Andrea Camilleri epitomised the soul of Sicily. There are hundreds of obituaries, as there should be, for this prolific writer, playwright, poet, … [Read more...]
Minestrone in the Slow Cooker
You can't beat a bowl of minestrone and I like to make some up for the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi. As a child I was fond of St Francis and … [Read more...]
Renato Guttuso
The extraordinary work of Renato Guttuso came from his hatred for social injustice and all abuses of power. He expressed his socialist ideal through a … [Read more...]
Fennel Pesto
A delightful stall in la Vucciria market, Palermo. If you look at the range of goodies above you'll see the tantalising jars of pesto including, to … [Read more...]
Montalbano, a Militant Madonna and Turkish Heads
I had come to Scicli on the trail of Montalbano. This was a trail I'd followed from the Piazza Duomo and the Trattoria La Rusticana, (Calogero's) … [Read more...]
Persephone returns to Sicily
In Easter, Persephone returns to Sicily. It's her island after all, and every Spring she leaves her underground realm to emerge at Enna. More on Enna, … [Read more...]
The Remarkable Reign of Ruggero II
The Palermo church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio, well known as la Martorana, is a treasure trove of Byzantine mosaics. As you go in the door, … [Read more...]
San Calogero
Before there were celebrities, there were saints. It's hard to know what makes someone a celebrity, and harder still to know how someone becomes a … [Read more...]
Sarde a beccafico
It's hardly surprising that many Sicilian recipes are based on sardines. Sardines, commonly found off the Sicilian coast, are cheap and easy to get … [Read more...]
Summer of San Martino
The feast day for San Martino is 11 November, his onomastico bringing a week of warm days to Sicily. Dispensing this wonderful weather is just one of … [Read more...]
Churches, Crusaders and Crispy Pignolata
When I arrived in Sicily it was at Messina. Ulysses and his men rowed a boat through the Straits and Hercules swam across it, but I got there in a … [Read more...]
Vegetable Stock
You can use whole, fresh vegetables, but you can also make stock entirely out of vegetable scraps (peelings, stems, etc.) Also toss in anything in … [Read more...]
Prosciutto Stock
For soups, water needs some help. The problem is, making stock takes a long time but you can whip up something on the go to help the flavour of water … [Read more...]
Minestrone for Saint Francis Feast Day
This lovely statue of San Francesco d'Assisi is in Sorrento and I spent over an hour sitting on a bench admiring its wonderful lightness of form. … [Read more...]
Tuna Carpaccio
Bluefin Tuna was once caught in the Mediterranean off Sicily using a long and complex series of nets, tonnare, which stretched for miles. The word … [Read more...]