Sicilia - Part two - The tastes of Sicily

Well we have finally found the cucina of Italy. Sicily has the most amazing food influenced over the centuries by many ethnic influences. The Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Hapsburgs (Austria), and Bourbons (France).

Sicily is blessed with a varied climate with sub tropical areas growing prickly pear in abundance and other areas growing all forms of citrus fruits. Also Mount Etna's outpourings have ultimately fertilized the soil to high levels of richness. As a result great fresh vegetables. And of course being an island it has great seafood. Simplicity allows the pure taste of the fresh produce to emerge. This is the key element of cooking throughout Sicily.

La Capinera ristorante in Taormina provided us with some wonderful examples of Sicilian food - the chef is a young person pushing the boundaries with simple regional food.

Zucchini soup with fresh seafood.

Seafood skewers.

Seafood soup in tomato broth - yummnn!!

Local fish with artichoke puree and asparagus

Tuna with carrot gaspacho.

A very good local wine

The most amazing gnocchi.

Yes I am really very happy. Great food and ambience...okay also very good vino rosso.

Dolci misto.....mixed desserts....the cannoli was to die for as well as the chocolate souffle.

Petit fours with coffee

The chef Piero D'Agostino of La Capinera with Jacqueline and Lisa after dinner.

The next wonderful food experience was at Il Duomo Ristorante in Ragusa. This is regarded as one of the best restaurants in Italia.

Jacqueline, Lisa and Carolyna outside the entrance of Il Duomo which specialises in Baroque cuisine.

Mmmm......This is really hard!

How can I choose?

Seafood amuse bouche 

Bread and grissini in abundance

Freshly made pasta with lamb 

Squid ink spaghetti with prawns and cuttlefish

Ravioli extraordinaire

An outstanding Nero D'Avola from Gulfi

Pork chop to die for!

Fish like never before...

more lamb and we thought it was all in Australia...

Masala flavoured ice cream....we were in heaven

too many desserts.....can't remember the name of this one...

 

Well that was amazing. But how do we get up?

Lisa with the chef Ciccio Sultano (also part owner).....Il Duomo was announced as best restaurant in Sicilia the day before we arrived and the third in Italia!

And of course, pasticceria cafes are usually outstanding. This one in Piedimonte Etneo called Cali was recommended to us and was amazing - filled with only locals and once they knew we were Australian treated us to freshly made cakes on the spot and then gave us a tray to take home with all of their other freshly made pasticceria - ricotta filled cannoli etc

Mamma Cali making a special treat - zeppole - like a warm honey flavoured donut!  Of course she insisted on us each trying a piece!

Fresh doughnut straight out of the oven with a cafe latte.  The owner's son Marco Cali lives in Brisbane and has a restaurant at New Farm (sorry we don't know the name).

The next wonderful food experience was at Feudo Vagliasindi near Randazzo. A family run restaurant within a vineyard. It was a Sunday lunch so it was abuzz with Italian families. Below is the wine of the vineyard....very good

It was a set menu - no menus provided - you were only asked for food allergies etc.  Vegetarians are spoilt for choice in Sicilia!  Antipasti was spectacular.  Below are some examples.

Brise con melanzane (eggplant)

Salami e formaggi tipici

funghi trifolati e arrostiti

frittata di carciofi (artichoke) with a purple cauliflower

Ricotta di pecora con marmellate artiglianali

Caponata, di melanzane - a traditional Sicilian dish of arab origins and the best Caponata in Sicliy!

pasta sfoglia con broccoli e salsiccia

Funghi risotto

Lisa and Dad....are we happy

Do you think it looked like a lot of food?....well you are right.

So here is our "Porta Via" or take away from the lunch for nostra casa - we had the pasta and risotto for dinner that night! 

How do the Italians do Sunday lunches like this and stay so thin??

more lamb but with potatoes this time

maialino (pork) and onions

The restaurant had a grand Terrazza......we needed a couple of breathers....

Lisa, Alan e Carolyna

menu of the day

The girls with Andrea (son of the owners)

No Alan, you can't take her home!

Below are cactus plants with their fruit which is considered a delicacy fichi d'india.  They were everywhere and fascinated us until we discovered what they were and then of course had to try them - we weren't so sure as there were so many seeds/pips in the middle like a grape.

And below the fruit, juicy but full of small pips

Fichi D'India peeled ready to be purchased on the back of a truck!

One of our new friends, Nino Vittorio, at his home in Taormina. Aperitivi time with his two daughters!

Nino and his lovely daughters Francesca and Luisa on their balcony after an apperitivi or due!

At L'Arco dei Capuccini in Taormina we also experienced very good food

Antipasti - they call this raw seafood but it is marinated and was amazing!

The best eggplant parmigana ever!

A local vino rosso

And then, our friend Nino, insisted on having us for dinner in his kitchen after the girls had left. What a wonderful experience.....

Gin and tonics to begin with, an amazing cheese he brought from Switzerland and local pistachios.  Take note of the homemade fresh tomato sauce bottle on the left and his bottle of tonno(tuna) on the right!

He bottles his own Tonno each year. Delightful with a splash of lemon!  and we thought Sirena tuna was the best but this was amazing!

And Nino's Pizza made with his own fresh tomato sauce (he bottles in August each year as that is when the tomatoes are sweetest), mozzarella and fresh basil from the garden!

Nino learnt his skills over many years from his Uncle who was a chef and so passed down many traditional Sicilian ways and we were fortunate to share them with him.  He even showed us some local fish he was drying and would be preserving shortly!  Impressivo!

Well now that we have added tons of kilo's, we should leave the tastes of Sicily and start walking....and walking.....

Baci a tutti

Carolyna e Alan