The opening of the Cacioteca Regionale di Sicilia – the Sicilian Regional Cheese Consortium – is being celebrated during Cheese Art 2012, which includes two days of Tasting Workshops with traditional cheeses from around the world.

The Consortium works towards elevating the production of historic traditional cheeses to the status of “works of art.”  The idea is that great cheeses should be considered among Italy’s important cultural assets, holding a place beside the many works of art for which the country is famous.

During Cheese Art 2012, cheese tastings will be available with various cheese boards paired with locally sourced cured meats (priced at 14-20 euro) or you can join in the Tasting Workshops on January 28 & 29, when traditional cheeses from around the world will be paired with Sicilian wines from Cerasuolo di Vittoria and Planeta, or beers from the Baladin microbrewery of Piedmont.  Cheesemaking demonstrations will take place during the course of the event – we know this is great fun, as we include it on our Eastern Sicily walking tour.

Here are the cheese tasting menus  in Italian, or check out the listing at the end for the 2012 Cheese Art Tasting Workshops and where they are.

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Saturday January 28:

13.30 – 15.00 “Drowned in Beer”

• Robiola di Roccaverano, aged goat cheese in cherry leaves (Piedmont)
• Frumage Baladin (Piedmont)
• Piacentinu Ennese DOP, sheeps milk with saffron (Sicily)
• Perdido Cheese (Usa
• Vezzena di malga (Trentino Alto Adige)
• Castelmagno d’alpeggio (Piedmont)
• Roquefort (France)

Paired with artisanal beers from Baladin
Cost  €24,00

19.30 -21.00 “European Breeds”

• Camembert (France)
• Queso de la Tetilla (Spain
• Provola dei Nebrodi (Sicily)
• Aged Pecorino di Farindola (Abruzzo)
• Salers (France)
• Goat Cheddar Quickes (England)
• Erborinato sheep cheese, alpi cozie (Piedmont)

Paired with Planeta wines

Sunday January 29:
11.30 – 13.30 “Brunch Cheeselandia”
 Brunch prepared by Accursio Craparo (chef of 1-star Michelin restaurant La Gazza Ladra  in Modica) and Corrado Assenza, the pastry chef of Caffè Sicilia in Noto, and will end with this cheese board:
 

• Mozzarella di bufala (Sicily)
• Organic Robiola from “happy goats”(Veneto)
• Ragusano DOP, aged and semi-aged (Sicily
• Beaufort (Francia)
• Red Cheddar (England)
• Stilton (England)
  Paired with wines from Planeta, and the Consortium of  Cerasuolo di Vittoria  as well as artisan beers from microbrewery Baladin
  Cost  €35,00

19.30 – 21.00 “European Pastures”

• St. Nectaire (France)
• Manchego (Spain)
• Raschera DOP d’Alpeggio (Piedmont)
• Tuma persa (Sicily)
• Monte Veronese d’allevo DOP di malga (Veneto)
• Blue deTermignon (France)
• Blu capriziola, goat cheese (Lombardy)
  Paired with Sicilian wines from the Consortium Cerasuolo di Vittoria
  Cost €24,00

Details:
To reserve in advance, fill in the online form  or phone:
Tel. +39.0932.660.427

Located at km 5 on the SP 25, the main road from Ragusa to Marina di Ragusa.
E-mail: info@corfilac.it

The many facets of Italian regional cooking are to be celebrated January 17, during the 2012 International Day of Italian Cuisines (IDIC).  This year’s official dish is ossobuco, and cooks from all over the world are invited to make this dish and send in their photos.  You can sign-up to participate, or just make it because you feel like it.

Ossobuco, which means “hollow bone”, is a traditional dish from Milan, and is made with veal shanks that are slowly braised in a rich broth.  At the end of cooking, the traditional ossobuco recipe calls for the veal shanks to be topped with a finely minced gremolata of lemon rind, parsley and garlic. 

The marrow of the bone is considered a delicacy and is meant to be scooped out and eaten, in delicious ignorance of its cholesterol content.  The milanesi actually have a long handled spoon just for this purpose, which has the amusing name of esattore - tax collector.  

 Ossobuco is a rich dish that is often served with the equally rich risotto alla milanese, but I like it with simple polenta or mashed potatoes to soak up every bit of flavorful sauce. 

