ARTFUL ARANCINI

In Italy domiciliari, or house arrest, is often used for minor crimes and sometimes for prisoners who are nearing the end of their sentences or are too ill to remain in a correctional facility. This punishment is very strict and over the years on this blog, I have sometimes written about the comical occasions when offenders undergoing it have run away because they can no longer stand being shut up with their family, or have even gone to the police station begging for rearrest. One wonders how they fared in lockdown.

However, the offender who takes the biscuit - or rather, the riceball - is the young man from Catania who this week evaded house arrest to buy a tray of arancini. I must admit, the arancini of Catania are very good, and anyone who has ever experienced the aroma of freshly made Sicilian arancini wafting towards them from a nearby rosticceria will feel some empathy towards this man. Apparently an offender under house arrest can obtain permission to attend an urgent medical or dental appointment and this is what the young man had done. However, it was not the first time he had told police he was going to the dentist and they had become suspicious. After checking with his dental surgery and finding that he had never been there during his house arrest, the police waited outside his home, and soon along he came, already eating one of the steaming arancini from the trayful he had just purchased.

Whether the carabinieri confiscated the whole trayful is not known.

  

A WEEK OF CONTRASTS

Italian G7 Presidency 2017

Tortelli with basil and pecorino in a Sicilian red prawn sauce; sea bream with cherry tomatoes and a basket of steamed vegetables; cannolo, cassata and "seven veils" ice cream; ice cream and brioche for breakfast - these were just some of the sumptuous Sicilian dishes enjoyed by the G7 leaders, their first ladies and the first husband at Taormina last week. At the same time, a MSF ship carrying 1,446 migrants who had been saved from 12 inadequate boats in the Mediterranean was not permitted to dock in any Sicilian port because of security measures in place from 22nd - 28th May for the summit. This meant that the ship was at sea for 48 instead of 30 hours and ran out of food and water. As the situation became truly desperate and a hygiene emergency developed on board as a consequence, the ship was allowed to pick up supplies at Palermo but no one was able to disembark. The ship finally docked at Naples on 28th May.

Paragraphs 24 and 25 of the G7 comuniqué make interesting reading, as while all this was going on in the very sea that served as a backdrop for the leaders' jolly photos, they promised to uphold "the human rights of all migrants and refugees." It is worth remembering that this meeting took place two days after 34 people had died in the Mediterranean, including seven children.  

The leaders have returned to their homes now, but there is no end to the scenes of devastation for those who have no home:  Yesterday 252 migrants were brought to Pozzallo. Of these, 135 had been on an overcrowded migrant dinghy which had sailed from Libya.  The middle section of the boat began to break up and 25 migrants fell into the sea. Two were rescued but sadly died later. One people trafficker has been arrested by Italian police in connection with the tragedy and a second alleged trafficker from another boat is in hospital. All the survivors are said to be in reasonable conditions of health and are being transferred to reception centres in other parts of Italy.

Some good, it is to be hoped, came out of the G7 and of course Italy had to put on its best show. The leaders were filmed strolling through the streets of a Taormina that had been cleared of all except residents and security personnel and they even visited a few shops. None of them, to my knowledge, visited a migrant centre.

La Repubblica reports today that 1,720 migrants have drowned in the Central Mediterranean this year and that 60,000 have attempted the crossing. Last week alone the Italian Coast Guard and other operatives saved 9,500 migrants in the Mediterranean.

INFIORATA 2017

The third weekend in May is the time to head for that most architecturally homogeneous of the Baroque cities of the Val di Noto, Noto itself. Completely rebuilt after the devastating earthquake of 1693, its honey-coloured stone buildings are a joy to behold and the town is particularly welcoming on the three days of its Infiorata - carpet of flowers.

Before we go along via Nicolaci to see the flowers, let us first remind ourselves of the beauty of Noto:

The theme of the Infiorata this year has been Sogni e Colori del Principato di Monaco - Dreams and Colours of the Principality of Monaco and celebrates the town's links with the Principality. Prince Albert of Monaco, who has done much to support the Ente Fauna Siciliana and, through this, the nature reserve at Vendicari, was made an honorary citizen of Noto in September.

When you arrive in Noto by bus on an Infiorata day, the first thing you see is a thriving market. for it would not be an Italian festa without one. What always delights me about such markets is the aroma of vanilla coming from all those sweets and biscuits they are selling - I find it very comforting, and I think it must be because it reminds me of the smell of custard cooking for Sunday dessert at home when I was a child.

