granita di gelsi – mulberry granita

Posted on May 19, 2018 by hungryenglishman — Leave a reply

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, / Old Time is still a-flying; / And this same flower that smiles today / To-morrow will be dying. Last week Shakespeare, this week Herrick. Apologies for the Renaissance glut, but it’s seasonal. Quite possibly the fault of a misspent youth, when laziness throughout the rest of the year meant I was forced to spend May in the company of Shakespeare, Donne, Sidney, Middleton, Jonson, Kyd and the rest Continue Reading →

patate e carciofi al forno/frittedda – potato and artichoke bake/artichoke, pea and broad bean stew

Posted on March 29, 2018 by hungryenglishman — 2 Comments ↓

Easter marks the beginning of the end of the artichoke season, so take advantage to snap them up before it’s too late. To keep you busy we have a double helping today. First baked in the oven with potatoes, and then as part of a somewhat lighter Sicilian classic, frittedda. Potatoes play the perfect foil in the first recipe, doing a great job of soaking up the artichoke juices, olive oil and pecorino, while also Continue Reading →

risotto alle clementine – tangerine risotto

Posted on December 1, 2017 by hungryenglishman — 2 Comments ↓

Before we start, I know the Italian and English versions of the title seem to be at odds, but that’s simply because here in Sicily clementines and tangerines tend to go by the same name. The fruit I used seemed to me to be tangerines, so that’s what I’m calling them. Not that it really matters – either can be used. Although we usually munch on these sweet shots of citrus in a half-hearted attempt Continue Reading →

acciughe – anchovies

Posted on July 18, 2016 by hungryenglishman — Leave a reply

Anchovies: you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em, especially in their preserved form – salted or in oil, in which they are only for aficionados of hard-core fishiness. I love them, but I must admit, it took a few years to acquire the taste. They’re one of the first things you’re likely to come across in Messina, part of the traditional focaccia topping of tomatoes, tuma cheese and escarole. Their salty, primeval kick can Continue Reading →

cipolle di giarratana al forno – baked giarratana onions

Posted on January 8, 2015 by hungryenglishman — Leave a reply

Onions: you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em. I love ‘em, and for onion lovers, the cipolla di Giarratana is as good as it gets. They originally come from the town of Giarratana up in the hills of south-east Sicily, but are sold in markets all over the island. Whether they arrive further afield I couldn’t say. I sincerely hope so, because I hate to think of you going without. Anyway, these pink-violet beauties Continue Reading →

cotechino e lenticchie – italian new year’s eve

Posted on January 1, 2015 by hungryenglishman — 1 Comment ↓

New Year’s Eve, and that means cotechino sausage and lentils practically everywhere in Italy. The dish is not Sicilian at all, but then there’s no real Sicilian traditional food for the last day of the year, so like the rest of the country, they borrow this rich, fatty, salty oversize banger from Emilia Romagna. According to tradition, the cotechino represents good health, and the lentils money. While lentils could be seen to resemble coins, how Continue Reading →

two-and-a-half ways with king trumpets – due ricette e mezzo per i funghi di ferla

Posted on December 10, 2014 by hungryenglishman — Leave a reply

Today’s little beauty is Pleurotus eryngii. It apparently also goes under the aliases of king trumpet mushroom, French horn mushroom, king oyster mushroom, king brown mushroom, boletus of the steppes, and trumpet royale. More names than your average international fraudster. Mycologists, it would seem, are even more unable to agree than taxonomists, who as we have seen, are themselves a pretty litigious bunch. In Italian, it’s cardoncello, but for me it has always and only Continue Reading →