Culinary Tour of

Southeast Sicily
September 1-12, 2016
TastySuitcase, LLC
Chef Architect Cinzia Cripe, Tour Leader
https://www.facebook.com/Tasty-Suitcase-LLC-1578209159172152/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf
http://www.tastysuitcase.com/
#tastysuitcase
 Trinacria
From Trinacrium, Roman for “Star with Three Points”
The symbol of Sicily. The Roman name refers to the triangular shape of this, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Note the stalks of wheat, which represent the fact
that Sicily was the granary of Rome. The head of Medusa reflects the protection of Athena, patron goddess of the island.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinacria
 Welcome to Sicilia!
Arrival, Settling In, First Dinner Together

September 1, 2016
 Room 11 – we
Eremo della Giubiliana had the most
entertaining
Lobby – greeting area door!

The flag of the

Entry patio Knights of Malta

Courtyard – we ate outside

here the first few nights
 Eremo della Giubiliana
http://www.eremodellagiubiliana.it/rooms/suite_grande

Ristorante Don Eusebio

where we had breakfast, most of our dinners and some lunches

Lunch on our own waiting for Cinzia to bring the

rest of the group: Ricotta savory (before) and
sweet (after), the bread plate that appeared at Mark and Kathy Nixon, Susan Hastings,
every meal accompanying the “Traditional lunch and Debora Felton also enjoyed a bottle
with its deliciousness.” Indeed! of the estate’s Nero D’Avola.
Eremo della Giubiliana Welcome Dinner
Gli Aromi, Satra in Scicli, Cava d’Ispica

September 2, 2016
Gli Aromi

Tour Day One –

we began at a local herb farm
Sicily is renowned for its produce. This is inside one farm’s worth of the greenhouses that dotted the landscape everywhere we rode. All of the
colors and the flavors we were privileged to see and sample were so much more vivid than anything we are accustomed to here. The volcanic
nutrients and climate make for extraordinary fertility – one of the reasons the island has been exploited by invaders across the millennia.

Gli Aromi’s products are sought out by fine restaurants all over Europe – including at Satra, where the farmer’s girlfriend is the chef!
Lunch in Scicli

I bought the chef ’s

cookbook at the herb
farm and had her sign it
after lunch

The fish of the day was…

grouper!
 Cava d’Ispica
http://www.scoprimodica.it/en/must-see/museums/parco-archeologico-cava-ispica/
https://www.britannica.com/place/Sicily#ref79308

After lunch, it was time for our next

adventure! (or, What? No nap?)
Salvatore Pisani is a local certified tour guide. Cinzia engaged him
to introduce us to the wonders of the rich southeastern Sicilian
historical resources. Our first stop was Parco Forza, a small
archaeological park with an old church and necropolis. It sits on a
hill on one side of the Cava d’Ispica gorge. Salvatore pointed out
the holes that punctuate the rockface across the gorge from the
park and told us that these were the tombs of the earliest
inhabitants of this ancient land, the Siculi (up to 20,000 years
BCE), followed by subsequent waves of invaders who took over
and reused the same spaces for their dead. They changed the
shapes, however, from a “womb in the earth” to a more
accessible size and shape, obliterating the original contents in the
majority of the tomb sites.
Later groups dug graves inside caves, creating these catacombs. They are very dramatic seen in person. There were inscriptions and drawings on the
walls inside some of them, but much of this has faded or been wiped out. The catacombs are in another archaeological park closer to the city of Ispica.
 The Cave Church of St. Mary at Ispica
Southeastern Sicily suffered a severe earthquake on January 11,
1693, devastating more than 70 towns and killing an estimated
60,000 people. The part of this church that survived was the
part that was inside the cave. All of the building that existed
outside of it was destroyed, like the nearby town. An old man
cares for the church. Townspeople celebrate Easter here,
bringing an icon of the saint down from the regular church.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1693_Sicily_earthquake)
The end of this day’s adventure was a tour of a working grain mill hundreds
of years old, employing an Arab water wheel that is horizontal rather than
vertical. Water is brought in via aqueduct and routed through the cave to the
wheel that turns the stones to grind the grain. We were able to walk through
the wheel cave, which is so low that you have to stoop to pass.