But now let us make our way along via Nicolaci.  It is difficult to get really good shots because you have to walk, obviously, along the sides of the display and you also have to contend with the sun beating down on one of them! I have done my best:

I was glad that Princess Grace was there:

The card theme running through the display was, I thought, inspired:

About half way up, I ducked into a nice little restaurant for a lunch of bruschette and vegetarian couscous:

Then it was one more nod to Monaco, a look down via Nicolaci and a preview of next year's theme, China:

Well done as always, Noto and special congratulations for reaching out with these international themes.

Prince Albert of Monaco will be visiting Modica in the autumn, when he hopes to explore the story of the branch of his family, the Grimaldi, who settled here.

GOING NUTTY

I enjoyed being taken out for dinner on Saturday and took advantage of the occasion to go nutty!

For the main course both my friend and I had fillet steak in a pistacchio sauce and there was an interesting contorno to share. Then my friend chose pannacotta with caramel whilst I couldn't resist one of my favourites, parfait alle mandorle [almond parfait] which was.....well, perfect!

SCECCU PORTA E SCECCU MANCIA

Sceccu porta e sceccu mancia.

He brings donkey [meat] and eats donkey [meat].

- Sicilian saying  [usually said of someone who brings food  - probably a dessert - to a meal with friends or family and then is the first to eat it!]

Having followed the relevant twitter feeds here, I can't help feeling that Italians have rather enjoyed the UK horse-meat scandal, simply because it proves yet again that we know nothing about food.  How, after all, could we not have detected it over all these years? Only the citizens of a nation where sausages and bacon are eaten in the morning could have such undiscerning tastebuds, the reasoning goes. The French view it all rather differently, as they just can't see what the problem is:  "It's horse-meat - et alors?"

The laughter died down somewhat a couple of weeks ago when the management of a popular international furniture store banned meatballs from its restaurants in Italy and 13 other countries after horse-meat traces had been found in the product in the Czech Republic. Then traces were found in a pack of ready-made lasagne in Verona Province. Though not as nonchalant as their French neighbours, consumers here are scandalised less because the products may contain horse-meat and more because they do not contain the ingredients stated on their packaging or publicity.  But now - oh, no! - traces of horse-meat have been found in the ragù produced by a well-known Italian manufacturer of stock cubes and sauces.  Of course, any Italian woman with any pride makes her own brodo and ragù - or so we are led to believe - but if that were always true the products wouldn't sell, would they?  I do make my own ragù and freeze it in small portions, as you need it as an ingredient in timballi or pasta al forno but will admit I've been tempted, at times, to buy the new small portions of ragù made by this company. I'm glad I didn't!  

Image: WP Clipart

MODICA GETS A GONG

I'm proud to say that the provinces of Ragusa and Catania have establishments that have won Best in Sicily 2013 awards from cronachedigusto.it .  

Let's start with Ragusa:  Modica's very own Caffè dell'Arte has won the "best bar" award and this is well deserved. They make delicious chocolate, ice cream, granita and pastries and you'll be pleased to know that the loo is OK, too! [In fact, when I first came to Sicily in 1992 it was about the only bar in Modica Bassa with a decent one and I used to go there just for that particular need but, of course, I'd stay on to have a pastry....]  The town of Chiaramonte Gulfi, also in Ragusa Province, wins the award for best "food and wine town".

The best wine producer award goes to Giuseppe Russo of Girolamo Russo in Passopisciaro-Castiglione di Sicilia in Catania Province while Maurizio Spinello of Santa Rita [Caltanissetta Province] has been named best baker. The best pastry shop award goes to Dolcezze delle Madonie in Calcarelli, Castellana Sicula [Palermo Province] and the best restaurant, according to the judges, is that of the Hotel Signum on Salina [Messina Province].  The best pizzeria  award has been won by La Brace di Isnello [Palermo Province] and I sure want to go there!

The awards ceremony will take place on 22nd January at Castello Utveggio in Palermo.

Let's hear it for the Caffè dell'Arte!

Thanks to my friend Carol King for pointing out this news to me.

["Gong" is British slang for an honour or military decoration.]

SUNDAY LUNCH WITH NEW FRIENDS

It was great to meet my new friend Caryn, from Connecticut, and her husband and mother , whose parents were from Sicily, for lunch at the Osteria dei Sapori Perduti yesterday. Caryn found this blog and then searched for me on facebook.

