Siracusa: Sicilian Food and Culture

A piazza entering Ortygia- The old centre of Syracuse

Travelling for three months throughout Europe allowed both travellers to see common threads that link one place to the next. A cathedral in Siracusa Sicily is much like visiting one in Rome or even Vienna except for subtle changes in décor although the history between location differs as does the artifacts that each country displays with pride.

Siracusa's Greek Theatre

Sometime during the three months however, Rob and Beth changed their focus from churches, castles, and galleries to a different type of culture that focused mainly on the foods of the region that for them provided the best and most unique traveling experience.

Ortygia's  Fortress Castle 

In Sicily their Siracusa host, Adriana, provided them with an excellent introduction to foods of Italy’s deep south. Each morning Adriana made a concerted effort to highlight Sicilian food.

“Sweet or salty?” asked Adriana

“Salty, I think.” replied Beth

“Good.”

Breakfast at Adriana's place

Adriana started with the traditional Sicilian orange salad made of oranges, onions or fennel, oregano and chili pepper flakes, and olive oil. This she followed with roasted ricotta or smoked mozzarella, cured proscuitto or ham (for Rob), potato or spinach pies. To cleanse the palette at the end of the meal, Beth and Rob were served Cedro lemons sprinkled with sugar and salt, a sweet dessert ricotta, and always a refreshing plate of sliced pears sprinkled with cinnamon. In most cases, the food was served at room temperature with generous portions of olive oil and spice. All were delicious and equally tempting.

Beth and Adriana walk the
wall around Ortygia

One morning Adriana invited Beth and Rob to accompany her to the Siracuse market where they would have breakfast instead of dining at home. Rob and Beth, although familiar with many European markets, were curious about insights that Adriana would provide.

They started their tour at a little café at the sea-side end of the market with cappuccino, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a warm pastry stuffed with sweetened ricotta cheese.

“I will treat.” she offered.

Cleaning Sea Urchin

It took a while to cash out of the café as the cash register was broken and the cashier, although it appeared as if she could have worked there for decades, was at a loss as to the cost of their fare. It took a concerted effort by her, someone from a back room, and Adrianna offering suggestions to work out the sum of six euros.

The catch of the day.

Outside of the cafe they stopped and watched fishermen cleaning sea urchins and sorting octopus and squid, many of which were still squirming, to be sold at the market. As they walked along the rows of venders, amid the shouts and calling of the stall sales personal, Adrianna shared bits of information about some of the unique local produce.

Market stall walk

She brought their attention to the Pachino tomato, which is variety of elongated grape tomato.

“These tomatoes,” Adriana explained, "Are from the very south. The sea sprays the plants to give them a unique taste that is both sweet and salty.”

Beth took mental notes as she purchased some tomatoes for seed wondering how much she would need to spray the maturing plants to replicate its preferred growing conditions back home.

Sicily's Cedro Lemon

As they moved along, they asked about the enlarged, dimpled lemons. The vendor had one cut open and they were surprised that the pulp was about three centimetres thick and the flesh looked smaller than a typical lemon’s. Adrianna explained that they were unique to the area and could be eaten in their entirety as they had a sweeter flavour. She purchased one to serve at breakfast the next day.

Enjoying an arancini bayside.

They ended their market tour at Il Gusto dei Sapori Smarriti. This shop was renowned for its ricotta and friendly atmosphere. The owner stood outside encouraging those who passed by to try samples of his fresh ricotta that he had drizzled with cold-pressed olive oil and sprinkled with fresh oregano. Once inside the shop they were served by the son-in-law who everyone called 'Engineer' because of his degree in engineering. The Engineer frantically served his customers a variety of cheeses that were cultured daily. Each morning around 4 am he prepared the ‘made fresh daily ricotta’ in a variety of ways including the baked ricotta that Beth and Rob experienced on previous breakfasts.

The Engineer warmly extended a hand in friendship and then eagerly proceeded to introduce the cheeses that he had prepared.

“This one is made of fresh goat’s milk.” he explained as he cut off generous chunks for their sampling.

'Engineer' presents the cheese.

Another he arranged and plated with olives, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, oregano and basil leaves. Being very particular, he suggested that this was how it was best served. Afterward, for Rob’s benefit, he cut hunks of regional salami samples including one Rob purchased that was made with black truffle. The Engineer, being a gracious host, ignored the growing customer line up to provide both a luxurious and intimate experience, done solely for the benefit of Adriana's guests. After the tasting he made Rob, Beth, and Adrianna sandwiches of fresh bread, ricotta, olive oil, and sun-dried tomatoes.

As they finished their morning feast, Rob rushed off to rent bikes as the rental facilities closed early, leaving Beth and Adrianna to enjoy a more leisurely walk back to their residences.

Duomo Square

Along the way, as they discussed life in Sicily, Adrianna was greeted by many pedestrians reinforcing Beth's impression that it is a friendly place. At one point Adrianna stopped and engaged in an animated conversation with two men in the Duomo Piazza. Although it was all in Italian, Beth clearly heard ‘Corleone’ and ‘Mafia’ said many times. As they walked away, Beth brought this up with Adrianna who explained that they were actors planning a dinner theatre and had acknowledged that the only plot tourists were interested in attending was one that included a Mafia storyline.

Bike break

After bidding "buongiorno" to Adrianna, Beth and Rob hopped on the newly-rented bikes and headed out of town. Adrianna had pointed out a papyrus reserve in the distance and this became their destination for the afternoon. As they headed out, they recognized too late that a map would be helpful. They stopped at a car rental place in hopes that they would find one there. Although the man indicated that he didn't have one, he, through pantomime and broken English, indicated that he would lead them by moped to show the way. After about one kilometre of twists and turns, he stopped and drew a simple map for them to follow. They called out "Gracie mille!" as he sped back to work.

Beth with Papyrus 

En route to the papyrus reserve, Rob and Beth biked along citrus groves stopping periodically to watch men harvest the ripe fruit. When they reached their destination they biked the muddy trail beside the papyrus marsh, which Adrianna had informed them, becomes a flowing river after winter rains. They were alone in the reserve except for the water foul and other wildlife that is so rare in the city and one man harvesting stinging nettles. When the nettles are boiled the toxin is neutralized and the greens will be eaten as a typical Sicilian delicacy.

Sunset out the front door.

Riding home, they agreed that they could have thought of no better way to experience Sicilian culture than to spend the morning shopping with Adrianna and the afternoon biking in the Sicilian sun.