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| Almond ice cream at Caffe Sicilia, Noto |
“How many gelati have you had today Mum?” asked one
daughter on our recent trip to Sicily.
“It must be at least four maybe even five!” said
other daughter in a disapproving tone.
I was suddenly aware of the parent /child roles
reversing. Surely it should be me reprimanding them for eating too many ice
creams shouldn’t it?
Not Today!!
The extreme heat and the desire to taste all the
amazing flavours on offer proved just too tempting for me!!
“Hey who’s counting,” I relied as I slurped another
almond ice cream happily, (not wanting to admit that it was probably my fifth..)
“Anyway, some
of them were granita’s, and they’re really just like frozen drinks so they
can’t count!!” I replied unconvincingly!
With temperatures of 35 degrees and above, I felt my
gelato gluttony was justified!
Everything about Sicily is just so wonderful.
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| Gardens in Noto |
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| Noto, Sicily |
The climate is consistently warm, the people
friendly and the food..sigh...the
food is just gorgeous! Then there’s the ice cream!!
I had thought I would do the odd post whilst away but
NO CHANCE!
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| Sicily |
I was far too busy eating gelato and wandering around
Greek amphitheatres and temple ruins. Not to mention swimming in the crystal
clear water of three different seas...I won’t go on!
We stayed with some fantastic people who were
generous in explaining more about the history and cultural influences of their
island, all of which helped deepen our respect for the people and their food.
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| Almond groves in Southern Sicily |
The hill sides around Noto, the Baroque town in the
South, are dotted with almond groves. Almonds feature heavily in the cuisine of
the Southern regions. In cakes, pasta sauces and gelatti is no exception.
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| Cathedral, Noto, Sicily |
In Noto I had my first almond gelatti...it was so
subtle, so delicate, so refreshing...
Obviously in the name of research I had to sample a huge
range of gelatti and granitas...flavours include watermelon, peach, mandarin,
orange, lemon, basil, pistachio...the list is endless..but the almond gelato in
the south was just so special.
We visited run down looking gelatteri, and beach
vendors to the smart Cafe Sicilia
http://www.infioratadinoto.it/caffesicilia.html
in Noto where the waiters are immaculate and
the flavours a work of art!
Here we tried the almond and cinnamon gelato, which
was so smooth and subtle it was incredible and the basil ice-cream.
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| Saffron ice cream and basil ice cream, Noto, Sicily |
One of the most refreshing granita’s was from a
beach vendor walking along the crowded beach near Agrigento pushing his huge papier-mâché
lemon on a trolley, that he restocked throughout the day with delicious lemon granita.
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| Lemon granita guy, on the beach near Agrigento Sicily |
So apologies for my silence and lack of posts.
I have come back inspired by the different flavours
of the simple traditional Sicilain dishes. Their food is perfect for the
teenage vegetarian and their family as we found out.
They use a great mixture
of nuts, fresh and dried fruit, vegetables and herbs with pasta and
fish....delicious!
In the mean time I leave you with a recipe for a citrus
lemon ice devised back here by Not Just For Rabbits but inspired by tastes of Sicily.
It’s simple to make and so refreshing for this warm
weather we are finally having here in England.
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| Citrus Granita |
CITRUS GRANITA
PREPARATION TIME:
15 minutes
Cooling time 40 minutes
Freezing time 4 hours minimum
INGREDIENTS:
½ litre of freshly squeezed lemon, orange and lime juice
(roughly 8-10 lemons depending on size, one orange and a lime)
The Zest of one each of the above fruits
300g caster sugar
½ litre of water
WHAT TO DO:
1. Mix
the water and sugar together in a saucepan and simmer on a low heat until the
sugar has dissolved and it has become more like a syrup. Cool.
2. Grate
the zest of one lemon the orange and lime and keep separately.
3. Juice
and sieve the lemons, lime and orange until you have ½ a litre of juice.
4. Mix
the syrup with the lemon juice and cool again.
5. Place
in your ice cream maker with the zest and follow the instructions of your
machine.
6. If
you don’t have an ice cream maker pour into a large sealable tub with the zest and
mix well. Then place in the freezer for 2 hours before removing to stir
occasionally then refreeze.
This is not a smooth ice-cream rather more of a water
ice, sorbet sort of texture that is very refreshing. It is great on its own,
with a sprig of mint or blueberry as in the pictures, or if you are feeling very
indulgent dark chocolate brownies.
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| Citrus Granita |
Watch out for more tastes of Sicily over the next few days.
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