The veal shanks themselves should be tender and juicy, or as poet Billy Collins described “soft as the leg of an angel / who has lived a purely airborne existence”. 

I’m not sure what Billy was drinking when he wrote that, but you can try to reach these lofty heights with the ossobuco recipe at the end of this post.  A good bottle of Barbaresco should do the rest.

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Ossobuco Recipe

This is an adaptation of the official 2012 dish of the IDIC

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes

Yield: 4-6

Ingredients

• 4-6 hind veal shanks, 2” (5 cm) thick, 5” (10 cm) wide
• 4 oz. (100 g) celery finely diced
• 4 oz. (100 g) carrot finely diced
• 4 oz. (100 g) onion finely chopped
• 4 oz. (100 g) butter
• 4 TB olive oil
• ½ lb (200 g) peeled plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 qt (1 liter) veal broth
• 10 oz (300 ml) white wine
• For the Gremolata:
• 3 strips organic lemon rind, chopped fine
• 1 TB flat-leaf parsley, chopped fine
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the oil and butter in an ovenproof pan that is just large enough to tightly hold the veal shanks in one layer.
2. Pat the veal shanks dry with a paper towel, and sear them in the butter and oil over medium heat, turning to brown evenly.
3. Reduce the heat on low, remove the veal shanks and set aside.
4. Over a low flame, sauté the carrots, celery and onion in the same pan, scraping the bottom with a large spoon to mix in any brown bits, being careful this "soffritto" doesn’t burn.
5. When the "soffritto" vegetables are soft, add the wine and turn up the heat.
6. Stir occasionally until wine is almost evaporated, then add the tomato and broth and stir to blend.
7. Heat to a boil.
8. Place the browned veal shanks in one layer in the pan, and spoon some of the vegetables over the top-the shanks should be covered with the broth.
9. Cover the pan and place over a very low flame for about 90 minutes (or place in preheated oven at 350° F (180° C) .
10. Remove the cover and cook for another 30 minutes.
11. Finely mince the lemon rind, parsley and garlic together – this is the "gremolata" which will used just before serving.
12. When the veal is done, place the shanks on a warm platter and skim excess fat from pan, and bring to a simmer, adding a bit more broth if it is too dry.
13. Add salt and pepper to taste.
14. Spoon the sauce over the veal, sprinkle with the gremolata mixture and serve with polenta or mashed potatoes.
15. Drink a good bottle of Barbaresco and float away-

If you hear food vendors at a Sicilian market shouting bastardoni - big bastards – don’t be offended.  They’re just hawking their wares, which are autumn prickly pears from cactus plants. 

The wild and wonderful food markets in Sicily are a blast to shop in and we always look forward to buying a case of bastardoni.  These are the fattest, most succulent fruit of the cactus plant, harvested in the fall in eastern Sicily.

The smaller variety of prickly pears, sometimes known as agostani for the fact that they ripen in August, are generically known as fichi d’India - Indian figs. They do not come from India nor have any relation to figs, which goes to show you that you can name things any way you want, but what’s important is eating them. 

The bastardoni are the most highly prized prickly pears because they are bigger and juicier, and are a result of cutting off the first cactus flowers in late spring, a procedure known as the scozzolatura.  This results in a second flowering of the cactus plant.  The fruits then ripen in the fall during the rainier season, which produces juicy plump fruits.  

Cactus plants were often grown as a sort of fence between neighbors in Sicily, and the prickly pear fruits were a handy thirst-quenching  treat when working in the fields.

According to a Sicilian legend, the practice of the scozzolatura began because of a feud over property lines between neighboring farmers.  In a fit of anger, one farmer cut off the flowers of his neighbor’s cactus, in an attempt to destroy his neighbor’s prickly pear crop. Instead, the cactus bore fruit later in the season, and the prickly pears were much larger and juicier than normal.  Soon the practice of the scozzolatura became widespread, and this “bastardized” version of prickly pears was born.   In some areas of eastern Sicily, there are now cactus plantations that are irrigated, which produce the beautiful bastardoni found in Sicilian markets through December.  

If you want to try eating bastardoni, the first step is to peel it, or better yet, get someone to do the peeling for you.  The peel is studded with fine prickly spines that like to imbed themselves in delicate flesh, and can be an uncomfortable nuisance for days.  Many Sicilian restaurants serve seasonal fruit including prickly pears, so you can let the waiter peel and you just taste.   

