Food Lover's Odyssey

Take Anything But Leave the Cannoli

California might be land of the "happy cow," but Sicily is the land of the ecstatic ewe.  I don't know what they are feeding the sheep here, but the sheep's milk ricotta is the best I've tasted anywhere.  Still cannoli are what they do best with this dense and creamy cheese that is slightly sweet on its own.  

When I was younger I would ask my grandmother to make cannoli and she refused saying the ricotta didn't taste right in the U.S.  My mom repeated this statement and never made them.  I knew no other ricotta and would buy cannoli at the Italian deli where we went for salumi and other imported treats.  They were good.  Sometimes the crust was a little soggy (because they filled them in the morning and let them sit during the day), but I knew no other cannoli. 

When I was a teenager, I made some for Christmas.  I had my aunt buy some local artisan ricotta (my mom refused to have anything to do with the U.S. ricotta), and I added chocolate and sweetened the ricotta with powdered sugar to my liking.  We ate them right after filling them so the crust stayed crunchy.  I thought they were the best ever.  Ha, what a fool I was!  I was eating imposters, poor imitations of the Cannoli Siciliani, filled with Sicilian "ricotta di pecora" (sheep's milk ricotta).  The imposters are like frozen pizza and a Cannolo from Sicily is like a pizza from Naples.

A Cannolo Siciliano (cannolo is the singular to the plural cannoli) is a MUST when visiting Sicily.  Then, and only then, could I understand why my grandmother (and mother) would have nothing to do with any other ricotta.  Make sure they are "ripieni al momemto" (filled at the moment--to order).  This is important so the crust stays crunchy, and you know they are fresh.

 

I also sampled a few of the morning pastries and other desserts that they fill with ricotta, like the small round puffs--the dough is similar to eclair pate a choux-- called bignole or beignet.  In Sicily, they fill some of these with sweetened ricotta.

And, I was able to find a savory dish---crostini with ricotta and honey.  Now I just have to find a way to import the ricotta into the U.S. I fought with my friend over the last crostini, as they gave us an uneven amount.

If anyone knows of a place that imports Sicilian ricotta di pecora or a cheesemaker that gets close to making cheese like this, please let me know.  I would be happy to make you some Cannoli Siciliani!

Sicilian Granita

I've given up my one (sometimes two) gelati a day for a new habit.  Sicilian granita is my new vice; it's a burst of chilled fruit in a cup.  Fruit puree, simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar heated until the sugar dissolves) and a machine (or a freezer and a fork) is all it takes.  Today a Sicilian told me that it also takes a Sicilian hand and the water of the area to make the perfect granita, and that is why only in Sicily can you find a good granita.   I'm hoping this regional loyalty fanaticism is not accurate, as I'll soon to make some with California water and my Sicilian-American hand (I didn't ask if that counted as a "Sicilian Hand"). 

Besides fruit flavors there are also pistachio and almond, made with a puree of each nut, chocolate (this chocoholic loves this flavor) and coffee.  Coffee granita with a dollop of whipped cream is part of the Sicilian breakfast.  Some of my favorite flavors are: chocolate (of course), gelsi (mulberry), lampone (raspberry), pesca (peach), anguria (watermelon), pistachio, which is the flavor of pistachio intensified by the sugar and ice, and the classic limone (lemon).  I do realize it seems all I've been doing in Sicily is sampling granita.

Today I'm in Ortigia, an island south of the main part of Syracuse, and taking my morning coffee granita on the waterfront.  While I get a sweetened version of caffeine and think of how to make the pistachio granita at home, you can find a recipe for watermelon granita here.

I will have to have another fruit flavored one later in the afternoon.  I'm sure I can count it as a serving of fruit. Hummm, in that case, I might need two more "servings of fruit" today. 

30 Days in Sicily and 30 Tastes of Sicily

I'm in Sicily, the land from where my grandparents came. The food of this land has influenced my entire life.  I grew up watching my mom and grandmother cooking and baking with products from California but in the Sicilian manner that my grandmother knew. I learned these same methods from my mom and still use many of them and these flavors when cooking today.

My grandparents immigrated to California because they had heard that the climate was similar to Sicily's.  I think Sicily is warmer and a bit more humid, but my grandfather's garden in California had many of the same things I'm seeing here----figs, olives, lemons, zucchini, tomatoes, and grape vines. (My grandfather would buy his grapes and make the wine in his basement though).

I'm here for 30 days and taking a "giro in Sicilia" (tour around Sicily).  Each day I will share with you a new taste of Sicily.  We're starting in Agrigento in the south. It's an ancient city, founded over 2000 years ago by Greeks, sitting on a hill above the Meditteranean Sea.  Agrigento is known for its Greek ruins and the Valley of the Temples, but somehow, I found the pastries first.  Imagine that.

The Monastery of Santo Spirito in Agrigento is where the nuns make biscotti (cookies) and other pastries, and sell them to the public. From behind a grated window, a tiny suore (nun), whose head barely came above the counter and whose habit probably weighed more than she did, described each pastry to me.  They are all made with almond paste or pistachio paste and made by all of the nuns at Santo Spirito.  Almonds and Pistachios are in abundance throughout Sicily.  Agrigento even has a Almond Blossom Festival in February to celebrate the almond and the coming of Spring.

The nun wrapped up the package of sweetness for me, and gave me a blessing for a safe journey.......which I very much need.  I'm renting a car here----that is if I don't chicken out.  I've never driven in Italy, and I don't know why I've decided to make Sicily (where driving is the most chaotic in a country that's known for its crazy driving) the place where I start driving in Italy.   I'll have a sweet taste of Agrigento and the nun's blessing with me during the drive.  Keep praying for me sister!