The sicilian connection

Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo, from the TV series, Two Greedy Italians once said, "You could say that there is no such thing as Italian cuisine. Each of the twenty regions has totally different ways of cooking created by the geography, culture and invaders". And it was the aggressors that have greatly influenced the Cuisine of the Islands, Sicily (La Cucina Siciliana) and Sardinia (La Cucina Sarda). When an island is habited by beautiful people and is situated in the center of the Mediterranean, indeed you would attract the Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, French, and Spanish to Sicily (add the Phoenicians, Austrians and exclude Arabs in Sardinia).

The best way to experience Sicilian cuisine is to travel to the island and eat the food there in its original form but your favorite food columnist had limited Euros, so limited travel pud (only to Rome and Florence). Often, travel videos help a lot in the understanding of the culture of a particular area and I have viewed the videos of Rick Steves, Rick Stein, Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern about Sicily.

Alternate route to authentic Italian foods is to have Italian friends or work as food journalist and last July 5, at The Loft (2nd Floor, CJRS, Asiatown IT Park, 6000 Cebu City), it was a degustation of Italian dishes with Jigs Arquiza of SunStar, Doyzkie Buenaviaje (http://www.iluvcebu.com) and host Charles Osmeña. We dissected the intricacies of Sicilian dishes. Throughout the dinner, Italian Chef Moreno Benigno gave a passionate lecture about the nuances and anecdote of each dish.

Antipasti (Appetizers) were the following: Cocktail di gamberi (prawns), Salmone al cucchiaio (salmon), Filletto di agnello al cucchiaio (lamb tenderloin) and Fegatini al cucchiaio (sweet and sour lamb liver in balsamic sauce). These were paired with a Sicilian White Wine, Corvo Glicine 2010. The sundried tomatoes and capers imparted interesting flavors to the salmon while the agrodolce (sweet and sour) did the same to the lamb liver.

Contomo (side dishes) were the Carpaccio di tonno (Sliced Raw Tuna with Capers, Olives & Tomato Sauce), Formaggi (Italian Assorted Cheese Platter & Pickled vegetables), Polenta with Bolognese Sauce and the Bruschetta al tartufo (Roasted Bread with Truffles Cream & Italian Cheese). The latter was a special request from Jigs; indeed the umani overload was pleasing and exciting.

Primo (first course) was Aglio olio e peperoncino con bottarga (Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, Spicy Italian Chili and Cured Tuna Eggs). At first glance, it looks like ordinary pasta but once you taste it, you begin to wonder how such simple ingredients in the hands of a Master Sicilian Chef can be transformed into a wonderland of flavors. Certainly, this was one of the top five pasta dishes, excuse me, I have ever tasted.

Secondo or main dish was the Costoletta di agnello (Lamb chop with Roasted Vegetables, Garlic, Mint and Rosemary Sauce) with the Sicilian Couscous, paired with the Fazio Montelimo Nero d' Avola-Merlot. As I was finishing the Dolci (Tiramisù), I pondered on the thought that Italian cuisine is indeed intensely regional and there are so many regional dishes I have yet to taste and wonder when my culinary journeys to Italy will finally end.