This was a much-appreciated highlight of the day for us, directly

related to the interests that brought us together in Sicily. We viewed
the miller’s house, the historical implements kept in working order by
the current owner/miller/curator, and the workings of the mill
wheel, as well as two different grinds of flour produced before our
eyes! The flour is sold in the museum shop.
Today, our culinary adventure really began in earnest. We started the day at the "firehouse" at Eremo della Giubiliana. This is an outdoor kitchen with a
fireplace for cooking. It is separated by some distance from the main building and is near where their famous black pigs are quartered. We got to see the
pigs, also. You can tell that they are well cared for and are in a good environment - the odors we associate with livestock were minimal.
The purpose of our excursion was to learn about ricotta making. The owner of the hotel, who has restored it and turned it into the magnificent
facility and culinary destination that it is, was on hand to explain the tradition of preparing it. Ricotta is made early in the morning every week on this farm.
Traditionally it served as a breakfast for the farmers before they began their long days. Serum (whey) from making cheese is cooked (hence the name
ricotta - "recooked") in a pot that looks like a huge metal version of a laboratory erlenmyer flask but with a shorter neck and more significant rounded
curve from the bottom to the sides. The shape of the pot is thought to make the ricotta lighter, and this would certainly seem to be the case. As it was
explained to us, the solid is actually lighter than the liquid and floats to the top. There it is skimmed off and eaten immediately, put in bamboo molds
shaped like a large finger, or used in other dishes, etc.
We each got a serving of the ricotta in a traditional clay bowl. It was still warm. Creamy, salty, milky...words do not do justice to the product or the
experience of eating it for the first time this way.
In addition to the ricotta, we were also served several other products of the farm, all which are often eaten together. There were two salumi and
seasoned lard from the black pigs. Yes, lard, eaten by itself and delicious. It is nothing like what we know of as lard. Green olives - soaked in water and salt
for a couple of weeks after harvesting, then drained, smooshed (my term) and added to celery, carrots, other vegetables depending on who is making them,
and vinegar. After a week they are removed from this and are marinated in olive oil and herbs for 40 days after which they are ready to eat. The texture is
so much better than the jarred things we are used to, and even the bitter edge to the flavor is a great complement to all of the other flavors infused during
the curing process.
We also had provola cheese made from the tuma of cheese making of the day before. It is similar to mozzarella that has been drained and is squeeky
to chew. But the flavor! Very mild, but at the end you can taste the milk. That is why it is so important to start with good tasting milk.
And then there were the sundried tomatoes. Cinzia extolls these as "the flavor of Sicily." Truly, the tomato in Sicily has been an experience. These
had been dried, seasoned, and rolled into tiny little rolls that divided themselves into little pellets of highly concentrated flavor. I cannot describe just how
wonderful they are.
Finally, there were also caramelized cippolini, a large, flattened, sweet onion. You know those Christmas ornaments that are like a squished ball
shape? They look like that and are sold everywhere alongside the roads. Caramelize that, and you have onion candy :-)
Our host served water cold from the 300 year old well to wash it all down with. Ah, breakfast in Sicily.
Vendicari, Marzamemi, Noto
http://www.vendicari.net/

