Siracusa, Sicily Oh, Sicily! Ask pretty much anyone who’s been there—Sicily is a destina- tion you won’t forget. Our trip takes us to Ortigia, a small island that is the historical city center of Siracusa. Our hotel is right around the corner from the Piazza del Duomo. The piazza itself takes our breath away, not to mention the duomo itself, which is the oldest in Europe. We are ready for a break in the eating! No culinary tours today—just exploring the ancient town of Siracusa. Oh, and a wine tasting … and pizza … and gelato. Day six combines two of the most
decadent flavor combinations imagin- able: chocolate and wine. A stop in Modica to visit Sicily’s oldest choco- latier sets the stage for one of the best days so far. We then drive through the hills to Gulfi Winery, where we’re met at the stone entrance by one of the win- ery’s owners. He’s young but still farms and makes wine the way his family has done for generations—organically, using indigenous grapevines, non-irrigated cultivation and manual harvesting. He says he wants the land to produce for- ever, so he treats it with respect (another lesson we Americans could learn!). As we stand on the terrace overlooking his arbor, he points to a neighboring winery. “They don’t produce organically and don’t prune the way we do, and they probably get 30 times what we do off a single vine,” he says. “But the qual- ity of our grape is far better.”
The winery’s owner says he wants the land to
produce forever, so he treats it with respect.
Before we leave Sicily, we visit one of the best local markets in southern Italy. If the Tropean market took up two blocks, the Catania market must take up 40. There are fresh-caught swordfish and freshly slaughtered sheep ready for butchering, and every kind of produce imag- inable. Every- thing you need for an eve- ning’s meal is here, right down to flowers for the table. Merchants carry fab- ric, soap, and even pots and pans. It’s obvi- ous why
there are no
big-box stores in Calabria: people don’t need them. While we’re browsing (with Mount Etna rising majestically in the background), Dave and Rynn are filling two large carts in
preparation for our evening meal. We pile into the vans and drive to Soverato. The hotel restaurant is closed, but we’re allowed to take over the commercial kitchen to cook a special evening feast. Everyone pitches in, and soon we’re enjoying a beautiful blood orange- Tropean onion salad, tiny escargot, huge mussels and dozens of other tasty treats—taking full advantage of the best fresh, local food Calabria has to offer.
Soverato Dave and Rynn attended cooking school here in Soverato, and when classes weren’t in session, they explored Italy, visiting every region in the country. When we visit the school ourselves, with its view of the Ionian Sea, we can’t imagine a bet- ter “classroom.” The school’s instructor and owner, John (originally from the Bronx, and quite a character), not only teaches us how to make pasta and authentic Italian ge- lato, but also throws in a few life lessons along the way. Dinner this night is vastly different from most of our feasts. With Calabria’s proximity to the ocean, many of the previous meals focused on fresh seafood. This is different. We begin by driving up— pretty much straight up. Then we walk pretty much straight up, too. Puffing and panting, we arrive at a nondescript restaurant and wonder if it will be worth the trip. Rynn just gives us a smug smile and leads us inside. The hilly terrain is perfect for raising pigs, goats and sheep, and we get a delicious taste of all these meats, along with pickled olives, chees- es and a variety of other vegetables. Truly a memorable meal.
28
David Catania, Gulfi Winery Chattanooga
Morning finds us at Caseificio Macri, a family-owned business that makes mozzarella-style cheeses. Macri provided the inspiration for Dave and Rynn when they returned to the states to start their own, unique cheese-mak- ing business. We’ve had fresh mozza- rella before and found it rather unin- spired, but this cheese is fabulous—es- pecially the straw-smoked provolone.
NaturallyChattanooga.com
Catania Market
Melinda, Val & Kate Cooking
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40