makes me a bit sad, but I cannot help to appreciate the subtle irony people use to turn things around. It shows an unfinished swimming pool where a fake instructor gives lessons to a fake fake synchronized swimming team. By looking at the images, I cannot help thinking that this absurd spectacle cannot be solely due to the corruption of local politicians. I think this is a deadly and explosive mix of corruption and plainly flat incompetence at all levels.

Video – Giarre: Unfinished Public Works

Official Website

Why I have not written in a while

I have to apologize with the readers for not having posted in a while. I have been traveling for business and  got the flu when I was in Sicily. I could have posted, but I had tons of problems with my Internet connection. I bought a Wind Internet key that did not work at all (if you travel to Sicily, do not waste €59 as I did).

Now do not take me wrong. It was awesome to be in Sicily and see my family. However, I had the possibility to experience the garbage problem first hand and got a bit less motivated in writing wonderful things about Sicily.  SicilyGuide published Garbage is a problem in Sicily too time ago and we still receive comments about this issue. Il Corriere della Sera – the main Italian newspaper – denounced this situation in the article Viaggio nella Palermo sommersa dai rifiuti by Felice Cavallaro in June. The problem is really out of control and not just in Palermo!

As editor of SicilyGuide trying to talk about the beautiful things of the island, I feel I would give a disservice if I only promoted traveling to Sicily under these circumstances. I gave travel advice to a friend who went to Sicily in Easter, but I was embarrassed to hear his feedback when he got back from his trip.

Yesterday, SicilyGuide received a great comment from Tatjana who recently visited Sicily and gives us a lesson with her final lines:

We’ve been on Sicily 2 weeks in June 2010 – our first visit to this beautiful island… and the trash problem was the major disappointment for us.
Having been in other Mediterranean countries (Spain, Portugal) – you can’t find pictures of overflowing trash bins worse than on Sicily. Interesting, is it a part of mentality too – we’ve seen wonderful beach front homes, but instead of colorful flowerbed in front of the gate (like it would be in Portugal) there is just a collection of every sort of garbage you can imagine. Beyond my estate – not my problem?
Here in Estonia we had one wonderful thing 2 years ago – one spring day lots and lots of people (adults, children, families) gathered in small commandos and went to the woods to clean them from all the trash which has been thrown away in years. One day, thousands of enthusiasts – and I believe good portion of education to any participant. I think all of them would not even think of littering again…

The problem with Southern Italy and Sicily is that we do not identify with the State. It is true that the State has been absent at times. However we do need to build some serious civil conscience, otherwise we will keep having these and other problems over and over. It is only us who can change things and change does not come overnight: it is a daily commitment. Stop thinking it is all our politicians’ fault, it is our fault too! The politicians are just a mirror of who we are as people.

Garbage is a problem in Sicily too

We published this post last October. Lately, we received a few more complains and the Department of Tourism in Sicily asked us to collect more comments about this matter. Please, feel free to add your comments about your experience in Sicily below. We will forward them to the people that could really do something about it. Thanks!

I try to be positive and talk about all the bright sides that Sicily has to offer to visitors. I have been living and working abroad for years now, but my heart is in Sicily. I truly believe that the island has an unexpressed potential for tourism and Sicilians do not know what they are missing. If they only started believing that! As the people who follow this web site know, I do not publish just all the good news about Sicily since my goal is to give the right tools to travelers to make their own decisions.

Last year we saw Napoli in the news, but Sicily has a garbage problem too. Friends who have been there in June documented this to me. I experienced it myself in Milazzo in the two weeks of July/August. One of our readers just sent this email to me (please, read it for yourself). If he has already been to Sicily two times, it must be love and my advice to Brian is “watch out!”. I think he is right and it is about time we start a debate here. I will translate his email and send it to some publications in Sicily to see if it gets picked up. If Sicily wants to be serious about tourism, it had better clean up its act first, literally!

First off I have to say I enjoy very much receiving your emails and they are very informative and enjoyable. Thank You.

I have just returned from my second trip to Sicily this year, only last week. I love the island, the people and food, but have to say on this last visit, was really disappointed to see that the litter problem, which was always bad is now completely out of control.
It is such a shame, and I know from speaking to others, is something that gets Sicily hugely negative feedback from a tourist perspective. On my travels this time, mainly around the Ortigia / Siracusa /Marzememi areas, there were (not in Ortigia obviously) rubbish bins overflowing, piles of rubbish discarded by the road, numerous stray dogs. Such a real shame, as it really does cast a terrible impression on such a wonderful island with such wonderful tradition and people.