Cutting back the peel, you’ll be surprised by the color of the prickly pear fruit, which can be deep yellow, pure white, or a stunning crimson.  The fruit has a slight floral  fragrance reminiscent of citrus, and a very mild flavor, like a pear with an identity crisis.  The juicy pulp is punctuated by an enormous number of seeds that Sicilians simply swallow. It is not a fruit to everyone’s taste, but big bastards seldom are.

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I like a man who is serious about sweets.  Giuseppe Trapani, a 4th generation torrone maker in Sicily, fits the bill.

When he welcomed me into the Torronificio Trapani, he’d already been at work since 4.00 am preparing the first batch of his secret family recipe for torrone.  Since torrone is a traditional sweet in Italy at Christmas time, Giuseppe’s Christmas season begins the first of October, when his torronificio goes into high gear, making 2 batches of torrone a day.  That’s about 70 kilos (155 lbs) of torrone, which seemed like an enormous amount to me, but Giuseppe told me that it had already been reserved for customers.

In the spotless kitchen of the Torronificio Trapani, the air is suffused with the fragrance of honey.   Several people sat at a marble table busily wrapping tiny chocolate-covered torroncini, big pans of toasted almonds were being pulled out of the oven, and a machine held a huge mixing bowl where a combination of honey and egg whites was being heated and stirred, becoming a thick white cream.  I’d stepped into torrone heaven.

I’d already done extensive tasting of almond nougat from some very good artisan torrone makers (forget the commercial ones, which are like eating a sickeningly sweet sponge mixed with sawdust and ersatz flavorings) but when I first tasted Torrone Trapani, it was clearly the best, and I was here to get to the sweet heart of the matter.

Giuseppe explains what makes his torrone so good: high quality ingredients and no skimping on the almonds.  (Of course, there is also the secret to his recipe, which he isn’t revealing.) While some large-scale commercial producers of torrone use as little as 10% of almonds in their product,  Torronificio Trapani uses close to 70%.  The almonds are locally grown, not the cheap imported ones, or the California almonds that Giuseppe pronounced to be “woody and tasteless”.  His  almonds come from the highly prized almond varieties grown near Noto, and they are slowly toasted to a rich golden brown. The honey he uses is also local, and is fragrant of orange blossoms, which contributes to the torrone’s unique taste.

Giuseppe was constantly on the move – in fact he never stood still long enough for me to snap his picture – checking the consistency of the batch in the mixer, making sure the almonds are toasted to perfection then added at just the right temperature, and that each chocolate-covered torroncino is cooled properly before wrapping.  I am beginning to see that the real “secret” in the recipe is Giuseppe’s know-how and constant vigilance, as he strives to make every batch of torrone consistently perfect.

Giuseppe’s Aunt Maria is helping out. She has been making torrone for 30 years, though she admits that she no longer likes to eat it.  Don’t worry, I think, I’ll eat your share.  She remembers when all this work was done by hand – heating the honey and egg white mixture over a coal fire in a big copper pot, and stirring the mixture for several hours.  “Difficilissimo,” she says, sounding tired at the mere thought. Then the pots were scrubbed with ashes and lemon juice, and polished until gleaming with a white cotton cloth.  She shakes her head in wonderment. 

In 1986, Giuseppe asked an engineer to design a machine that would mimic his hand movements as he mixed the honey and egg white mixture, and this helped him increase his production with a larger batch that couldn’t be mixed by hand. Then in 1996, he decided to investigate the use of the machine that he now has on the premises, to see if he could replicate his torrone with a device that both mixed and heated. He traveled to Milan to try out the machine, mixing his batches of torrone and adjusting the temperature and paddle of the machine until he was satisfied that he could make the same excellent caliber of torrone. Only then did he buy the machine, which allowed him to double his production.

There is still a lot of hand work involved in Giuseppe’s torrone business.  When Giuseppe pronounces the torrone in the mixer ready, the staff snaps to attention and works like a well-trained relay team.  One fellow piles the warm nougat mixture on a wooden board on a scale. When the needle hits exactly 7 kilos, he passes the board to a table, where 2 people pat the nougat down into an even layer, then pass it to Giuseppe. He inverts the mixture into a shallow rectangular mold that was previously lined with edible wafer paper, then vigorously works a rolling pin over the torrone mixture until it uniformly fills the mold.  He places the mold on a rack and another person covers it with wafer paper, and lets it rest.  This procedure is repeated nine times.

