AMID THE MADNESS

The world appears to have gone mad, so let us pause and gaze upon something that takes time, patience and art - from the Cicara Caffetteria in Modica:

I also marked my birthday at the Cicara last week and was presented with a lovely, miniature cheesecake dessert:

A seventy-fifth birthday is a landmark of sorts and the occasion set me thinking about how different it was from my seventieth, just before the first Covid lockdown in Italy. In my memoir, I began my chapter on that period in this way:

Two days before my seventieth birthday in February I sat in my local bar celebrating with friends. It was to be three long, miserable, terrifying months before I would see friends or sit in a bar again. Within days, all of Italy was in lockdown.

In abnormal times, we long for the "normal", even the mundane, so what can we do? I now feel neither young nor brave enough to weather the social media backlash and pile-ons that publicly expressing all my thoughts on world events would entail, though I am working on my lack of courage. I would, however, call out prejudice and unfairness when I see them in my own environment. Other than that, I can take pleasure in the day to day small things in life, I can thank those who provide them and I can be kind. That, I think, is a beginning.

ELEGANCE ON A PLATE

I've often said that gel al limone must be among the most refreshing desserts in the world and this is one of the most elegant presentations I've seen of this dish:

ALL I WANT FOR EASTER....

Ferrero have brought back the pineapple flavour in their Gran Soleil desserts range. It's OK but why won't they bring the chocolate one back permanently? Come on, guys, it's nearly Easter so what better time could there be?!

BEAUTY PARLOUR DESSERT

My friend Carmela the beautician gave me this recipe, so in her honour I have named it "Beauty Parlour Dessert".  The honey and the egg wash are my additions:

Take a 230 gr piece of ready-rolled pasta sfoglia or puff pastry and lay it flat on baking parchment on a baking tray.  [The pasta sfoglia we can buy in Italy comes rolled in baking parchment already, so all you have to do is straighten it out onto the tin.]  Sprinkle about 1 tablesp pane grattugiato or fine fresh breadcrumbs on top of the pastry.  Now add 1 tablesp sugar to 250 gr ricotta, mix it and spread the mixture over the breadcrumbs.  To this, add 3 - 4 peeled, cored and chopped apples and drizzle over about 1 tablesp honey. Then sprinkle over a handful of sultanas, a handful of pinenuts and a little powdered cinnamon.  Roll up the pastry from a long side and seal the ends well.  Add a couple of tablsp milk to a beaten egg, mix with a fork and brush the mixture over the pastry. Cook at 180 C for 30 - 35 mins.  Let it cool a little before lifting onto a plate. 

This is best served cold, with a little more ricotta, cream or ice cream. I think I'll serve it with some cinnamon gelato next time.

Grazie, Carmela!

TREAT OF THE WEEK - 3

Two years ago, I revealed my addiction to these lovely, smooth desserts.  Well, now there's a new flavour, mirtillo.  Mirtilli are similar to whortleberries and the product is said to contain Canadian whortleberries or blueberries, which, judging by the flavour, are very nice. [Mirtilli rossi are sometimes translated as "cranberries" but the product does not taste of these.]  "What", I would like to ask those innovative people at Ferrero, "is wrong with Sicilian mirtilli?  And where did the chocolate flavour go?"

ITALY MAGAZINE ROUND-UP - 8

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

Our featured "golden oldie" film was Three Coins in the Fountain.  It makes me cry every time and oh, that song!

Nick Calvano told us what happened when he went to see his newly-found Italian relatives.  I happen to know that there's another story from Nick coming so watch this space!

Our blog of the week was Marc Dalessio.  Marc is a painter based in Florence and if you love Italy, you'll love his paintings.

Of the news stories, I liked this one about a prank that fooled the art world and this one about D&G designing for the Chelsea football team.  OK, I especially liked the picture that went with that one!  And what woman could not be cheered by this?

For my Patti Chiari column I ruminated on the process of making preserves and liqueurs in Sicily.

If you've ever wondered how to ask for the ice cream flavour you want in Italian, this article is for you.

Finally, if you need a  cool summer dessert, why not make Gaetano Naclerio's melon cups with summer fruit? His secret ingredient - not secret any more, Gaetano -  is melon vodka and I'm definitely going to try this recipe.

Happy reading.

MY NEW ADDICTION

I just cannot resist the mandarin flavour and it comes in little portions so you don't even have to feel guilty!