Coming form Ireland, where we used to 20 yrs ago have an endemic litter problem , since now well under control. I wonder will it ever be sorted out, and why no one acts on this issue, to clean up the image of the island. It would do wonders I believe for the advancement of the tourism on the island . I realize some of the issues here , and in relation to the bigger eyesores ( Augusta Oil refinery, Gela etc.etc ), these are something not easily addressed, but I believe Sicily, as long haul flights become more unviable, could really market itself as a top tourist destination. Noto, Modica, Taormina, Cefalu, and the list goes on and on of wonderful locations.
Would love to see some discussion on this, and see it rose as an issue.
Sorry for the longwinded email, but reading your reports and email on Sicily, your love of the island shows through, and I am sure it is something that you encounter in discussion regularly.
Best regards, and Thanks again for the “Sicily Guide “ Keep up the good work!

Brian

While in Sicily, enjoy some Sicilian lemons

“Lemon tree very pretty…and the lemon flower is sweet”. I don’t know how many of you remember this song. It must have been popular in the fifties or in the sixties, I was just a little girl and I loved that song.

Strolling in my lemon orchard on a spectacular spring morning, that old song resounds in my mind. I just stop and admire the beauty of this typical Mediterranean tree, with its dark green shiny leaves and glossy yellow lemons that hang on the branches like Christmas ornaments.

The strong fragrance of the white “zagara” blossoms enchants my senses, so I just close my eyes a take a deep breath and enjoy the heavenly Sicilian essence.

…”but the fruit of the wonderful lemon is impossible to eat”, continues the song. That’s quite true, but do you know how many virtues lemons have? To begin with, lemons are a great source of vitamin C and everyone knows how this helps preventing common colds. Moreover, lemon is an antioxidant which deactivates the free radicals preventing many diseases, it fights against infection helping the production of antibodies.

A few tips for your beauty: lemon juice is said to give a glow to your skin and helps loose weight if you get on the habit of drinking a glass of water with half a lemon’s juice every morning (SG no scientific evidence of this).

So, if you’re coming to Sicily, you should definitely enjoy some fresh lemons that you can find all year round!

By Maria Lina Bommarito

Robert Camuto and his experience of living in Baroque Sicily

It is hard for me to be objective about Sicily. In the past couple of years, I’ve fallen under its spell as I’ve crisscrossed the island: from the chaotic markets of Palermo to the stillness of the cooled lava flows on Mount Etna to the vast, rugged interior that turns from deep green in spring to a barren brown under a searing summer sun.

Sicily has become my second home: I love the contradictions of this historic place that cherishes its medieval traditions and refuses to follow simple modern rules; the natural bounty of the land; the resilience of the people; the pace of life; a cuisine with one of the widest varieties of local ingredients anywhere; and the monuments, churches and palaces, so often decorated to operatic excess.

Source: WashingtonPost.com

Sicily and its traditions: the “Zeppole di San Giuseppe”

Growing up in a small town of Sicily, I remember that it was lots of fun on Saint Joseph’s Day (Il Giorno di San Giuseppe), every March 19. It was a day off from school and my mom was cooking the yummy crespelle, better known as zeppole di San Giuseppe or sfingi.

I remember the nice smell in the house and the sweet taste of the raisins and sugar contrasting with the simplicity of the fried pasta dough. I miss those flavors and tend to be profoundly fond of the memories now that I live in New York City.

The feast of San Giuseppe is still a big day for my family back in Sicily because it is also father’s day and my sister Pina‘s name day. Pina is a short form derived from the name Giuseppe. My sister was supposed to be named after my grandmother Peppina, but my father mistakenly registered her with the short form at the city hall the day she was born. My mother was upset at the moment, but soon she dismissed my father’s behavior as emotional. Many other relatives and family’s friends in Sicily are named after San Giuseppe. Therefore, you can easily imagine how this day turns into a very big feast.

I already published this recipe, but I want to make sure to revive the tradition…

Ingredients for 8 people:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 package yeast
Pinch salt
2 cups water (room temperature)
1 cup raisins
6 cups canola oil
1/2 cup sugar

Method

Mix flour, yeast, salt, raisins and water in a bowl. Let rest for about 2 hours. The dough should be almost liquid. With a spoon, scoop dough and make a ball. In a heavy pot, heat oil. Add the dough to hot oil and deep fry until golden brown. Sprinkle with sugar and serve the zeppole. Enjoy!