The cooled nougat is then cut – first with a machine that scores the torrone, then finished by hand with a pizza cutter – which releases an intense aroma of toasted almonds.  Mixed with the sweet fragrance of honey, the air becomes almost edible.

Torronificio Trapani’s classic torrone bianco is available with almonds, a combination of almonds and pistachios, with hazelnuts, or as individual almond torroncini, covered in dark or white chocolate.  I stocked up on a variety before stepping out into the disappointingly sugar-free air. 

Before I got to my car, I’d already unwrapped a torroncino.  The dark chocolate coating was paper thin, just barely beginning to melt against my anxious fingers. And inside, oh my.  It was packed with crunchy almonds, toasted to perfection, with just the right amount of creamy filling holding it all together in a sweet embrace.  Torrone heaven.

Torrone Trapani can be found in several pastry shops in the area – Pasticceria Di Pasquale in Ragusa and the wonderful Rosy Bar in the Sacro Cuore district of Modica – as well as the larger DiMeglio supermarkets. 

Or go straight to the source:
Torronificio Trapani -Via del Mercato 66

Giarratana (RG) 

Tel 0932 975014

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Silvio Berlusconi has stepped down as Italy’s prime minister, but he has far from disappeared. After conferring with all political parties, Italy’s president Giorgio Napolitano has given the economist Mario Monti the difficult role of trying to form a new government. If he does not succeed – a majority vote in Parliament is crucial – then in all probability new elections will be called, and Italy risks going further downhill.

Mario Monti, the appointed prime minister, announced his list of “technocrat” ministers, who will head the newly formed government if support from Italy’s myriad political parties is forthcoming. Monti has promised to focus on economic growth and badly needed reforms, and in facing the country’s huge deficit, has vowed to distribute the hard-hitting austerity measures in an equitable manner. Rumor has it that he intends to re-introduce property tax on primary residences (a tax that Berlusconi abolished after an election promise) and to introduce a tax on the assets of Italy’s wealthiest citizens. Berlusconi has already stated that he will not support such a tax and while giving his support on the confidence vote in the Senate, breezily commented that he and his PDL party can make the new government fall whenever it deems appropriate, stressing that he still wields a great deal of power.

Monti’s government faces an uphill battle, but is backed by several political parties, including the centrist UDC and the center-left PD, while the left parties of SEL and IDV were more cautious, calling for a marked change of direction from the Berlusconi government and claiming they will examine each initiative of the Monti government individually before declaring its support. The extreme right Lega Nord, has declared their outright opposition, and have temporarily split from their ally Berlusconi.

Meanwhile Italy’s gorvenment-issued bonds have reached alarmingly high interest rates hovering around 7%, as the country struggles to regain credibility. A confidence vote for Monti’s government passed in the Senate, and the confidence vote in the lower House is set for November 18. If this passes, the true uphill battle begins to pass reforms. If the confidence vote fails, early elections are the most likely next step, and would further tarnish Italy’s credibility. To complicate matters, the current electoral laws, which were put in place by an earlier Berlusconi government, allow for fixed electoral lists. Voters express a preference for a list but not for a specific candidate. Opposition parties favor changing the current electoral law, before new elections are called (no later than 2013), but that is not a priority for the Monti government.

In sharp contrast to the Berlusconi government which was marked by constant clashes and brash statements, Monti has focused on cohesion and a spirit of working together to solve the current financial crisis, regain credibility in world markets, and move Italy forward.

While Berlusconi may not be happy with the current turn of events, neither are Italy’s comedians. For them, Berlusconi was a font of great material, known for his sex scandals, endless legal problems, outrageous comments, gaffes in the presence of foreign leaders, hair transplants and facelifts, as well as wearing elevator shoes to compensate for his decidedly short stature. On the other hand, Monti is calm and collected, married to the same woman for 40 years, well-respected internationally and sports his own naturally grey hair atop his nearly 6-ft frame. What’s to make fun of?

