PASQUETTA

On Easter Monday everyone in Sicily goes out into the countryside to feast there and celebrate the coming of spring. This year I was invited to Irma's country house and arrived in time to watch husband Cesare barbecuing the traditional artichokes. I've mentioned eating them roasted before, but on Easter Monday they are cooked alla brace and their wonderful aroma pervades gardens and fields everywhere.

Irma served up her lovely spring pasta dish, containing zucchini, asparagus and carrots and to follow there were enormous barbecued lamb steaks [the lamb having been seasoned with coarse seasalt, oregano, garlic and lemon juice] with thick, barbecued slices of pancetta and Italian sausage. Then came the moment to eat the artichokes: apart from being absolutely delicious, these clear the palate ready for the dessert. You just pick off the leaves, suck the gorgeous juices and make a mess. Served like this, on good, hard Modican bread, they are a double delight for the slice of bread, too, has become impregnated with the juices by the time you get to it and tastes divine.

In the last two pictures you can see my own contribution to this feast: a pavé al cioccolato, the recipe for which I found in a supermarket recipe leaflet here some years ago. You just layer savoiardi biscuits [the tips of which you have cut off] sprinkling them liberally with whatever colourless liqueur you fancy as you go [in this case Maraschino] then cover the layers with a chocolate and whisked egg-white mixture. Finally you cover the whole caboodle with the chocolate mixture and chill it overnight.