How you can see Sicily on your own: just relax

Interesting article by Carol Sottili, published in the travel section of the Washington Post. Not sure if I agree with the Caribbean feel the writer attributes to Sicily below, but glad that local travel suppliers are mentioned. Also, I would not try to see everything on my first time to Sicily unless I am a planning a trip for at least three weeks. Relax and do as Sicilians do.

Mike Hancock, a retired Foreign Service officer, and his wife, Mary, who describe themselves as “moderately experienced travelers,” have lived and traveled throughout Europe. Though they’re no strangers to going it alone, they bring up some understandable concerns about going solo in Sicily.

Sicily is a fascinating, sometimes exasperating island that is officially part of Italy but marches to its own drum. Residents, for example, speak a dialect that is barely reminiscent of the Italian language (few speak English). In some ways, it has a Caribbean feel, with its bright colors, inviting beaches, aggressive driving and lackadaisical attitude toward time. But Sicily’s uniqueness is unveiled in its myriad ancient archaeological treasures, miles of interior rolling hills filled with olive orchards and grapevines, and the narrow winding streets of its old cities. The island has been invaded by the Greeks, the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Arabs, the Normans and the Spanish, and all have left behind splendid archaeological and artistic evidence of their presence.

[...]

A typical itinerary for first-timers is to fly into Palermo and then travel east along the island’s coast over the course of a week, stopping in such cities as Cefalu’, Taormina, Mount Etna, Catania, Siracusa and Agrigento before heading across the interior back to Palermo.

Source: Washington Post

Blog Guest Katia Amore from LoveSicily

We are very proud and happy to have Katia Amore from LoveSicily as blog guest today. She was born and grew up in Modica (southeastern Sicily), spending countless hours in the kitchen with her grandmother, mother and aunts. After living in the UK for ten years, she decided to move back to Sicily and open a cookery school. Many of the recipes she prepares at the are directly taken from notebooks Katia’s grandmother kept. Kudos for Katia! Here is her unfiltered interview.

1- You told me that you lived in England for ten years before moving back to Sicily? Can you share with us a little bit of your life then?

I lived in the UK for about 10 years. I first moved to there to study for an MA and then a PhD in Ethnic studies which led to my work as a researcher in the field of immigration and asylum. I loved my work and had a great time in England, which was also the place where I met my husband. My interest for food and my old dream of having a cooking school never left me though. While living there, I loved following the work of British chefs, like Rick Stein, who helped me discover great local producers and never missed a farmer’s market in my area. I used to quarrel with some British friends as, against all stereotypes, I argued with them about the great food you can have in the UK if you just care about it. They seemed to prefer my Italian dinners though. I was quite popular with friends and colleagues especially for my Sicilian dinners and never managed to travel light when I was coming back from Sicily, trying to satisfy their requests for Modica’s chocolate, almond biscuits, cheese, Sicilian wine, etc.

2- Why did you return to Sicily?

My husband and I decided to get married in Sicily, so we took a month off and moved there to organise our wedding. It was April of 2003, Sicily was in bloom, sunny, green, with a smell of wild flowers everywhere, we were hooked! As we went back, we kept thinking about a way to move there and achieve that great work-life balance we dreamt of. We wrote down a list of pros and cons regarding life in the UK and Sicily, the first one had various plusses regarding career and job opportunities, the second one won when it came to family and lifestyle.

3- How did the idea of LoveSicily start?

We thought we had to move and try to make it in Sicily, as we both wanted to avoid a life of “what if?”. We decided to make my dream come true and start a cooking school in Modica. The name popped immediately in my head, my surname “Amore” means “love” in English, so that was it, lovesicily.com was created. We wanted to restore my grandparents’ old house in the centre of Modica and use it as a cookery school and a holiday house. While we worked on the restoration project, I started running cookery holidays using other farm houses and hotels as our base, then in 2008 my school was finally ready and the whole dream came to life. I still work on some research projects during the winter months, but never looked back.

4- Can you tell us a little more about LoveSicily and your customized cookery vacations?

Our aim was that of creating a tour where learning about Sicilian food could be fun, inspiring and relaxing. This is how we designed our week-long cookery holidays which are available on set-dates or on a tailor-made basis for groups who propose their chosen dates.