We had the house antipasti

which included arancini, focacce, bruschette [above] and caponata [below]:

These were followed by the local sweet ravioli:

Then Caryn and her husband had chicken scaloppine

while Caryn's mother had pork spezzatino:

These came with potatoes cooked in the oven with capers:

I had traditional coniglio stemperato [ rabbit braised with capers, olives, garlic, celery and carrots]. Yes, there are potatoes in there, too.

For dessert, we had cannoli, because you just have to when you visit Sicily.  It would have been churlish of me not to join in, wouldn't it?

Our friend the singing accordionist was there:

Look closely at Caryn's brooch, which she wore especially for me!

Do visit Modica again, Caryn and family!  Cincin!

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.

ITALY MAGAZINE ROUND-UP

Football of course dominated the headlines at the end of last week and I, who know nothing about the subject and couldn't even lift the ball, let alone kick it, would not dare offer a technical opinion.  For Italy Magazine I did, however, sum up reactions in Italy to the national team's defeat.

Long ago, when I first came to Italy, I used to have "If they could see me now" moments whenever I rode in the Alfa Romeo that belonged to the family I was staying with, so news about a very special birhday party in Milan brought back happy memories.

Finally tonight, here are some great places to shop for food in some of Italy's less crowded locations. 

Happy reading!

A DAY IN AGRIGENTO

Ever since I came to live in Sicily, I've been trying to get back to Agrigento, whose breathtaking Valle dei Templi should surely be listed among the Wonders of the World. When I first visited Modica, it was just possible to do the journey to Agrigento and back by bus in a day, provided you left Modica at 5 am, changed buses at Gela and were prepared to commence the return journey at around 3 pm. That journey is no longer possible as the connection times have changed and I'm afraid the situation is another example of a lack of understanding of what tourists want on the part of tourism firms in the area. So when my friends Marie-Laure and David announced that they were planning to travel to Agrigento today by car and invited me to go along, I was only too happy to accept.

We left Modica at 08.30 and made straight for the Valle dei Templi, where we arrived just before 11 am. Marie-Laure and David had been amazed, as I had been on my first visit to Agrigento in 1992, to see the Temples rising above us as we drove along. We immediately walked up to the Tempio della Concordia, the best preserved of the Temples, dating, it is believed, from about 430 BC. There has been some restoration work on the lower part of the Temple and I had not seen it without girders around it for many years. And now here it was, its honey-coloured stone gleaming in the sun. We were silent for a while as we gazed at perfection. We spent a good hour at this site and then decided not to venture up or down to the other Temples as it was so hot along the hill [it must have been about 44 C] that we thought we would keel over! We therefore admired the other main temples from afar before repairing to a restaurant we had heard of, La Trizzera, for a much needed lunch.

And now I'd like to share with you some of the images of the day:

I was a hit with the owner of this traditional cart and could have spent the rest of my life in Agrigento! [The notice asks you to leave an offering "for the horse" if you want to be photographed with the cart as a background.]

Tempio della Concordia:






Marie-Laure and me. We'd been discussing shoes Aristotle!



Now lunch: we all had cavatieddi pasta with a tomato and aubergine sauce



then Marie -Laure and I had veal scaloppine



while David had chosen from the fish menu:



Fruit was served for dessert



and then cassata:



Marie-Laure and David outside La Trizzera:



Altogether a fabulous day with great friends!

FOODIE FRIDAY: SICILIAN PROVERBS - 8

This time I've decided to combine "Foodie Friday" with this week's Sicilian proverbs quiz. So the proverbs or idioms are all about food [or drink] and there are 10, rather than the usual 6.

Match the Sicilian proverbs or idioms 1 - 10 with their meanings a - j. The answers are right below where it says, "Highlight below for answers" - yes, they are there!

1. Ricotta e meli, màncianni vulinteri.

2. Pane e furmaggiu, nè prudu nè dammaggiu.

3. Nun c'è tavula senza vinu, né predica senza Agustinu.

4. Non c'è megghiu sarsa di la fami.

5. Cu mancia fa muddicchi.

6. Çircari 'i puorri.

7. Pani e paraisu vo' siri varagnatu.

8. Siri 'na carrua anfurnata.

9. Cogghìri l'uogghìu sùpra o màccu.

10. Jornu cortu, pisci longu; jornu longu, pisci curtu.

a. To be like a baked carob pod [ie., to be as thin as a rake].

b. You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs [literally, "if you eat you make crumbs"].

c. Go look for leeks [ie., to make excuses].

d. Bread and cheese won't do you any good but they won't do you any harm either.

e. Short days, long fish; long days, short fish [ie., you should eat long fish in winter and short fish in summer].

