gelo di mellone – watermelon jelly

Before you start, no, it’s not a spelling mistake – it’s mellone, not melone. In Sicily, mellone with a double “l” means watermelon, especially in the western part of the island (although muluni is another dialect form). Elsewhere in Italy (and in Sicily too if you’re not speaking dialect) they call it anguria or cocomero. Everywhere, Sicily included, melone with one “l”is used for other types of melon. Ok, sufficiently confused? With that out of Continue Reading →

granita di gelsi – mulberry granita

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 →

due marmellate: limoni/arance amare – two marmalades: lemon/orange

This is the point where I could get all smug and tell you about limoncello and lemon marmalade produced from my own crop of lemons. Well, I could if a) I had anything that could honestly be called a “crop”, since even in a good year, we’re talking about a single tree; and b) if this were a good year, which it is not, not by a long shot, due to over-zealous pruning by a Continue Reading →

cuccìa dolce di santa lucia – wheat berry and ricotta pudding for st. lucy’s day

  It was recently St. Lucy’s Day (13 December), so no pasta, bread or flour. If you’re wondering why, have a look at last year’s St. Lucy’s Day-themed post. St. Lucy is one of Italy’s more popular saints (yes, they do seem to have a sort of internal pecking order), and is celebrated all over the country in various ways, with processions, traditional fairs, fireworks and the lighting of votive candles. The kids in Northern Continue Reading →