The itinerary of the week includes visits to nearby towns, local producers and the seaside with relaxed, hands-on courses in the kitchen.

Enjoying Sicilian food and each other company in the kitchen, is the main aim of the lessons, which are open to people of all levels of cooking ability. In the class, I propose a combination of classic Sicilian recipes, my family’s specialties and some of my own creations based on research of classic or historical recipes and my love for local quality ingredients. The itinerary of the tour and the menu of the cooking lessons, vary according to the season. However, we never miss a visit to our favourite wine and extra virgin olive oil producers, the oldest chocolate factory in Modica and Ortigia’s market.

5- How do you see Sicily in the Italian tourist map?

Sicily is [on the map].

6- Your area at the Southeastern point of Sicily has seen an incredible surge in attention and foreign tourism, what do you think it is doing right?

Firstly it is doing little for tourists, which is a good thing from my point of view. What I mean is that people in this area are getting on with their lives regardless of tourism, which means that visitors can find an authentic atmosphere in our cities and towns and are welcomed like friends, thus avoiding what has happened to certain areas in the South of Spain which are currently being deserted by tourists as they do not feel like Spain any longer. Few weeks ago, an article on the Times claimed that “British tourists avoid Spain because it’s ‘no longer foreign enough’”. The combination of beautiful nature, Baroque architecture and great weather is doing most of the job.
Secondly, the late development in the tourism industry in the area, spared us the big characterless hotels on the beach that have ruined many coastal areas in the Mediterranean, leading to a much nicer network of charming B&Bs, holiday houses and hotels that visitors really love. They become part of the experience in Sicily rather than just a place for the night. Finally, food! Starting with the great quality of ingredients and extraordinary products, a rich culinary tradition and the wish to keep experimenting with food. The area also offer amazing Michelin starred restaurants and a variety of fantastic trattorie, osterie, rosticcerie, dolcerie and pasticcerie.

7- How do you think your activity has contributed in improving the image of the island abroad?

I hope it has done so in two different ways, through our website, especially my blog, and thanks to the experience we offer to our clients who can than go back home and talk to their friends about “the Sicily” they discovered. In both activities, we are very much directed by passion and instinct, promoting only what gets our enthusiasm going. We wanted to avoid representing a stereotypical version of the island both in the blog and in the culinary tours, so our efforts are always going in the direction of promoting Sicily’s history and traditions as well as contemporary development and innovation in various fields, as I always say let us not forget to talk about “history and tradition in the making”. This is also true of my cooking classes.

8- What else do you think needs to be done to promote tourism to the island?

I think that the first priority should be simply that of improving roads, keeping cities and the countryside clean and promote those events which are already popular, like the Greek Plays in Siracusa or religious Easter traditions, to make them even more of a stable fixture in the yearly calendar of activity of the Island. This said, there should be much more interaction between people in Sicily and the many “Sicilies” abroad. I think that many communities of Sicilian immigrants or people of Sicilian descent abroad are already doing a great job to promote the island, but certainly a more coordinated approach and a stronger collaboration with those who are in Sicily could really be crucial. The island does the rest, as it offers great material, nature, art, tradition, music, handicraft, food, fashion………..so much to work with.

9- What is your favorite Sicilian recipe?

This question is too difficult for me. How can I choose one? At least two: a meat based one and a fish one. A typical winter dish that I love is “ravioli co sugu”, which are ravioli stuffed with our local cow ricotta and marjory leaves, then served with a sauce (“sugu”) prepared in a terracotta pot using various cuts of pork meat (including fat cuts and sausage) and “strattu” (a special thick home-made tomato paste dried in the sun during summer). One of my favourite summer recipes is “Tunnina Ca Cipuddata”, Tuna with Onions. It is prepared with fresh ventresca di tonno (the belly of the tuna) which is cooked in extra virgin olive oil with onion until it becomes crispy golden on both sides, completely against the modern fashion of eating mainly rare tuna fillet.

10- Anything else you would like to add?

Pasta alla Norma, Polipo al Nero d’Avola, Pollo al cioccolato, Caponata, Cunigghiu a stimpirata, Cucciddatu, Cassate, Mpanatigghi, Cannoli, Granita di caffè, Pasta ‘ncaciata, Timballo di Ziti, …………..and many other favourite recipes;)!

For more information about Katia Amore and her cookery school, visit LoveSicily.com

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