Wednesday, 13 October 2010

On location: Sicily

What's Sicily eating? by Charlotte

A comprehensive list of food eaten (by two) in Sicily over two weeks. 

Palermo
Round focaccia with lard, innards, ricotta and Parmesan - a little greasy  for some.
Round focaccia with ricotta and Parmesan - delightfully light ricotta.
Mixed plate of caponata, fried cheese, good olives, cheese, bread - caponata is the best thing.
Le sarde - fried sardines with curry sauce - unexpected liking for curry.
Seabass rolled (rotolini) and stuffed with tomatoes, basil and capers - real good.
Fig semifreddo - ice cream cake slice with sponge base and caramelised fig sauce - yes yes yes.
Menu del giorno lunch (after much walking and viewing of catacombs, i.e. very hungry)
Ragu al miale, aka pork bolognese - tasty and plentiful.
Pasta with anchovies - salty fish and pasta al dente feast.
Veal and chips - top dog.
Salty pork meatballs - they like salt. 
Insalata verde, green salad, literally sliced iceberg - an unexpectedly popular lettuce in the city of Palermo.
Caponata - best I've had.
Brik, a pancake starter stuffed with tuna and capers and then deep fried - a bit try hard...
Calamari with sweet chilli sauce - not chewy, just perfect.
8 gamberone rossi (large red prawns) - truly meaty seafood, could have eaten 16.
Sicilian blancmange - pannacotta wins over this.

Cefalù
Beach lunch
Hot piadine filled with prosciutto crudo and mozzarella.
Mixed salad, mainly tuna - it was late, suspect they were low on other ingredients, Omega oils for the whole trip obtained.
Menu Turistica (dinner)
Casserecci pasta - extruded 's' shape, al dente and superb.
Fritto misto - always good.
La Botte in Parco delle Madonie (hills behind Cefalù) (lunch)
Insalata snob, salad with olives, artichoke, tomatoes, lettuce, fat parmesan shavings, mushrooms - anything with artichoke is good.
La Botte sandwich of cheese, prosciutto and rocket.
Dinner in Cefalù
Pizza Norma, with aubergine - ok, nothing to shout about.
Pizza Rustica, with anchovies - ditto.
Train lunch
Sandwich of cheese and prosciutto - cheese was squeaky like halloumi.

Milazzo
Aubergine rolls, mushrooms stuffed with spinach and cheese, patatas bravas, tortilla.
Piatto del mare - gamberone rossi, muscles, calamari, battered fish, salmon pate - great bar/restaurant, Lola writes a blog too - Sicilian Diary
Breakfast on boat to the Eolian islands
Pan ciok, large croissant pastry packed with chocolate pieces.

Stromboli
Beach lunch
Arancini - street food, deep fried rice balls stuffed with aubergine, spinach, bolognese, cheese etc. - Matt wasn't a fan. I am.
Bar Ingrid (breakfast & drinks)
With beautiful views, good coffee and delicious pastries (large gooey fig centered biscuit pastry yes please), necessary after a volcanic hike.

Taormina
Il Trocadero (dinner)
Rustica platter of local cheeses, meats and olives.
Piglia e fieno, pasta with prosciutto, mushrooms and cream - nice.
Napolitana pizza - in Matt's words - sloppy.
Beach lunch 
Grilled vegetables - top dollar.
Evening drink - latte di mandorla (on all bar/gelateria signs) - sweet! too sweet!
Three types of olive oil; light from Catania; medium from Etna; strong from Ragusa - all good, think the light was preferred although the waiter misunderstood and only left the strong.
Spaghetti with tuna, bottarga and cherry tomatoes.
Calamari, mushrooms and pigs cheek cooked in masala wine - on my goodness, amazing.
Salad of fennel, orange, olives, red onion - best salad ever? I think yes.
Train station (lunch) 
Italian Ginsters lunch of pastry filled with mozzarella, prosciutto, tomatoes and olives - pretty good for a train station.

Agrigento 
Trattoria Caico (in San Leone) (dinner)
Fillet of beef with Nero d'avola sauce - it had the look of Satan's dinner (it was basically black in colour).
Swordfish, grilled and served with lime - meaty and satisfying.
Breakfast - croissants with a light cream filling, sweet and delicious.
Best find in Agrigento serving food with a hint of north Africa.
Spaghetti with sardines, spices and sultanas - really tasty and lots of it.
Pennette with sausage and broccoli, a typical dish but with spices and sultanas - a favourite of the trip.
Pastries from Santo Spirito - made by the nuns(!) A mix of mini pastries and biscuits made with almonds, marzipan and pistachio nuts. 

Masala
Divino Rosso (dinner)
Pizza + chips + beer - best pizza we found in Sicily.
Danzibar Pasticceria (breakfast)
An 'Iris', a crispy, sugar coated doughnut stuffed with warm ricotta and chocolate - a succulent treat with hints of a cheesecake...
L'antica de Gaetano (lunch)
Chicken meatballs with a caper and tomato salsa - just perfect.
Orechiette pasta with prosciutto, mushrooms and cream - a brilliant pasta with interesting markings.
Street food snack - chestnuts smoked and salted - yum!
Brilliant local wines and bar treats, including pesto Trapanese (tomato, basil and almonds); small fish; pistachio pesto; tuna and orange pate; sun dried tomato pate.
Trattoria Garibaldi (dinner)
Fritto misto - not the best.
Red mullet - a little fishy...
Putanesca salad of potatoes, tomatoes, onion, capers and oregano - top salad.
Danzibar Pasticceria (breakfast)
Chocolate croissant - the last of many.
Sweet bread like brioche with a sausage inside - woo!








0 comments:

Post a Comment