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f. There's no better sauce than hunger.

g. To collect the oil off broad bean stew [ie., to be so mean that you let nothing escape your grasping hands].



h. Eat as much ricotta and as many apples as you like.



i. There's no table without wine and there's no sermon that doesn't mention St Augustine.

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j. Bread and Paradise have to be earned [ie., nothing is free].

Highlight below for answers [ ie., highlight the space between these 2 lines and the picture]:
1h, 2d, 3i, 4f, 5b, 6c, 7j, 8a, 9g, 10e.

THE EATING HABITS OF YOUNG SICILIANS

An interesting Demopolis poll regarding the eating habits of Sicilian students aged 13-19 was published in La Sicilia today:

Most main meals consumed by this age group are eaten at home but 25% of those interviewed admitted to skipping breakfast. 69% of those who do eat breakfast said that they take less than 5 minutes over it [which to me is unsurprising as the meal only consists of a biscuit or croissant with a coffee here for adults, whilst children might need only a minute longer to smear the biscuit or a piece of bread with the ubiquitous Nutella].

Bread, pasta and meat are the most regularly consumed foods, but younger children dislike vegetables [what's new there?] and, worryingly and surprisingly in this region of abundant fruit, 32% of the interviewees confessed that they hardly ever eat any.

Given a choice, most of the students would like to eat more pizza and sweet food [in the form of cakes and biscuits] and, when it comes to snacks between meals, they are more likely to choose sweet food over savoury sandwiches or crisps.

46% of the students are unhappy with their weight and the figure rises to 53% if we take the girls alone. 41% of the interviewees have dieted without seeking medical advice. Here we go again - I think it is such a pity that, in so many countries, the lives of even people as young as this are blighted by the body images pushed at them in the media. [I see very few obese youngsters here as compared with a town of similar size in the UK but still children worry unnecessarily about their weight.]

An encouraging 80% thought that healthy foods and local produce were best for them, but when asked the majority could not name many Sicilian food products. However, 50% did say that they wanted to learn more about food traditions and 72% wanted to know more about Sicilian agricultural produce.

So there you have it. How do these attitudes and eating habits compare with where you are?

IL POETA DEL PONTE

On this perfect Sicilian spring day, I was invited to lunch, along with friends, at the home of Professore Lonardo and his wife. I'll get straight to the food!

First, these prettily arranged antipasti [that's marinated artichoke at the back]. So simple, yet so appetising:

Then fusilli al forno. [I love crunchy pasta!]



And how about this for a beautifully presented main course?

For dessert there were exotically perfumed March mandarins, Linda and Chiara had made a spongecake filled with Sicilian orange marmalade and I had made a lemon semifreddo [a standby of mine which everyone seems to like].

The Lonardo apartment has a stunning view of our Ponte Guerrieri so of course, I had to go out on the balcony to take these pictures to share with you:

Then I got in on the act!

From another balcony, you can see the station and above it [in the centre] the Cappuccini Monastery. This building brings back memories of my first Christmas Eve in Modica, in 1993, for I attended Midnight Mass there and was amused when the monks made us rehearse all the carols before they would start the service! [I couldn't crop out the crane in this picture without losing a lot of today's beautiful sky, so I left it alone.]

And I want a balcony plant like this one! Does anyone know what it is called? [The leaves are velvety.]

Finally, I thought you would like to see a photo of "our" poet and his wife:



Yes, this is the man who brings us poems like the one below and beside him sits his inspiration for so many of them.

SUGGESTIONE

Giocare
a nascondiglio con la luna
tra nuvole ed alberi;
afferrare
i primi raggi di sole
nell'ebbrezza del mattino;
gustare
i frutti della natura
tra le primizie di stagione;
bagnare
l'erba della terra
con lacrime e sudore;
ricordare
gli occhi di una donna
nella suggestione della vita.

ENCHANTMENT

Playing
at hiding with the moon
between clouds and trees;
seizing
the first rays of sunlight
in the exaltation of morning;
tasting
the fruits of Nature
among her first gifts of the season;
soaking
the grass of the earth
with tears and with sweat;
remembering
the eyes of a woman
in the enchantment of life.

- From Le Stagioni del Cuore by Antonio Lonardo [Modica, 2008].
[My translation.]