TIRAMISÙ DI ALBICOCCHE

This is, of course, an adaptation of Matthew Fort's strawberry recipe from Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons and I share it here with a nod to my friend the Winchester Whisperer, who suggested it [rather in tongue in cheek fashion, I think]:

500 gr fresh apricots + a few extra for decoration
7 teasp caster sugar
3 egg yolks
500 gr mascarpone
1 box of Pavesini biscuits
apricot or other liqueur

Stone the apricots and chop them. Sprinkle with 3 teasp of the sugar. Beat the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar, add the mascarpone and continue to beat with a whisk, then add most of the apricots and mix well. Arrange half the pavesini in a serving bowl and pour over a goodly dash of liqueur [I used my homemade apricot liqueur but you could use Kirsch or Cointreau]. Spread half the mascarpone mixture on top. Add the rest of the biscuits, splash again with liqueur and spread the rest of the mascarpone mixture over them. Decorate as you please. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.

FOODIE FRIDAY

A get-together of what Linda calls the "foreign legion", a group of ex-pats, took place this evening in somewhat palatial surroundings in Modica Bassa. Our hostess, a German lady, had opened up her beautiful home to us and laid on soft drinks, tea, savoury snacks and a sumptuous torta filled with her own fig jam. Everyone brought a sweet dish along and I decided that this was just the opportunity I had been waiting for to try out the semifreddo di marrons glacés from - you guessed it - the Cucchiaio d'Argento. This semifreddo recipe unusually contains no eggs, just whipped-up cream into which you crumble some savoiardi and chopped marrons glacés with a little cocoa and sugar. You then pour the mixture into a loaf tin, wrap it and freeze it "for at least 4 hours" says the book. Personally, when making this type of dish, I never believe any instruction that doesn't tell you it will need overnight freezing. Anyway, it worked very well, turned out of the tin like a dream, was much lighter on the taste buds than you would imagine and disappeared quickly, I am glad to say. Lest you should think I am always a confident cook, here is the mini prototype, for I always make one of these when following a frozen dessert recipe. That way, I can tell whether the thing has set properly and have a taste.

And here is the full-size version:

Had I been at home, I would have sieved a little cocoa over the top but , whilst making a mess in your own kitchen is one thing, doing so in someone else's is quite another so the couple of spare marrons glacés had to suffice.

The nationalities represented at our gathering were: Italian, British, French, Maltese, Greek, Bosnian, German, Spanish, Tunisian, Madagascan, Dutch, Austrian and Japanese. The two men were outnumbered but didn't seem to mind. A good time was had by all and we agreed to meet up more often. As you see, we were all feeling happy and relaxed, not to mention well-fed! I am in the second picture and - what a calamity - forgot to take my glasses off:

"I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible." - Gandhi

STRAWBERRY FAIR

Sicilian strawberries are less plump and more elongated than British ones but they do taste delicious. I was presented with this pretty dish of some, topped with ice cream and the freshest red fruit sauce when I asked for "un po' di frutta" at the Altro Posto today.

ANOTHER ONE!

At the risk of boring you, I have to say that one of the delights of being here is that a dish or concoction you ask for in a bar will never be exactly the same from one day to the next. So when, at the Altro Posto this lunchtime, I requested some fruit and a little ice cream, the barman was able to use his creativity and come up with something completely different, in appearance, from Wednesday's naughty dessert. The staff do not just make up a fresh fruit salad to a formula, as in the UK [when you are able to order fresh fruit at all there].

A CHEERY DESSERT

"Oh, do let us put some ice cream on the top", they said when I ordered fresh fruit in the Altro Posto today. I didn't argue. Strawberries have mysteriously reappeared in the shops this week.

UNA TORTA

This was my contribution to a lunch party given by friends this afternoon: I must admit that, as I wasn't well yesterday I cheated rather a lot and bought the base of sponge layers as well as the crema pasticcera for the top . I "improved" the sponge layers slightly by pouring some Maraschino liqueur over and letting them steep for an hour or so before spreading the crema pasticcera [confectioner's custard] over the top, arranging both fresh and some canned fruit on this and glazing it all. Here you can buy a glaze called tortagel, which you just add sugar to and boil so there's no need to muck around with arrowroot or to heat and sieve apricot jam. As you see, the cream I piped around the edges kept falling off in the heat so in the end I took some whipped cream with me and squirted it on just before serving. That nearly fell off too but nobody seemed to mind!

AND TODAY'S DESSERT WAS...

... this fresh fruit salad topped with lemon granita.

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.

WHAT A BLOGGER WILL DO...

...to get a post. Today in the Altro Posto I espied this lovely torta alla strega [Strega liqueur cake]. I wanted to sample it only in the interests of blogging, you understand! I'd like to be able to tell you that the little flower was a sugar one, but alas, it was plastic. Nevertheless, I thought the cake looked very pretty, so imagine my horror when I looked up and saw that the staff were taking the flowers off and throwing them away! At dessert time they all fell about laughing when I said, "I'm not having any of that unless you put a flower back on it, even if it's out of the bin - I need it for a photo for my blog." Reader, if they only thought I was mad before, they are convinced of it now!