During summer in Sicily a traditional beverage is latte di mandorla – almond milk – and visitors wilting in the heat will often be offered a chilled glass of this refreshing drink. Once upon a time, almond milk was commonly made at home in Sicily, but nowadays, most people drink the commercially available stuff bought in the supermarket. Instead of being refreshing, I find it to be cloying sweet. So, I set out to make my own.

I had scored a kilo of beautiful pizzuta almonds from the San Basilio farm during the almond harvest, and so I began quizzing the natives about the best way to make almond milk. Asking for culinary advice is always a dangerous proposition in Sicily, as it inevitably leads to an overload of information, often conflicting. Just when I may have settled on a method, another person will look at me in surprise and explain an incredibly simple way of doing the same thing, that they claim is buonissimo. So, first I needed to sift through all the almond milk info.

Everyone did agree that the almonds had to be shelled, which I had taken for granted. Next, should they be blanched in order to remove the brown skins? The “yes” crowd said the skins would make the almond milk bitter, the “no” crowd claimed the skins added flavor and color. I wondered if the no crowd could simply be lazy? Everyone also agreed that the almonds needed to be finely chopped, though methods differed. A food processor was okay with some (see lazy crowd above), others said the heat generated by the blades would affect the taste, and that the almonds must be finely chopped with a mezzaluna. My friend Giovanni said they should be slowly pounded to a paste with a mortar and pestle, gradually adding water. He claims he learned this when he had to make emulsions while studying to be a pharmacist at the University of Catania. Meanwhile, my trusty neighbor Beatrice said she just tied the unpeeled almonds in a cloth sack and beat the whole thing with a wooden mallet. As the path to almond milk became ever baffling, this at least seemed like a great way to release my frustration.

Everyone soaked the ground almonds in water, except for Beatrice-of–the-Mallet, who just dipped the sack in water periodically, until the water became “milky.” The soakers put the almond mass into a fine cloth and squeezed out the almond milk. Some added sugar, others honey. One left it plain, but admitted to being on a diet. Time to move on I told myself, before I just decide to make almond biscotti.

First, I had to shell the almonds, and these being pizzuta almonds with amazingly thick hard shells, a regular nutcracker was useless. It was time to use ‘The Rock’, a 5 lb. stone that I use for crushing olives, and occasionally, my fingers. At first, I had a tendency to hit too hard and crush the almond to smithereens along with the shell, but soon I got skilled at giving one sharp whack that splits the shell, yet leaves the almond intact. By the time I’m done, I’ve got a sore arm and one bulging bicep.

Next, because I don’t fancy the idea of brown bitter milk, I decided to remove the skins. I poured boiling water over the almonds, and let them sit for 30 minutes, while I rested my arm. Then by squeezing each almond between thumb and index finger, the skins slipped off quite easily. There are always a few recalcitrant ones that hold tight to their skins – I used the zero tolerance approach to these and just ate them.

By the time I am done with this, I am intimately familiar with each and every almond and am beginning to understand why everyone buys almond milk at the supermarket. (You could skip this whole process if you simply buy blanched almonds, but depending upon their age, they may be fairly tasteless, and you won’t become close personal friends with your almonds.)

Now, it was finally time to chop or grind the almonds. I tried the mortar and pestle method, and it took just 30 seconds to flunk out of pharmacy school, as with each move of the pestle, the slippery almonds flew out of the mortar and went skidding across the kitchen floor. By now I was hot and tired, and longed for a glass of cold almond milk to perk me up. Time to skip tradition and revert to modern times with a food processor (you could probably use a blender, but I don’t own one.) I ground the almonds in batches, pulsing and adding a bit of water until the mixture was fairly fine, then dumped the mixture into a bowl. I added some mineral water, and let it soak while I rested in front of the fan.

Finally, I poured the contents of the bowl into a cloth-lined strainer, over another clean bowl. Then with my last bit of strength, I squeezed the cloth of ground almond paste to extract all the liquids. Wow! Out poured almond milk! I refrigerated the almond milk and had a nap. Once it was cold, I slightly sweetened it with sugar – this seemed to enhance the almond flavor – and added a little more mineral water. Sitting in the shade, it made a refreshing silky drink with a surprisingly tangy almond finish. In the end, worth all the effort.  

