Day 26. A taste of Sicily.

Sicily is not a travel destination for the faint hearted. It is not the simplest place to get to from the mainland of Italy and is a little undersupplied with infrastructure. It’s reputation for corruption and the mafia does not encourage the timid traveler. Finally, it’s drivers make the mainland drivers seem calm, cautious and civil and that is saying something. Most however would agree that there is one very good reason to make the ferry trip worthwhile... the food.  So this blog is dedicated to a our favourite tastes of Sicily.

Lets begin with pasta. Lunch at a highly recommended trattoria in the backstreets of Taormina is pasta perfection. It begins with a complimentary entrée of bruschetta, rich with tomato and dripping in the finest olive oil. Richard’s main course choice is handmade macaroni, cheese, tomato and eggplant. The macaroni is  about 10 cm long, cooked al dente and the sauce is  rich and smooth with just a hint of pepper. It is  topped with grilled eggplant, breadcrumbs and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Wendy’s choice is fresh ravioli filed with salmon and served in a rich cheese and pistachio sauce. Bread is supplied for cleaning up the plate in true Italian style – but water, as always, is bottled and added to the tab.

In Sicily we are spoilt for choice with desserts, but again it is in the small shops at the edge of town that we find wonderful handmade examples of the local delicacies. Cannoli we have enjoyed in the past from the North Ryde Italian Deli but here the shells are crisper and more like a biscuit, not too sweet and very crunchy. The filling is abundant and sweet and only added after we have ordered. Filling options are pistachio cream, vanilla cream or ricotta cream- what a burden to have to choose.

Another dessert classic in the south is cassata, which we thought meant (like Mr. Pisa Gelato) ice cream. How wrong we were! Traditional Sicilian cassata is a layered sponge cake, filled with a flavorsome, but not too rich, ricotta cream and topped with green marzipan icing and a glazed cherry. We are encouraged to try a modern adaption of the traditional cassata. It is more like a ricotta cake with a firm base and just the hint of rum.  All these desserts are made locally and cost only a couple of euro ($3 AUD).

We also enjoy having a kitchen at our hostel and dine like kings with food from the vegetable barrow man and the local supermarket for about $8 AUD.  Our creative menu is a spiraled Italian sausage, frozen vegetable patties, a fresh salad of tomato, lettuce, red cabbage and grated carrot and of course pane di casa. Squisito!