Scopello, beautiful sea

When the sun is warm and the sky incredibly blue, starts "the desire of the sea".

I will tell about a wonderful place, that in addition to its natural beauty, it contains in itself also an inexplicable sense of mystery.

Its name is Scopello, is located in the province of Trapani between Castellammare del Golfo and San Vito Lo Capo, one hour away from Palermo.

The courtyard of Scopello is located on a cliff showing a breathtaking view over the sea where there are two rocks that give the name to Scopello, in greek Skopelos means just rocks, and perhaps the Arabs gave to the town the nickname of Iscubul (rock). The small courtyard is formed by a few stone houses and a “Gebbia” (drinking). The atmosphere is serene, pleasant, air wafts a mild smell of sheep's milk.

Above the rocks there is the Torre bennistra of the sixteenth century and the ruins of a Saracen tower.

Higher up the wood of Scopello, which was one of the estates of Ferdinand III of Bourbon.

To add more charm to the place there is the old "tonnara" now disused, which maintains the structures of the past, and stands where once stood the ancient city of Cetaria (city of tuna), which disappeared along with his tonnara, which was then reconstructed by the Arabs.

What makes this place special is the rocky coastline, broken by the bay pebble Guidaloca by an "emerald sea", not far away the beautiful rocks emerging by a crystal clear water and seem to have been placed there by the hand of a giant mythological.

Near Scopello is the reserve of Zingaro, which is a charming place to walk in nature with a beautiful view and the possibility to reach the beautiful bays where you can have a pleasant swim.Of note for the greedy ones, that in this whole area they can eat very well, and above all can taste the fish cus cus.

Until about fifteen years ago, Scopello was still inhabited by a few people in the place, and there were not tourists, I can still remember the pleasant feeling proven, the smells and the taste special to me, a little strange, who had the cream of my giant ice cream cone, due to the milk just milked. Now tourism has grown, there are restaurants and little hotels, but has not transformed the atmosphere of simplicity and serenity that you can still breathe.

The Lake of "Piana degli Albanesi"

In Sicily the bigger reason of attraction is the sea because we are in an island and so we are surrounded , enveloped, cuddled by the sea. The sea that changes continuously, the coasts always different that follow the perimeter of this triangular land .

Our sea is beautiful, but often neglected, the sea that gives us life and food, the sea that promises future and freedom to those who want escape from an impossible life, but often betrays, becoming a place of death or of deportation. The sea is friend and enemy at the same time, it can be a great tear or a place of friendship.

But today I will not talk about the sea but about a lake. The lake that gives the quiet, the lake that's not enough because is not open and infinite as the sea, but gives us the water for drink, making less arid the lands of Sicily.

The Lake of Piana degli Albanesi, is near a small town (PIana degli Albanesi), about 20 km from Palermo, founded in 1488 by some exiles Albanians fled from their land of origin after to the invasion of the Turkey. At Piana the Byzantine culture mixes with the Baroque, influenced by Pietro Novelli. THe people continue to maintain the original traditions and customs, language Arberesh, greek orthodox religion. In Piana there are the best "cannoli", and there is also a lake.

This is an artificial lake created with a dam crossing the river Belice. This lake is surrounded by a small mountain range whose peaks are the mountains of Maganoce, Kumeta and Pizzuta.
Around the lake overlooking the nature and human technology that made him such. Everything is covered with a green and flowery mantle, there are woods in which to enjoy the shadow. You can relax, or fishing. There is a lot of free space.

You can lie down on grass fresh and enjoy a fantastic landscape, feeling the scent of nature, listen to the silence, interrupted occasionally by the hum of a bee, but at that point not terrifies because it is part of the environment.

So you can understand that I liked my picnic in Piana degli Albanesi, a sandwich with an omelette of artichokes and stay with my loved ones.

I love the infinite sea, is my passion although I'm not a great swimmer. I especially like watch and hear the sea. I like the rocks apparently uncomfortable, but really cozy and solitary.

I must admit that until now I had never shown interest in the lakes, but now is different,The lakes are beautiful and magical, and when there is a dam I imagine that the sea is not so far away, just need to follow the course of the River...

The Cannolo. Sweet of Carnival

in italiano su Agave blog Palermo

One of the most famous Sicilian sweets is the Cannolo. Born as sweet typical carnival, now is in the pastry shops in all the days of the year, even in smaller size "the Cannulicchi".

The Cannolo takes its name from the word "canna", which is a shrub with cylindrical stem and empty, but in Sicily is also an old kind of tap. This sweet was invented in a monastery in Palermo, where a priest made a joke of the carnival, he filled one of those taps with cream of ricotta instead of water. No one knows the effect it had this innocent joke for who expected a sip of water and instead saw the white cream, but surely the invention of the famous dessert was the most noble effect.

