For various reasons that should become apparent over the next few months, I’m planning to write my Sicilian experiences into a chapter of a book. It’s unlikely that I’ll ever use the Sicilian chapter in the final manuscript since the rest of the book will be about entirely different places, but for now it’s a test run…
So instead of describing my gastro-travels here, I’ll show you some photos of the highlights and leave the rest to my inspiration…
Antipasti
Of which we ate a lot. The smoked ricotta was the foodie highlight of my week – milky and young yet refined. If had to eat nothing else for the rest of my life, this could very well be it.
Primi piatti
Pasta alla norma, which was made with aubergine so slick it was almost indecent. I also had a great bowl of spinach and ricotta ravioli with sage butter, but was so involved with it that I forgot to take a photo. Disappointingly, we didn’t find any pasta with fennel and sardines – largely because it’s a speciality of Palermo and we were on the other side of the island.
Secondi piatti
Involtini di spada (rolled, filled swordfish) dominated the menus, as did pizzas, which were superb though, of course, not a patch on my Napolitan benchmark.
Dolce
Unsurprisingly, I didn’t eat a lot of desserts, though a peach or lemon ‘granita’ (sort of like a slush puppy) made for welcome refreshment in the midday heat.