What I want to eat in Sicily....

My husband and I will go back to Sicily again this month for holiday. It all started when my sister in law and her husband went to Palermo while ago and recommended us to go there. I could not find any good flight connections to get there and could not decide on a hotel to stay, I started looking for package tour to Sicily and we ended up going to Taormina. That was 2 years ago and we really enjoyed our holiday there.

View of Mt Etna from our hotel ground in Taormina

We thought we would then go to Palermo this time, but again could not find good flight connections and any hotels we fancied.  One day I was watching some food and wine programme on TV and saw a presentor visiting a winery at the foot of Mt Etna and had a wonderful lunch there. I thought why not staying at agriturismo near there, perhaps at Tenuta San Michele,  the one owned by Murgo wine producer. Unfortunately the Agriturismo Murgo was fully booked for dates we wanted to stay but we now have found another great place to stay near Mt Etna.

Anyway, I bought a book of Sicilian cooking Eat Smart in Sicily by Joan Paterson and Marcella Croce (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eat-Smart-Sicily-Decipher-Adventure/dp/0977680118/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347562546&sr=1-1) when we went to Taormina for the first time but never properly appreciated this book then. Now more obsessed about Sicily and its cuisine, I revisited this book and have noted all the Sicilian food I want to eat this time.  Here are my list:

• arancine agli spinaci - deep fried, saffron-colored rice balls filled with spinach and béchamel sauce.
• brioche con gelato - sweet brioche bun cut open and filled with gelato.
• caponata - one of my favorite; sweet and sour eggplant dish, served cold or at room temperature.
• carciofi arrostiti - roasted artichokes: mixture of olive oil, chopped mint and garlic is poured into artichoke hearts, which are then wrapped in aluminium foil and roasted over hot coals or in warm ashes.
• cassata - classic Sicilian cake of Arabic origin; assembled from layers of sponge cakes and almond paste (marzipan) filled with sweet ricotta cream, and beautifully decorated with icing, candied fruits and zucchini preserves. 
• cuscus di pesce - couscous with fish.
• insalata di arance - orange salad; oranges are peeled, sliced and mixed with smoked herring and sliced scallions, and dressed with olive oil and salt. 
• involtini di melanzane - eggplant rolls; slices of eggplant are grilled or fried and then rolled around a mixture of toasted bread crumbs, pine nuts, currants and cheese.
• pasta alla Norma - pasta with tomato sauce, diced fried eggplant and grated salted ricotta.
• pasta con acciughe e mollica - pasta with toasted bread crumbs and anchovy fillets. 
• pasta con i broccoli arriminati - pasta stir-fried with a cauliflower sauce with currants, pine nuts, saffron and anchovies dissolved in olive oil. If you have ever watched Inspector Montalbano, you would know what I am talking about.
• pasta con le sarde - saffron-coloured pasta with fresh sardines, wild fennel leaves and a small dollop of sun-dried tomato.
• pesto di pistacchio - pistachio pesto. 
• spaghetti con bottarga - spaghetti with grated, salted tuna roe (bottarga), olive oil and garlic.
• spaghetti con il nero di seppia - spaghetti with black cuttlefish ink.

Let's see how many I can cross off this list when we return from our holiday to Sicily...