Cannolo consists of a "scorcia" (peel), the wafer is cylindrical and brown, fried in "Saimi" (lard) with a filling of cream cheese from sheep. Not forgetting the typical baroque style, is adorned with bits of candied fruit.
The cannoli are now exported outside the borders of our island, in this case, the wafer is coated inside with chocolate, you need not to lose its special friability with direct contact with the ricotta. In other cases the ricotta is seasoned with candied fruit, but in the "Cannolo of Palermo" the candied fruit is just a gasket, ricotta is enriched with slivers of chocolate.

The Sicilian Cannolo is in all the pastry of Palermo (and Sicily), but all recognize that the best cannoli are located in Piana degli Albanesi, a small town just 24 km from Palermo, founded in 1488 by a group of Albanian refugees fleeing to 'the Turkish army. A very nice place to visit and to discover the particular traditions, its history, and to taste the cannoli biggest and best of Sicily. A Piana during the Carnival there is an annual festival of cannolo, this year will be on 10 February, they will distribute approximately 10,000 free cannoli, is really a beautiful experience!

Here's the recipe:

The recipe I have chosen to publish is the original of Piana degli Albanesi, where lard is used for the dough for the fry of the "scorcia". Some, however, replaced the lard, by using butter (for the dough) and olive oil (for frying).Vegetarians who prefer not to eat the animal fat, can make this change or if they want to eat in one of the renowned pastry of Palermo, must first ask some information. To make the shape of cannolo are requires 10 cylinders of bamboo canes, metal or wood (12 cm long and 3 cm in diameter), lightly anointed with oil.

photo of Jude Witts

For the wafer (scorcia):

200 g of flour, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 20 gr. of lard, 2 tablespoons of Marsala, 2 teaspoons of cocoa, a pinch of salt.

For the filling:

1 kg of fresh sheep's ricotta cheese, 600 gr. sugar, 1 sachet of vanilla, dark chocolate little pieces, 100 gr. of candied orange peel.

Mix the flour with lard, the Marsala, sugar and a pinch of salt and mix well, you get a soft and compact dough. It stand for half an hour. Flatten the dough with a rolling pin and make thin squares of 10 cm per side, which wrapped diagonally around a cylinder of metal or a stick of wood.
Welded the flaps of the dough with a drop of water and fry in a frying pan in hot oil (or lard). Put in absorbent paper and expect to be cold before you very carefully remove the cylinder that keeps its shape.
Mix the ricotta with the sugar and vanilla. Put it in blender and then add the little pieces of chocolate and mix gently.

Finally fill the wafer of Cannolo with ricotta cream and garnish with slices of orange or candied cherries. Sprinkle the Cannoli with powdered sugar.

PASTA ALLA CARRETTIERA

In italiano su Agave blog


This dish is a very simple and tasty, is part of the traditional vegetarian cuisine of Sicily. Of course the result also depends on the freshness and quality of products and maybe even a nice view of the sea, then eat this pasta in Sicily is another thing ...

Palermo, Barcarello

Ingredients:
A kg of ripe tomatoes, 3 cloves of garlic, red pepper, basil (someone replace it with parsley), extra-virgin olive oil, salt, optional addition of grated cheese (pecorino or ricotta salata). Spaghetti or bucatini (400gr).

Preparation:
Wash the tomatoes and peel (to facilitate the operation make some superficial cuts and put in a pot with boiling water for a few minutes) and remove the seeds. In a bowl, cut into pieces and add the chopped garlic cloves (remove the sprout inside) and the chopped basil. Add oil, salt and red pepper and let rest for at least an hour.

Cook pasta, place it in a bowl with the dressing and mix. If you want you can add the grated cheese.

" 'Mpignolata " Loaf with sausage from Agrigento

photos of Jean-Luc Moreau

For the feast of St. Martin around Agrigento is a specialty that we like a lot, the 'mpignolata which is also called' mpriulata or 'mmiscata (depending on the town of origin).


We known it thanks to our guests-friends Lillo, Teresa and Ilaria of Grotte, a small town in the province of Agrigento.

It is a soft bun stuffed with sausage, onion and black olives, and there is another version with spinach and olives.

This dish was originally made at home during the period in which they celebrated San Martino, but now can be found throughout the year.


I found the recipe, although there are several versions. I have not cooked by me, but I ate the 'mpignolate that our friends bring us directly from Grotte.

Ingredients:


1 Kg. of flour, 4 eggs, 50 gr. of yeast, 150 gr. of lard, sausage, black olives, onion, water or milk, oil, salt.

Recipe:
Pour the oil in the flour, mix well, add eggs, mix well, add enough salt, yeast, the lard dissolved and kneading it by adding little by little lukewarm water or milk. Mix well and allow to rise (the dough should be somewhat 'softer than the bread).

When the leavening will be reached, cut the dough into pieces of about 100-150 degrees; pave every piece with a rolling pin, making it take a rectangular shape and thin. Meanwhile in a pan cook the onion cut into slices in olive oil, to which you add the crumbled sausage. Put the sauce of sausage, onion and black olives fleshy and pitted on each rectangle of dough.