September 3, 2106
Donnafugata and Donnalucata
http://www.donnalucatabluemoon.com/
 Our final cooking class this morning with Chef Giorgio Ruggeri of Zafran Ristorante was called "Reloaded Traditions: The Fish Experience." Allow me to understate that it
was, indeed, an experience, and it did not end at lunch with the fruits of our labors, but extended through dinner in Donnalucata, a fishing village on the southeastern coast of
Sicily, where Cinzia and her family have lived since the 1980s.
We learned how to make an eggless pasta dough rolled out and cut into squares about 4 or 5 cm each. The squares are placed in the palm of one hand with one point
toward the wrist. This point is then folded over and the square quickly rolled by passing the free hand over the palm with the pasta square in it. The shape is called strozzapreti.
While one group was working on the pasta, another chopped vegetables for the pink chickpea soup that would become a hummus-like base on which were placed sauteed
squid and a zucchini flower that had been blanched. The pink chickpeas had been soaking since the end of our class on Tuesday. More water was added and they were brought to a
boil to cook throughout our session. After veggie chopping, onion, celery, and carrots were sautéed until the onions were translucent, then finely chopped rosemary and sage were
added. This was followed by fresh tomatoes that had been blanched, peeled, and roughly chopped. All of this was then added to the pot of chickpeas and seasoned further. The
whole pot was simmered until the chickpeas were tender, then whole stems of basil and leaves were added shortly before it was removed from the heat and pureed. Salt and olive
oil were used liberally throughout the process, but the end product was neither salty nor oily, and perfectly balanced seasoning shone a light on all of the layers of flavor in the dish.
When it was plated, the chef placed two of the small calamaro, each halved, on top of the puree and a flower in the center, with bitter orange marmalade drizzled on top. The
combination was extraordinary.
For the pasta, we made a ragout of grouper with a wild rocket (arugula) emulsion. As excellent as the squid dish was, this was my favorite. Our lunch dessert was a lemon
granita with red fruits.
This wonderful lunch bolstered us (after a brief opportunity for a nap) for our trip to Donnafugata castle. Barone Arrezzo built this majestic-looking facade around a
grouping of farmhouses in the mid 1800s. It is an interesting place since its purpose was to enhance the reputation of the baron and his family rather than act as a real castle had in
previous centuries. There are many windows, but most of them have no rooms behind them. It is lovely and its grounds are also extensive and very interesting. We happened to be
there when an exhibit of 19th century lingerie was on display. These had recently been acquired by the city government as part of a collection that they purchased for use in this
museum. The city is constantly working to restore and maintain this cultural legacy of the area by adding details like the clothing and renovating rooms, as we witnessed walking
through.
From Donnafugata we traveled to Donnalucata for Caltagironean ceramics and dinner followed by a seaside stroll and gelato. Caltagirone is famous for its ceramics, but we
only had the opportunity this trip for the end product. Dinner was at a wonderful restaurant up one of the very narrow streets in the city. We ate in a gazebo under a cloudy sky but
the temp was perfect and there was no more than a sprinkle of rain once. Cinzia had arranged the menu in advance. We started with red shrimp and mantis shrimp, both famous
Sicilian varieties, dressed simply in olive oil and herbs and eaten raw. In addition, we had boiled octopus that had been sliced into sections, eggplant involtini stuffed with bread
crumbs, cheese, and herbs, campari-size tomatoes that had been cut into wedges and also served simply with olive oil and herbs, and their house bread. Everyone seems to have
their own olive oil that they serve, made from their own groves, and this was no exception. The appetizers were followed by a wonderful summer squash soup with savory broth
and sweet onions and zucchina [sic] that was very very very fresh! The main course was mahi involtini stuffed with eggplant (it is in season now and so is everywhere and is
wonderful), pine nuts, and other things that turned it into a spectacle of flavors and textures. It was accompanied by a boiled potato and Sicilian swiss chard, which is quite a bit
more flavorful than supermarket swiss chard we are used to. To finish we had a selection of three desserts; I chose an amazing blancomangiare (almond milk pudding) that had
been transformed, as our hostess described it, as like Robin Hood who took from the rich to give to the poor - the latter rarely had almonds and much less almond milk, so they
created a concoction that resulted in a richer and more delightful dessert than the original. The chef's interpretation of it was extraordinary for the blend of flavors, which included
a liqueur that can be made only by an order of nuns in Florence. Absolutely oustanding.
After such a meal, you can imagine we needed a bit of a break before gelato, so we strolled by a rolling sea, the tide coming in, a beautiful crescent moon hung out for us
 Siracusa
http://romeonrome.com/2009/09/2009-sicily-siracusa-noto-ragusa-etna-catania-taormina/