May 2, 2007
Hello from Sicily – An Italian Cooking
Class
I had thoroughly enjoyed my personal
Sicilian history lesson provided by Alessandro Adorno, the Founder
and Director of the Babilonia
Language School. In addition he suggested that I attend one
of the cooking classes organized by Babilonia that gives Italian
language students an opportunity to create Sicilian delicacies first-hand.
Just a minute and a half from the language school is the home of
Aurelio and Angela Ferrari, a couple who regularly host language
students as part of the homestay program of Babilonia. Currently
the couple have three language students staying with them, and they
provide them with comfortable accommodation as well as three home-cooked
meals a day.
Two cooking students Marjolein and Takashi with Angela and Aurelio
Ferrari
Aurelio, now retired, has spent a life-time in the hospitality
industry. He has lived and worked in different hotels and resorts
in Rome, France and England and has held a wide variety of positions
in the tourism business, including work in various hotel and restaurant
kitchens and has gained a wide variety of operational and managerial
experience. After all the years abroad during his international
career he returned to live in Taormina, in the house where he was
born. He said he loves living here, it’s beautiful, and it’s
very safe since there is virtually no crime.
Aurelio Ferrari loves interacting with the students
He explained that he loves Sicilian cooking and that he truly enjoys
sharing his knowledge. Lessons are taught three times a week and
they focus on Sicilian home-cooking, using all the fresh locally
grown ingredients that this fertile island has to offer.
Takashi and Marjolein are put to work - and loving it...
Today Aurelio and his two culinary charges, Marjolein from Holland
and Takashi from Japan, were going to produce a wide assortment
of Sicilian specialties:
- Pasta alla Eoliana
- Pesce all Messinese
- Pomodori Gratini on Crostini
- Caponata Siciliana stile Arabo
- Aciughe marinate
- Formaggio Fritto
- Insalata di menta con olivi
- Mele al Agrodolce
As you can imagine a proper Sicilian meal always consists of multiple
courses, and after all the preparation the students, the master
chef and his family get to enjoy the meal together. Aurelio, a real
character, added that students often sing, or play the guitar or
the piano which is located on the main floor of his four storey
house. He also added that he always makes sure to ask his students
whether they have any food preferences or allergies or whether they
are vegetarian.
Aurelio knows how to multi-task
Tonight was going to be a real feast for the palate with two main
dishes: Pesce alla Messinese, a local fish specialty, and Pasta
alla Eoliana – pasta Eolian Islands style. Both dishes require
a basic sauce made from tomatoes and eggplants, flavoured with local
staples such as onion, garlic, olives, capers, mint, basil and oregano.
Aurelio refers to these herbs as the “profumi di Sicilia”
– the fragrances or aromas of Sicily. The fish, cut in rectangular
pieces, is cooked for only 10 minutes on the stove inside the sauce
to make sure it’s nice and tender. To round out the taste
a bit of red wine is added to the sauce at the end.
Preparing the Pomodori Gratinati
Pasta alla Eoliana starts with the same base and Aurelio explained
that the pasta that is added is called “spacciatella”,
a type of pasta that is not normally available in supermarkets.
Any type of longitudinal hollow pasta should be able to substitute
for this pasta variety.
A sampling of Sicilian flavours
Several aromatic side dishes were to accompany our meal: Pomodori
Gratinati (gratinated tomatoes), according to Aurelio, are a great
way to use up old bread. You simply cut a breadstick into slices,
create a mixture called “pane saporito” – breadcrumbs
flavoured with parsley, garlic, salt, all mixed thoroughly in a
blender, and spoon the mixture on top of the tomatoes and add pecorino
and parmesan, topped off with some anchovies, and bake the small
pieces of bread in the oven for ten or eleven minutes to arrive
at a delicious side dish.
Putting the finishing touches on
Sicily’s multicultural heritage manifested itself in the
next dish: the “Caponata Siciliana Stile Arabo” –
a sweet and sour culinary relic of the Arab period in Sicilian history.
The ingredients for this dish include raisins, pine nuts, sugar,
balsamic vinegar, onions and eggplants cut in small cubes, all of
which come together to form a deliciously fragrant vegetable relish
that makes for a flavourful slightly sweet addition to any meal.
