The pasta with sardines

The main dish for the feast of St. Joseph is “a Sardinian pasta ch’i,” one of the most original Sicilian dishes combining completely different elements, blending the sweet and the salty, the typical Sicilian gastronomic philosophy that focuses on the balance between opposites. There is a blue fish in our seas, Sardines, so poor but ever so precious. Embodying the love for our mountains in the spring, there is the green-coloured fennel, with it’s very special taste. There are pine nuts, there are sugary sultanas, there is the salted anchovy. These flavours are enhanced by the deep yellow colour and aroma of the invaluable spice, saffron (used in the tradition of Palermo in this particular dish. Other versions may require using concentrated tomato). All this is...

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The Black side of Sicily

 

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Street Food Tour in Palermo

Dear Friends, just a short photoreportage about our Street Food Tour in Palermo, that I warmly reccommend you!   The meeting is usually at 11,30 in the front of Theater Massimo. Tasting on Capo Market la “frittola”( I don’t explain you what is means – you have to taste it);) Tasting  of various types of meat to see Panellaro who is preparing “le panelle” (Panella it’s only a thin foil of fried chickpeameal) cooking “panelle” Tasting “Arancine di riso” – Rice croquettes “Spleen” is ready! me &”sandwich with spleen” and after all we need to digest the most famous palermitan pastry il”cannolo” ..but not only...

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Snow in Sicily

Exceptional Sicilian snowfall No one can imagine that in Sicily besides the sea, beautiful beaches and magical locations and towns you can also see the snow. The snow in Sicily is a rather rare event. Except for the mountainous inland areas, from Etna to the Madonie, passing through the provinces of Enna and Caltanissetta, it rarely snows in the other areas of the island.In cities like Avola in the province of Siracuse, there hasn’t been snow since 1987. In Palermo according to statistics (because I wasn’t living here at that time, so I have to trust statistics and Sicilians) last time it snowed was in 1999. It is a unique moment when it snows in Sicily,  you can see the Sicilians dancing and smiling on the streets. Sicilians don’t believe their eyes that it’s really snowing....

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The Sicilians: Between Acceptance and Distrust

The Sicilians, and in particualar the “Palermitani” (the people of Palermo) have always had a strong will to accept others and an openess towards diversity, in part thanks to the many foreigners who arrive daily. Whether it be tourists or workers, a positive atmosphere is always found here. Our story and our varied DNA has created a load we carry unconciously, which contributes to this: Sicily, in it’s origins and multi-ethnicity, and the Sicilian people, with all our genes, including Arab, Norman, French, Spanish, Piemontese…the list continues, are the fruits of the past colonies which have been here over the centuries. It is enough to observe this in the traits we carry, be it blue eyes and blond hair, olive skin, pale skin, black hair or a fair complexion,. This...

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Street Food Polipo Bollito

In the summertime the “Palermitani” or people from Palermo, enjoy visiting the nearby fishing villages, a street food favorite is the boiled octopus, or as we say “purpu vugghiutu”.In the plaza in Mondello you can find many stands where the “purpari” or octopus vendors sell this delicious sea food.Of course these metal sheet food stands block the beautiful sea view and may not respect all sanitary standards (as most of all street foods). This was the main reason why in the 80’s all the stands in the Mondello square were removed although the complaint of those who loved tasting the hot, boiled octopus enhanced by the sea aroma.Even though unpleasant to the eye, those metal sheet stands had their lure for the Palermitans as well as for the tourists attracted by its folklore. ...

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