LONZA WITH MOSTARDA

This is yet another variation on using a whole piece of lonza [pork loin], cut in the Italian way. I thought it would be festive to try it with mostarda [Italian mustard fruits]. The most famous mostarda is, of course, made in Cremona and you may find it easier to find a jar in the UK than it is for me in Sicily! However, Lidl Italia do a good version.

For this recipe you need a 1 kg piece of lonza, flavoured with garlic and herbs and encased in butcher's netting. In Italy the butcher will aromatizzare the meat for you but you can do it yourself by making a few holes through the netting with a skewer and rubbing the meat with a mixture of a crushed clove of garlic and chopped, fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme and sage.  Place the piece of lonza in a Pyrex-style dish and sprinkle a little saffron powder over the top - or the contents of a sachet of saffron if you are in Italy. Add about 0.25 litre of white wine and leave to marinate in a cool place for at least 2 hours.  Turn the lonza in the marinade once.

Heat the oven to 180 C . Grind some black pepper and sprinkle a little coarse seasalt over the top of the lonza and place the dish with the lonza and its marinade in the oven. Cook for 45 minutes, basting once.

About 5 minutes before the cooking time is up, place the juice and grated zest of 2 oranges in a small pan with 2 teasp. sugar, the contents of another sachet of saffron and 2 tablesp. liquid from a jar of mostarda. Bring to the boil, stirring, then simmer for 2 mins. Pour this mixture over the lonza and let it cook for another 5 mins.

Put the lonza on a board, carve it, then serve on a plate with some of the juice. Decorate it with some of the mostarda fruits. You only need some garlic or herb-roasted potatoes and a green salad to go with it.

Buon appetito.

TRAVELS WITH MY SISTER

I'm going to tell you the story of my reunion with my birth sister, Jill, little by little in several posts but first I want to share with you some of the things we did together over the past seven days.

We spent time at the Marina di Modica

and, as you see, I've got me a lovely brother-in-law as well!

We went for an evening walk in Ragusa Ibla with friends,

sat in the park

and ate ice cream in a crepe!

I must say, as we walked through the narrow, softly-lit streets, I felt completely surrounded by love and I hadn't felt like that for a long time.

On Sunday we took a guided tour around Catania. There is always something new to learn from a good guide and the city looked particularly elegant in the October sunshine:

Later, it was on to Militello in Val di Catania for the Sagra della Mostarda e del Fico d'India or Mostarda [made with prickly pears] and Prickly Pear Festival, where the highlight of the afternoon was the parade of Sicilian carts:

This last horse danced to the traditional music and was definitely the star of the show!

When I visited Militello for the same festival four years ago, I never imagined I'd be back there with my sister!

Then suddenly it was Wednesday, Jill and Paul's last full day in Sicily. We decided to spend most of it in Siracusa, for how could I let them go without taking them first to the magnificent Greek amphitheatre there?

The Roman Amphitheatre, Siracusa:

Sisters:

The Greek Amphitheatre, Siracusa:

The Ear of Dionysus, Siracusa:

We had fun calling to each other in the echoing cave where the tyrant Dionysus reportedly imprisoned dissidents and eavesdropped on them. 

Jill and Paul are safely home now and they have promised to come back to Sicily soon. I hope so because I'm already missing my wonderful, newfound sister!

A DIFFERENT KIND OF MOSTARDA

The full name of the "Prickly Pear Festival" at Militello in Val di Catania is the Sagra della Mostarda e del Fico d'India and before arriving there on Sunday I wondered what type of mostarda would be celebrated. I've written before on this blog about the confusion surrounding the term and I repeat the  information here:

To most Sicilians, the term "mostarda" means a solid preserve made from grape must and wood ashes. Yes, ashes! [Don’t worry - they are filtered out.]  Other ingredients such as almonds may be added. I find the texture too leathery but there is also a lighter, fresh version which is rarely made now. A friend's mother-in-law does make it and I have tasted it at her home. 

The reason that the solid preserve shares the name "mostarda" with the mustard-based fruit relishes of northern Italy is that the Romans used to mix mustard seeds with verjuice instead of vinegar and in the Middle Ages, for a time, the vinegar was replaced by must, so some etymological confusion arose. 

At Militello on Sunday the solid, black preserve was much in evidence but I did find one street vendor who had made a fresh mostarda similar to the kind made by my friend's relative.  The main ingredient? Prickly pears! 

The taste?  Err..... interesting.

TREASURE TROVE IN MODICA BASSA

One of the places I have an affection for in Modica Bassa is the Casa del Formaggio, partly because of its fantastic, traditional products and partly because it is situated in the street where Simi and I lived for five weeks when we first came to Modica.

So on Sunday, when I visited the Chocobarocco Festival, I took the opportunity to call in on Giuseppe:

Cotagnata [quince paste] and mostarda are on display [centre]

Some local cheeses are kept cool in the traditional way.

Do pay a visit to this little shop if you are ever in Modica - you will be surprised and delighted by what you find there.

ITALY MAGAZINE ROUND-UP - 19

Here is my pick of last week's Italy Magazine articles:

First of all, there are only 65 shopping days left until Christmas and a good place to head in order to solve those present problems would be the Oh bej, Oh bej! Christmas market in Milan.

Still with Christmas shopping, maybe the man in your life needs this and this CD is definitely going to be on my own wish list.  The most amazing news of the week from Italy was this surgical breakthrough  whilst a completely different kind of breakthrough occurred on Friday.  I liked the honest logic of this Northern League supporter and,  at the risk of losing my feminist credentials, I cannot help hoping that this film will soon be released outside France.

For my Patti Chiari column, I wrote in more detail about the Prickly Pear Festival at Militello and explained the linguistic confusion surrounding the term mostarda.

Happy reading.

OF VERJUICE AND ROMANS

I’m sure everyone else is writing of momentous world events whilst I continue to prattle on about Sicilian culinary delights. Still, many important political decisions are made during “working” breakfasts and lunches, I’ll wager, so that is my excuse!

Some time ago, I featured mostarda as it is known to Sicilians – a solid preserve made from grape must and wood ashes. Yes, ashes! [Don’t worry; they are filtered out.] I find the texture too leathery but at the weekend I tasted the fresh version, as made by Gina’s mother-in-law. This is much lighter and is eaten as a dessert. I found it refreshingly different and very pleasant.

The reason that it shares the name mostarda with the mustard-based fruit relishes of northern Italy is that the Romans used to mix mustard seeds with verjuice instead of vinegar and in the Middle Ages, for a time, the vinegar was replaced by must, so some etymological confusion arose.