Wrap the dough over itself and then again in the shape of a spiral, put on an olives and place in hot oven. Cooking time: 30 minutes.

Now for vegetarians: with spinach.


Boil and then skip the spinach with olive oil in a pan, add the pitted black olives and season rectangles of pasta with this sauce, wrap the dough.


There are several versions in which you use minced beef, chunks of pecorino, Frittola pork, etc, to you the choice!

I prefer transform the red Halloween pumpkin in this way…

"Ficatu di sette cannola." (Pumpkin in sweet and sour)
“Liver of the Sette cannola neighbourhood”

This is a dish of the "palermitana poor cuisine". It was born from the processing of a more "rich" dish, cooked by the Monsù (refined chefs who cooked for the noble French), the main ingredient of this dish was liver (breaded and fried).

Probably in the neighborhood of “sette cannola”, where the poorest people rarely ate meat (though it was offal), some good housewives of Palermo came to know of this delicious dish and so decided to reinvent itself, replacing the liver with a cheaper ingredient, pumpkin red. The result will envy the best Monsù!

500 grams of red pumpkin, olive oil, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 2 cloves of garlic, mint, pepper, salt

Peel the pumpkin and remove the red part with the seeds (if you like, the seeds can be dried in the sun and transformed into what we call "semenza"). Cut it into slices and a cm thick. Fry the pumpkin slices in olive oil on a slow fire, turned gently (will take a brown color). Add the cloves of garlic cut into slices. When the pumpkin are just fried, you must remove the excess oil, raise the heat, and pour over the vinegar (which will be done dissolve a teaspoon of sugar). When vinegar has evaporated, put them in a plate and add salt, pepper and especially mint leaves. Let cool is more tasty!

Traditions in November

In Palermo every month, we have a good reason to lay the table for a banquet!

The month’s of Novembre starts with the feast of “all Saints”, but the most important feast is the day after, the 2th of November, The celebration of the deads, that we call “la festa dei morti”.

In the past, during this day, in the morning the people of Palermo, went to the Cemetery and they taked with them “a muffuletta” a bread with oil of olives, anchovies, salt and pepper, to eat fast in the oper air.

During the day the people of Palermo eat many kind of sweet things, tetù, reginelle biscuit with sesame,

the fruit of Martorana (Marzipan),

and the “pupa a ciera”, puppet of sugar.

The families prepared a basket full of these sweet things and many toys, and the child believed that was a present of the deads.

In November is important too the “Festa di San Martino”.
In Palermo we use to eat the “biscotti di San Martino”, hard biscuitz with aniseed to soak in the wine “Moscato”., or the same biscuits with cheese and chocolate, or with jam and icing, sugared almond, in a perfect Barocco Siciliano style!

photos by Judy Witts and Igor Scalisi

Palermo seen by us

Walking through the streets of our city, sometimes we remain impressed by some details that maybe until the day before, we had not noticed.

Some small hidden treasures, strange things camouflaged among the most common things that at first sight are those that prevail and affect the attention of a passing distracted.

Theatre Massimo

There are wealth deteriorated by the time, but still retain their charm, decadent churches,

decorated balconies, mysterious alleys,

walls marked by time or by phrases of love,

posters of saints and politicians.

Streets with strange names,

churches converted into shops, trees that hug,

or details of Monuments and Churches.

It is interesting to observe these small details,

follow a different path, be guided by the city. And in Palermo, really every corner can hide something mysterious, curious to see.

Theatre Massimo

Just be careful, forgetting for a moment the hectic life of the great city, let carried by the imagination.

Today, another “memorable day”

mercoledì 22 ottobre 2008

Massimo and I, with our friends Igor and Maria Pia, was again at the open market Capo, but this time with a group of 23 people from Kansas City-USA ( Slow Food KC ) to help our friend Jude to show them the market.They are really nice people and we spent a very beautiful morning.
We tasted many different kind of food, like the Frittola (beef bits cooked in the lard, that a man with a particular basket take and put in a piece of paper),

or the Sfincione ( a particular pizza, with tomato-sauce, onions, anchovies, cheese and bread crumbs), olives (green and black), and bread with spleen and cheese.

They really liked all!We see many kind of fruit, and fish, tables with bread,

counter with meet,

table with aromas (oregano, saffron, raisins, cinnamon, etc).

And finally we was in the pastry-shop

where we finded the “frutta martorana” (fruit of marzipan) and the “Pupa a cera” (puppet of sugar) typical during the day of the “Celebration of the Deads” (2th of November).

We see together the beautiful church of Sant’ Anna, in Barocco style, they was really impressed!

When we was out of the open market, we went at the “Antica trattoria del Monsù”,

and had a really good lunch with a rich Menù (pasta with anchovies, “pasta alla Norma” with tomato and aubergines, “panelle e cocchè”, “caponata” with aubergines and a particular

sweetand sour sauce, tripe, etc).

This was really a beautiful and rich of emotions day!

Evelin

photos by Igor Scalisi Palminteri and Judy Witts