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Recipe type: Beverage
Author: Anita Iaconangelo
Prep time: 1 Hour
Cook time: No cooking
Total time: 2 hours, including chilling
Serves: 8 three-ounce servings

Nutrition:
Serving size: 3 oz

Ingredients:
4 oz almonds

Cooking Directions:

1. Pour boiling water over the almonds to cover, let sit for 15-30 minutes, then squeeze each almond individually so that it slips out of its brown skin. (You can also just buy blanched almonds and skip the shelling and skinning.)
2. Place almonds in food processor and pulse in order to finely grind, adding a bit of water to make a thick chunky paste.
3. Transfer the almond paste to a bowl, add about 2 cups (16 oz.) of mineral water, and let soak for 30 minutes.
4. Dampen a square piece of fine linen or cotton cloth and place it in a sieve over another clean bowl.
5. Pour the contents of the almond paste bowl into the cloth lined sieve.
6. Let the liquid (which should be milky looking) drain into the clean bowl.
7. Gather the corners of the cloth together, twist them tightly and squeeze the almond paste so that the liquid also goes into the clean bowl – do this until you have squeezed out all liquid humanly possible from the almond paste, and are perspiring heavily.
8. Next, fill a measuring cup with about ½ cup of water, and place the bag of almond paste in it, dip it and up and down, then push it down into the water several times to extract more milky liquid, then add the liquid to the bowl of almond milk and squeeze the bag again – do this 3 times or until the water is no longer very milky, and you are feeling weak.
9. Assuming you have enough strength left, place a funnel in a bottle or pitcher and pour the contents of the almond milk into the funnel.
10. Taste the almond milk!
11. It will be quite bland without any sugar, but should have a nice almondy finish.
12. Sweeten to taste if you like, with either honey or sugar.
13. If it seems okay as is, refrigerate; if too strong, add a bit more water.
14. Shake or stir before pouring into glass, and serve well chilled.
15. Makes about 8 servings of 3 oz each.

It’s hot. Not just any hot, but Sicilian hot. Which is why we are out at 8.00 am, before the heat forces us to stay locked indoors until sunset. It’s time to pick capers.

Caper plants thrive in stone walls and rocky crevices, and disdain rich earth – in fact the few that I have managed to grow in a pot are decidely puny, while a cliff of limestone sends the capers into a fit of ecstatic growth.

And then there are the flowers. Exquisitely delicate, they last no more than 24 hours, leaving behind a stem with a tiny seed pod that will grow into a caper fruit, called cucunci in Sicily.

But I’ve gotten ahead of myself. The capers are the buds of the flowers before they open. In Sicily, they are traditionally preserved in salt, which is easy to do at home.

Start by picking as many as you want, choosing the tight healthy buds – leave the large ones that are ready to open into flower so at least someone else may admire it in the next 24 hours.

We like to combine a lovely walk with caper picking in the canyon of Misericordia near Ragusa, where sprawling caper plants drape the limestone cliffs, and we are far from any kind of pollution. A 15-minute downhill walk brings us to a narrow trail that hugs the cliffside, and capers grow in profusion As birds sing we rustle through the caper leaves, the scent of wild mint in the air. The tiny buds break off easily in our hands, and we quickly filling a small bag.

Before trekking back to the car, we stop to cool our feet in a clear stream, and Emanuele flicks tadpoles with his toes. The sun is hot on our backs as we continue our walk which has clearly become a trudge, and we realize that we should have started at dawn. At least we had the good sense to park in the shade. A short drive with the A/C blasting and we are back in the kitchen with our caper stash.

Once they have been cured in salt, capers can be used in many recipes, such as this pasta dish. Here is how to preserve capers in salt so they end up looking like this:

Recipe type: Breakfast
Author: Anita Iaconangelo
Prep time: 5 mins 
Cook time: 1 week
Total time: 1 week
Serves: As desired

Ingredients:
Capers
Sea salt

Instructions:

1. Go through the capers carefully, picking off any extra-long stems and stray ants (particularly important if you are vegetarian).
2. Rinse them in a colander, and pat dry on a dish towel.
3. Place the capers in a jar, layering them with fine sea salt.
4. (If you have a lot of capers, it’s better to use 2 small jars than one large one.)
5. Cover the jar with its lid and shake it to make sure the salt is well distributed.
6. Remove the lid and cover the jar with a single layer of a paper napkin or tight netting, and close with an elastic band.
7. Leave it in a place where it will get some airflow, but not in direct sunlight – a breezy countertop is good.
8. Every day, drain off any liquid that forms, and add another spoonful of salt.
9. After about a week, or when the capers stop giving off liquid, transfer to a clean jar/storage container and cover with a lid.
10. The capers can be kept on a shelf for up to one year.

