“Sicily has suffered thirteen foreign dominations from which she has taken both the best and the worst. The sequence of different cultures has made Sicily a fascinating place, quite unlike any other” Andrea Camilleri, writer (he wrote the Inspector Montalbano series, we had the whole set in the Oxfam bookshop earlier this year in an English translation which is quite rare).
It’s been a while since we had a chat about food. So, as it’s our first really nice evening since being in Sicily (no howling wind, no torrential downpours, no thunderstorms – why, hello sun) I thought we could have a little discussion about Sicilian food.
Now, if you’d asked me before this trip, Alix, what is Sicilian food like, I’d have said, oh probably like Italian, in the same way that I thought Sardinian food was Italian. And even before we arrived here, I’d have said, oh probably a bit like Sardinian…
Well, I could not have been more wrong. The menu construction is very similar – antipasti, primi platti, secondi platti then desert, then coffee, then a lie down for a week. And some of the dishes are similar – but some of them are so, so different. Where shall I start? No, not with antipasti…
Sicilian food very much reflects the countries that have influenced this island. Here’s a short tour:
Carthaginians / Phoenicians: originally from Lebanon, the centre of their empire became Carthage (now modern-day Tunis). They brought cereals, including durum wheat used to make Sicilian pasta and cous-cous, which is basically wheat flour paste pressed through a coarse sieve. We’ve had some stunning pasta in Sicily. More of that again. The Phoenicians set up the sea salt industry in Trapani, where we sailed to from Sardinia. They also brought good grapes to make decent wine, so didn’t have to add pine resin, rather like retsina (yuk) [Ed, yum!]. And fresh figs too and possibly pomegranates. When we were working in Poros, our Australian engineer asked us what were the funny apples with spiky bases!
Greeks: These guys brought spelt, a very old wheat (now back in fashion and available in Waitrose at £1.80 for 250 gr). They also introduced octopus and squid to the diet, and Ancient Greek ceramic pots were sometimes decorated with designs of them. However, the Ancient Greek's crowning glory was the invention of Pecorino, the Sicilian sheep’s cheese, which is still made according to a strictly-defined process even today. Yum – we keep a lump of this in our fridge on Missy Bear for when we cook on board.
Romans: So, what did the Romans ever bring for us? Um, oysters… Yeah, ok, that goes without saying, but apart from oysters, what did the Romans ever bring for us? Well, vegetables – oh that’s right, vegetables (purple carrots, garlic, onions, leafy greens). OK, apart from oysters, and vegetables, what did the Romans ever bring for us. Well Reg, there’s pizza, don’t forget pizza… The astute among you will ask how on earth they made their tomato sauce? They didn’t!
Putting aside the Monty Python skit, what the Romans did bring to Sicilian food was something that forms the very essence of it – the agrodolce tradition, i.e., sweet and sour – the use of olive oil, vinegar and sugar. One of the most well-known dishes in this style is Caponata, which I’ll come back to in a later blog (yeah, sorry). In addition, the Romans brought Garum, a fish sauce (think Asian cookery today), especially an anchovy paste. Pizzas anyone? No tomato sauce (or pineapple) but you can have cheese and anchovy.
Germans: I was unable to find much about the Ostrogoths in terms of food. Apparently, they ate a lot of meat, so I now have an image of Theodoric the Great munching on leg of mutton on the bone. [Alix: I did originally write Erik the Viking here, but I was told that was incorrect in no uncertain tones]. But they did introduce improved abattoir procedures. And if you count them as Germans, also basil and oregano. Who’d have thought?
Arabs: Next, we come on to the North Africans, or Saracens, an ethnic mix of Arabs and Berbers. Their influence has really made Sicilian cuisine what it is today. This is going to be a mind-boggling list, but if I do it any other way you will be hours just reading this: citrus trees, especially lemons; apricots; sugar beet [Ed, I think that should be sugar cane production?]; artichokes; melons; rice; saffron; pine nuts; pepper; nutmeg and cloves. Nuts – pistachios; almonds; hazelnuts; walnuts; cashews. They also introduced the process of drying pasta. Raisins. Sweetmeats – cassata, a type of very sweet cheesecake; sherbets to which they then added milk, making ice-cream. They also introduced a style of tuna fishing, where the tuna was corralled into a narrowing stretch of water, and then trapped, allowing them to be speared. Apparently, this continued right into the 70s, when trawler fishing took over. [Ed, I hate trawlers]
But my complete favourite has to be – coffee!!!! It originated in Ethiopia, and was originally used as a medicine. But it became so popular (and lucrative) that the Venetians tried to muscle in on the trade. The Vatican even tried to claim it was the devil’s crop as they thought it was a Moorish threat to Christianity. Luckily, that didn’t last.
Normans: The next invasion was by the Normans (keep up at the back). They were skilled at tending to livestock and made cattle, sheep and poultry more widespread in Sicily, plus revived the breeding of the Sicilian black pig. But their own crops of apples and pears didn’t really succeed in the Sicilian climate.
Jews: The Jewish influence came about not through invasion, but through assimilation of Jews into government roles such as translators, interpreters, scribes etc. Apparently, much of their cuisine is reflected in the street food, a lot of which is offal-based. It was interesting to read that the Jewish people were not permitted to eat offal, and therefore donated it, keeping many poor people fed. And yes, you can still buy a spleen sandwich in many places! No vomming at the back there please.
Spanish: Finally, we arrive at the Spanish influence. Hands up – what was the biggest food contribution made by the Spanish? Yes Forbes-Hamilton? That’s right – the tomato. Tomatoes were originally the size of peas, and were domesticated and cultivated by the Aztecs. A quick review of Wikipedia tells us that the tomato is actually a fruit, not a vegetable (you knew that) but that it resulted in a legal dispute in the US. In 1883, President Chester A Arthur signed a tariff act requiring a tax to be paid on imported vegetables but not fruit. The John Nix & Co fruit company in New York City filed a suit against the tax collector of the port of New York to reclaim taxes paid under protest on the tomato. Their argument was that tomatoes are biologically fruit and not vegetables. The court case called upon various dictionary definitions and finally decided in favour of it being classed as a vegetable (probably so they could keep the tax).
Other great contributions from the Spanish were potatoes, and also chocolate. You can still buy chocolate bars made in Aztec-method in Sicily, which might be an interesting thing to look for when we are in Milazzo. The Spanish also introduced the prickly pear which is widespread on the island. And finally, they also brought vanilla to the island.
Given all of the above, it’s very difficult to imagine what the people of Sicily ate before they were invaded. Apparently, there are some indigenous oleaster trees, although historians think the Phoenecians or Greeks were the first to cultivate the olives into the edible fruit we have today. Nevertheless, Sicilian food has been a complete revelation, and Richard and I will do our best to sample it. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it.
