Lemons & Oregano

Palermo Market Video: "Rocky - The King of Vucciria"

This creative video profiles Rocky, known as King of the Vucciria. The video is in Italian, but shows how devoted Sicilians are to the traditions of generations before them. Rocky is a street food vendor who works at Palermo's Vucciria market. 

In the video, Rocky says that he is fortunato because he gets up each day to prepare street food such as milza for the people of Palermo. He is proud to continue a tradition that his father and grandfather passed on to him.  In the end of the video he says he knows his work everyday is important because he is feeding the people of Palermo. 
   
He concludes with an old saying from Palermo, "Viva Palermo, Santa Rosalia e a Vucciria!"
   
Long live Palermo, Santa Rosalia and the Vucciria!   

clipped from www.youtube.com Rocky - Il rè della vucciria

Palermo's Street Food

Paula Wolfert was a brave soul when she went to Palermo in 1987 in search of Sicilian Street food. She wrote about guasteddi in an article for The New York Times. They still sell that on the streets in Palermo today, although I must admit I prefer eating panini with Panelle -- fried fritters made of chick pea flour and parsley.
One thing is for sure though, if you are on a budget and traveling in Sicily, the street food cheap and buonissimo!

clipped from query.nytimes.com My husband and I were in Sicily searching out authentic Sicilian dishes. A Sicilian friend who lives in New York had spoken quite rapturously of a street food called guasteddi - fresh buns filled with ribbons of calf's spleen, ricotta cheese, strands of caciocavallo cheese and a drizzle of hot lard. ''I practically lived on those spleen-filled buns when I was a student,'' he said, sighing with nostalgia. ''They're the best street food of the city.'' But warning us that guasteddi might be a little harsh for our unschooled palates, he told us we could eat a highly refined version in a restaurant called Harry's Bar. When we got to Palermo we phoned up Harry's but were told they didn't serve the dish. I think we would have let the matter rest there, if, during our wanderings in The Vucciria, a maze of alleyways lined with food stands that is one of the great markets of the Mediterranean, we hadn't seen men hungrily lining up to buy guasteddi and then devouring them with gusto on the spot.

Sicilian Street Food

In April, I will be the culinary guide for a travel show about Siclian food. Please send me any stories about odd Sicilian dishes you've tasted (in the US or Sicily). I am particularly interested in street food such as this:

clipped from www.bestofsicily.com milza --sauteed veal spleen, usually served in sandwiches.

Cooking on TV with The Silver Spoon Cookbook

I had the honor of presenting 3 recipes from The Silver Spoon in just 5 minutes, live on national TV for the launch of the book.  Known as “Italy’s Joy of Cooking,” The Silver Spoon has quickly become one of America’s favorite classic cookbooks (the book has sold more than 1⁄2 million copies and is a top seller on Amazon’s gastronomy list). The original Il Cucchiaio d’Argento was first published in Italy in 1950, an is an important piece of Italian culinary history.  Please see my website:  Soulofsicily.com for recipes and links to articles about the book. Click here to visit my page on youtube (I will be posting more videos soon!)

Save Sicily!

Many of you know that my culinary tours take place in Noto, Sicily.  Famous for its Baroque architecture, beautiful beaches, archaeological sites, lemon groves and ancient olive trees, the area faces an unsure future.  An American oil company began exploration for gas there this past year.  Please read the following article from the Times Online (UK newspaper) titled, "Jewel of a cathedral faces new threat after tycoon is allowed to drill for oil."

Times Article

On the front page of La Repubblica online today, there is an article about this issue in Italian, where they have collected over 70,000 signatures for the cause.  Please help to protect this beautiful area of Italy -- pass this on to your friends and family, and sign a petition against oil drilling in Val di Noto.  Please visit this page from the Italian newspaper La Repubblica scroll to the bottom, and fill in the form:

In case you do not read Italian, here is a glossary for the petition form:
Nome - Name
Cognome - Last name
Città - City
Professione - Profession
Età - Age

Here is the link:
La Repubblica Front Page Appeal by Andrea Camilleri

Grazie,

Talking about Sicily on The Travel Show

I was thrilled to talk to the world-famous travel gurus, Arthur Frommer and Pauline Frommer LIVE on the radio today!  When I heard that Arthur just returned from Sicily, and was devoting his show today to my beautiful isola, I just had to call in to tell him about my blog about Sicilian food.  Here is the link where you can hear the show:  Travel Show about Sicily May 27, 2007
I called in somewhere around the middle of the show. The show is on every Sunday from noon until 2pm on WOR 710 HD.  Arthur is really a font of travel information -- you can learn so much just from listening to his show. I always tune in when I am in the states. It was so much fun to talk to him!  He even mentioned the name of this blog for his listeners.   

I noticed a big jump in newsletter subscribers right after the call, so I want to thank Arthur and Pauline for taking my call, and I want to thank any new subscribers to my newsletter.  I am updating the post about cooking schools and my culinary tours to Sicily. 

On the show, Arthur asked me if I would agree that travel to Sicily is safe for tourists.  I said yes, and that I have traveled alone there over the past 8 years.  I am a savvy traveler who is fluent in Italian, and I understand the Sicilian culture, so I have an advantage.