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Festival of San Sebastiano in Sicily

There are many patron saint festivals in Italy, but few can top the festival of San Sebastiano – St. Sebastian – in Sicily. 

San Sebastiano is most often depicted as a young martyr tied to a post, wearing only a loincloth, and bearing a strangely serene expression for someone who is stuck through with arrows.  Shooting him with arrows was actually the first attempt at killing him for his Christian beliefs, and after being nursed back to health, he went off to harangue the Roman emperor Diocletian for persecuting Christians, and was promptly clubbed to death.  So, a serene but belligerent martyr he was.

San Sebastiano is the patron saint of the Sicilian town of Palazzolo Acreide, about a 40 minute drive from where I  live in eastern Sicily.  I had heard much about this festival and finally the timing was right, so off I went with Emanuele & friends in tow.

The two most intriguing things about this festival are the “sciuta”, Sicilian for the “exit” or when the San Sebastiano statue on a gilded cart exits the church, carried on the shoulders of an army of men dressed in white and red.  I was told that there was much fanfare and it was “molto, molto bello.”   I’m used to the Sicilian’s fondness for exaggeration, and figured it would be similar to many festivals I had already seen.  Boy, was I wrong.  

The second intriguing thing, that borders on the bizarre, is that little babies, who are often stripped naked – apparently this is to echo the nudity of San Sebastiano – are offered up to the saint’s statue as a kind of blessing to protect them.  The babies might wear a necklace bearing banknotes that are pinned to the outside of the cart, but donations of coins are also accepted. 

Join in the celebrations as these pictures depict how the festival of San Sebastiano unfolds.

When first arriving in town, we are met with a line of bancarelle, stands selling an assortment of stuff, from straw hats to ward off the hot sun to cheap plastic toys made in China to entice the hoards of children into pestering their parents.  Sales are slow.

But we are looking for tradition and folklore, and soon we find it outside the church steps.  There is a cart selling cuddure, ring-shaped breads that celebrate the wheat harvest in August.  Bakeries donate these breads to the festival, and the money from purchases goes to finance the celebrations. 

Soon a band starts playing and a parade starts, and the festive atmosphere heats up. 

Finally a few loud firecrackers announce that the sciuta is happening soon, and everyone squeezes into the piazza in front of the church.  The sun is fierce and tensions are high – I argue with a tall guy who pushes in front of me, and he agrees to squat so that I can see over his head.  And then the sciuta begins.

The first moments of the sciuta are electrifying.  Some of the men who will help to carry the statue call out with arms raised exhorting San Sebastiano to come out of the church.  Just as the cart reaches the doorway a series loud explosions are accompanied by violent sprays of ‘nzareddi, colored paper ribbons.

The continued explosions are deafening and the church is obscured in a swirl of colors and smoke, while people shout and raise their fists in the air.  I’m in the midst of a psychedelic bombardment, and as the crowd surges forward, I lose Emanuele in a whirl of colors. My heart is pounding,  my hands are shaking and it’s hard to keep the camera still. 

 Finally the colors part, the smoke clears and we can see the cart of San Sebastiano!

I follow the cart as it is carried through the town, and babies are held up to receive the blessings of San Sebastiano, who becomes their protector.  Sometimes the babies are stripped naked, mimicking the nudity of the saint.  As they are lifted up to the heavens, the crowd rejoices, Viva San Sebastiano!  I’m swept up in the soaring energy.

Not all the babies are as thrilled as the spectators.   I almost feel like crying, too.

As the statue of San Sebastiano heads down a side street, the piazza is suddenly overrrun with children frolicking in the ribbons of paper, while a priest and other devotees walk solemnly through the riot of colors.  A few diligent workers are busily dumping buckets of water on little fires that have sprung up in the paper ribbons. 

All in all it was one of the most emotional patron saint celebrations I’ve witnessed in Italy, an exuberant but exhausting experience.

