It is perhaps difficult to pinpoint an episode that really triggered my interest and passion in food and wine. Like every passion, it developed over time. But nothing has left its mark on my philosophy of eating and cooking more than an island neighbouring the island where I was born. Memories of Sicilian food do not just trigger a sense of nostalgia but in a way they mark my culinary roots. My love of cooking started with Sicilian food, and the philosophy I appreciate most in cooking, which is to showcase exceptional ingredients, comes from there. What strikes you most when you visit Sicily and eat Sicilian food is the simplicity of the cuisine. Here, most chefs will let the ingredients do the talking without intervening to complicate matters or enhance flavours. But its also a cuisine that can be complicated mixing sweet and sour flavours in one dish. Whenever I meet a chef, I like to ask what their best meal has been. While this question may sound simple, I'm not sure I … [Read more...]
10 Sicilian wine producers to look out for
I am preparing a wine tasting for a wine club I form part of in September and the theme is Sicilian wines. I have therefore been researching a bit more than usual about the wine producers of Sicily and also tasting some more wines from this Southern Italian island which produces some stunning wines. This will hopefully be a new series for Food and Wine Gazette on wine producers in different wine regions and countries of the world who are worth looking out for because they produce consistently good wine. In part, this is also inspired by a conversation I had with a reader of this blog who asked how I go about purchasing wines I would be drinking. But that is another story. There are no secrets to buying or drinking great wine. It all boils down to knowing which are the wine producers that produce consistently good wines. A good indication of the quality of the wine is the entry level wine. It might not be stunning but if it is well made it will be enjoyable and you can rest … [Read more...]
Azienda Agricola COS: A Sicilian winemaker with a difference
Azienda Agricola COS, founded in 1980, is one of Sicily's most well known wineries. Few, however are aware that their wines are natural wines which are extremely low in sulphites and are mainly aged in amphoras (see above photo) like in the old days. I met one of the winemakers of COS, Giusto Occhipinti, at the Vini Birre Ribelli fair organised in Brussels for the first time this weekend, tasting all their wines and discovering what makes them different from other winemakers in Italy and the world. This was the first stand I visited and what was immediately distinct is that unlike common practice they recommend that you start the tasting with the red wines to be followed by their two white wines, because as they say, the white wines are made in a similar fashion to the red wines and hence have a distinct character. But before I report on the tasting, a bit about the story of this Sicilian winemaker from Vittoria, a small Sicilian village in the South East of … [Read more...]
The wines of Sicily – a wine region like no other
Maybe it is because of Malta's close affinity to Sicily, or because of the fact that I have been there so many times, but I find Sicilian wines to be extremely interesting. True, they might not compare with the finesse of Barolo's from Piemonte or Brunello di Montalcino from Tuscany but still they are extremely fascinating. Sicilian cuisine to me epitomises what is best about Mediterranean food. Take simple, sometimes humble ingredients and within minutes you have the makings of a great meal. Like my home country, Sicily is a hotpot of different influences from the Mediterranean. Some of the most memorable meals I have experienced were in Sicily whether it was a menu free restaurant in Scoglitti serving just one fish dish after another of what their fishermen had caught earlier in the day, to some of the best pasta creations. Nothing beats their spaghetti with sea urchins or pasta with prawns and pine nuts or pistachios which are so common in Sicilian cuisine. But this post is not … [Read more...]