I want to add a few things that I did not mention on the radio:

1.  It helps if you speak a little Italian or Sicilian when traveling there.  Part of the charm of Sicily is that fewer people speak English than in Northern Italy.  Brush up on your Italian before your trip or try to take a few private lessons.  (check my Amazon shop for books I like)

2. If you do not speak any Italian, you may want to consider traveling with a small group tour or hiring a translator or guide for parts of your trip. This would enable you to communicate with the locals and experience their Sicily. To understand how generous and joyful and "solare" (sunny) Sicilians really are, you must spend some time with them and somehow be able to understand them. 

3.  Be careful where you walk around at night when you are alone in Catania and Palermo.  They are gorgeous cities, but there are areas where you do not want to be after dark (especially as a tourist). This is true for any city in the world almost, but know that there are some "rough" areas of Sicily's biggest cities.

4.  Do not expect an Americanized Sicily.  The beauty of Sicily is its old world charm which is still very much alive.  As travelers, we should arrive there with a little knowledge of the language and customs if possible, and we should not expect things to be just like in America.  For example, stores have different hours, eating customs are different, etc.

5. Don't just head for the classic tourist stops such as Palermo and Agrigento.  Visit unheard of towns too!  They are often forgotten but have so much to offer to travelers. 

Next weeks posts include, "Cooking with The Silver Spoon," "Southern Italian Cooking Schools," "Saving the Italian Countryside," and more! I look forward to sharing with you and hope you'll post some comments too!  Please let me know what you'd like to read about most.

Slide Show of Sicily Tours

                 

This is a slide show of my photographs from Soul of Sicily culinary tours. These are small group experiences, where we explore the cultural traditions in Sicily and taste flavors of the Sicilian countryside.  Please rate my video and post a review to it if you enjoy it!  At the end of the video, I say "Grazie del cuore," to Mariangela (the Italian painter who I collaborate with) and her daughter Alba.  "Grazie del cuore," means thank you from the bottom of my heart. A presto, Renée

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Authentic Food in Italia

I chose Southern Italy and Sicily for a good reason.  It is almost impossible not to find an authentic Italian meal here.

Although Italia offers the world's best food in ristoranti, la trattoria and l'osteria, it can be challenge to find authentic food in Northern talian cities that are "must sees" for visitors to Italy. 

La Venezia comes to mind. You can still find excellent food there, but poor little Venezia has become a bit worn out by the ever increasing amount of tourist groups who visit it 365 days per year with no break.

After years of traveling and tasting, here are my suggestions for finding authentic food in Italia:

• Seek out lesser-known Trattoria or Osteria (wine bars that pairs food with local wines).

• Do not rely upon guidebook recommendations when planning your culinary itinerary .  Even guidebooks written by the best food writers can become outdated in just months these days.  Unfortunately, many places get great reviews, and then begin to change their menu and philosopy to cater to the tastes of tourists.  I once visited a world-famous five-star Venetian restaurant (that I read was a once-in-a-lifetime experience everyone says you must try).  I spent more money on that meal than any other in Italy, and was very disappointed with the meal.  A couple across from me ordered truffle gnocchi and could not even taste or smell the aroma of truffles. Not a good sign!

• Look carefully to see where Italian locals are eating.  If you hear lots of Italian spoken, and tables are filled with locals instead of groups of tourists and foreigners, chances are you've found a goldmine and the food will be excellent.

• For inexpensive restaurants, choose those that are far from the main piazza and tourist sights. Unless you are choosing a restaurant for the view and not for how the food tastes, seek out more off-the-beaten-path restaurants. I am not suggesting that all restaurants in the best piazzas and by the most beautiful fountains of Italy are bad.  Many times, very expensive restaurants can offer both the world's best view and food.

I hope you enjoy searching for Italy's most authentic foods. If you had a fabulous dining experience in Italy, feel free to post a description of your meal here. I'd prefer if you post something about the regional flavors and wines you tasted that day. 

Vino Di Meditazione (Meditation Wine)

Italians call DOC Passito di Pantelleria a vino di meditazione, a meditation wine, and the sweet aroma of Sicilian figs, apricots and peaches will delight your senses.  Ben Ryé, produced by Donnafugata in Sicily, is one of the most interesting wines to serve at a dinner party.  It pairs well with herbed cheeses, dried fruit, gianduia (Italian hazelnut chocolate) and many dolci.  This wine is dolcissimo, and when I worked in Tuscany, the Tuscans chose to dip their biscotti in Ben Ryé Passito di Pantelleria as a refreshing alternative to their usual Vin Santo vino dolce.  That is a great compliment by the way, for a Tuscan to use a Sicilian wine for a tradition that usually calls for a Tuscan wine.

The name Ben Ryé by the way, comes from the Arabic term, "Son of the Wind" because the wine sweeps constantly around the clusters of grapes on the tiny island of Pantelleria.  This once lesser-known island was recently mentioned in Vogue for its appeal to celebrities. The island's intense sun and volcanic soil give the zibibbo grape its outstanding flavor.   

Kabir is a naturally sweet white DOC Moscato, which also comes from the small island off the coast of Sicily, Pantelleria. This wine pairs well with goat cheeses or smoked swordfish with fresh herbs.  I love to serve it in elegant champagne flutes to accompany Italian pastries or fruit tarts.  The name Kabir derives from the Arabic term, "the Great", and the grape is also Zibibbo.

These are considered dessert wines, but can pair well for cheese tastings and other dishes as well.   If you can not find them in your local wine shop, ask the owner of the shop if he could order it for you.  He should know about these excellent wines, and if he does not, he will thank you for telling him about them.