Preparing the "mele al agrodolce"
Aurelio and his two enthusiastic cooking students continued with
the next side dish: “Acciughe marinate” are anchovy
slices that are marinated for at least two hours in vinegar, lemon
and salt with an addition of hot peppers, parsley and oil.
Pesce alla Messinese
For the cheese lovers among us Aurelio prepared “formaggio
fritto”: ricotta slices, breaded in beaten egg and flour and
then pan-fried on the stove top. With the leftover egg he created
an omlette, adding that nothing ever goes to waste in a Sicilian
kitchen.
Aurelio, always with a smile on his face
A mint salad consisting of mint leaves, with an addition of "pane
saporito" (the savoury breadcrumb mix), olives, oil and vinegar
was next before our chef and his two assistants created the dessert:
“Mele al agrodolce”: sweet and sour apples. For this
dish apple slices were covered with lemon juice and sugar and topped
with sweet prunes, a sweet and sour way to cap off an assortment
of healthy dishes prepared from fresh local ingredients. Sicilian
cuisine is very healthful, with lots of fish and vegetables and
very little animal fat. Aurelio’s eight-course meal was a
perfect example of the focus on simple yet flavourful local ingredients
that come together to form a fascinating array of aromas.
Pasta alla Eoliana
After the meal was cooked we all carried the numerous containers
two floors up to the covered rooftop terrace which featured a long
table that could hold at least 10 to 12 people. Aurelio, always
with a big smile on his face, graciously introduced all the dishes
on camera, and all of us sat down to taste this smorgasbord of Sicilian
cooking.
A well-deserved toast after all the hard work...
Aurelio and his wife Angela talked to us about their families and
about life in Sicily, which they both greatly enjoyed. The entire
evening and the cooking class was conducted in Italian, another
opportunity for exposure to the Italian language and the cordial
hospitality of a real Italian family. After a delicious dinner Marjolein
and I left this wonderful get-together and stepped out into a warm,
moonlit night. We spent a few minutes on a terrace overlooking the
Mediterranean and both commented what a special experience this
time in Taormina has been before we left for a night of rest and
another day of language studies.
Interesting and useful books about Sicily:
Useful links:
Sicily
Tourist Information
Taormina
Tourist Information
Babilonia Italian
Language School
Hotel
Villa Nettuno in Taormina
Related articles:
My Italian language learning adventure
in Sicily in 2007
Hello from Sicily: Arrival in Taormina
Hello from Sicily: An
interview with the Sciglio family from Hotel Villa Nettuno
Hello from Sicily: A hike to Castelmola
and a taste of Sicily
Hello from Sicily: An excursion to
ancient Siracusa
Hello from Sicily: A leisurely
Sunday at Isola Bella
Hello from Sicily: Language
studies in Taormina and a walking tour
Hello from Sicily: A country driving tour
around beautiful Mount Etna
Hello from Sicily: A private lecture
about Sicily and the Mafia
Hello from Sicily: A Sicilian
cooking class in Taormina
Hello from Sicily: A hike up Mount
Etna a few days after an eruption
Hello from Sicily: Goodbye Taormina
- Hello Milazzo
Hello from Sicily: Starting my sailing
trip through the Eolian Islands
Hello from Sicily: Discoveries of Lipari
and Salina
Hello from Sicily: A driving tour of
Salina and Italian studies on a patio
Hello from Sicily: Explorations of
Stromboli, featuring an active volcano
Hello from Sicily: Beautiful Panarea
and a nice dinner in Lipari
Hello from Sicily: A driving tour of
Lipari and arrival at Vulcano
Hello from Sicily: Conquering Vulcano
and a final dinner in Milazzo
Hello from Sicily: Discovering Milazzo,
its long history and architecture
Hello from Sicily: An excursion by train
to the medieval treasure of Cefalu
Hello from Sicily: Discoveries
in the Nebrodi Mountains
Hello from Sicily: My final day in
Catania
Presenting:
The Babilonia Italian Language School in Taormina
Presenting:
The Laboratorio Linguistico Italian Langauge School in Milazzo
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