I find Emanuele & friends, and babbling excitedly like children, we head off to lunch.

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The festival of San Sebastiano takes place on August 10 in Palazzolo Acreide in eastern Sicily. but other festivities go on for a week.  Check the website for a calendar of events.

In a country known for its cultural treasures, the medieval town of Pietrasanta – known as the “City of Artists” —has deep roots in Italy’s legacy of art and sculpture.

Located near the Italian Riviera in northern Tuscany, this little town has been a hot spot for artists and sculptors since the 15th century, when Pope Leo X ordered Michelangelo to construct a road from the coast below Pietrasanta to Monte Altissima, an otherwise inaccessible peak known to contain rich deposits of pure white statuary marble.  Cutting and then transporting the stone from the wilderness back to the coast proved too difficult a task to perform very often, so only the Michelangelo’s Moses and the unfinished Slaves were carved from  this marble. 

But from here, Pietrasanta’s reputation as an international center for art and sculpture was set in stone, and today artists from around the world come to use the local marble studios and bronze foundries, and to benefit from the knowledge of master artisans.  And not only are these artisans highly skilled at carving stone, they also sport nifty paper hats handmade out of newspaper. 

Staying in Pietrasanta is an interesting experience, where you may run into Colombian artist and sculptor Fernando Botero, who has made Pietrasanta his home for part of the year; one of his bronze scuptures graces the entranceway to the town.  Quirky restaurants, unusual shops, and art galleries abound, so there is always something to do.   

Worth a visit is the Museo dei Bozzetti which has hundreds of sculpture models by over 300 Italian and foreign artists.  It also offers guided tours explaining the many “meanings” of the museum—that is, the history of local sculpture, what a model is, the contemporary artistic background and the work of the craftsmen, who are the real force behind today’s artists.  You might be surprised to learn that few contemporary artists produce their own designs in stone—visit a sculpture studio and you’ll find hardworking artisans working on stone sculptures that are destined for public gardens or private villas around the world. 

On our walking tours in Italy that touch upon Pietrasanta, I always include a visit to a sculpture studio or a bronze foundry to see the fascinating process firsthand.   I love staying at the luxurious Albergo Pietrasanta, a boutique hotel housed in a palazzo in the center of town,  with a stunning modern art collection that seamlessly blends with the historic building and fine antique furniture.  This is where we stay on our Cinque Terre & Beyond walking tour, which touches upon some of the more well-known hiking trails in Liguria as well as the quiet undiscovered trails that bring you to Tuscan marble quarries or tiny seaside villages.

Intrigued with sculpture?  You might like:

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All four referendums – including the repeal of nuclear power - passed in an historic vote in Italy on June 12 and 13, 2011, with about 55% of voters participating. With the Italian system requiring a quorum of at least 50% + 1 of eligible voters, this is the first time in 16 years that a referendum has passed in Italy.  Initial tallies show that  all 4 referendums passed with an overwhelming majority of over 95% of participants voting to repeal the existing laws.

The 4 referendums were to repeal laws put in place by the Berlusconi government and repealed the decision to build nuclear power plants on Italian soil, privatize public water utilities and allow private water companies to recoup their investments by billing consumers, and last but not least repealed the “legitimate impediment” law that allowed a prime minister and other government ministers to postpone any court proceeding while in office. The “legitimate impediment” law was considered by it’s detractors as a law made by Berlusconi for Berlusconi, given that the controversial prime minister is currently a key figure in 4 separate court trials with charges ranging from corruption to child prostitution. The referendum victory comes on the heels of two important victories in local elections in Milan and Naples, where alternative left parties won the mayoral seats, and is seen as a further weakening of Berlusconi’s coalition.

The pro-referendum campaign “Vota Si” – Vote Yes – overcame many obstacles including the government’s decision to put the referendum to the vote in a time period when many Italians could be away from home on summer vacation and unable to vote, to trying to negate the nuclear power referendum by instituting a 1-year moratorium on building nuclear power plants. This was overturned in court and the referendum went forward.

Referendum victory celebrations are expected all over Italy, and I personally popped the cork on a bottle of Ferrari spumante to celebrate this important victory for democracy that hopefully will signal the eventual disappearance of the Berlusconi government.

Follow official results