Since Alison and I returned from Sicily, I can't stop thinking about the fabulous "polpe" or octopus we had in Siracusa. And that brought back memories of a wonderful meal our friend Pietro cooked for us which included stuffed sardines alla Palermo which we shopped for in Palermo's incredible, medieval fish market, the Vucciria.
Other friends made us mullet, swordfish and tunny and I never ate so well as I did that 8 months in Palermo. Fresh, wonderful fish, straight from the Mediterranean.
And in Trapani, the medieval salt pans with their lazily turning windmills - beautiful scenery around Castellemare and Cefalu's beauty. I don't know why anyone goes to mainland Italy!
And let's remember Paolo's restaurant in Siracusa, thank you Bruno and Lucia for taking us there, it was incredible. So was Basirico's - fabulous octopus and sea bass.
Showing posts with label Basirico's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Basirico's. Show all posts
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Friday, May 22, 2015
Eating in Cefalu and Siracusa - octopus, sea bass and other yummies
Having recently returned from our trip to Sicily and Budapest, I wanted to let our readers know about a wonderful restaurant in Siracusa. It's called Basirico's and it is in Ortigia, specializing in seafood. My friend and I ate there twice and had octopus (my personal favorite and something you don't eat in the Rocky Mountains) and sea bass.
My Neapolitan friend just came up for a visit to the cool, refreshing mountains from Florida and has the cookbooks we love to read - the Sicilian Food Lovers cookbook (she wants to take that cooking class in Cefalu from Cinzia and Antonio!), plus Eating in Sicily and a few others. So I don't have my normal cookbooks around me.
But octopus - goodness! What a treat! When I first had calamari (which is squid and not the same, correct???) in Chicago it tasted like my Jeep tires. I decided calamari and octopi were not for me!
In Siracusa and Sicily in general, it's a whole different ball game. I don't know what they do, but it's tender, perfect and exquisite. Olive oil, parsley, salt, pepper and garlic with breadcrumbs is what I Sapori di Sicilia recommends for baking small squid in the oven. (p. 178)
While I don't think I can buy any calamari or octopus (polpa or polpette as I saw it referred to in Siracusa) in a store here that even vaguely compares to fresh product in Sicily, the memory will linger for a long, long time.
My Neapolitan friend just came up for a visit to the cool, refreshing mountains from Florida and has the cookbooks we love to read - the Sicilian Food Lovers cookbook (she wants to take that cooking class in Cefalu from Cinzia and Antonio!), plus Eating in Sicily and a few others. So I don't have my normal cookbooks around me.
But octopus - goodness! What a treat! When I first had calamari (which is squid and not the same, correct???) in Chicago it tasted like my Jeep tires. I decided calamari and octopi were not for me!
In Siracusa and Sicily in general, it's a whole different ball game. I don't know what they do, but it's tender, perfect and exquisite. Olive oil, parsley, salt, pepper and garlic with breadcrumbs is what I Sapori di Sicilia recommends for baking small squid in the oven. (p. 178)
While I don't think I can buy any calamari or octopus (polpa or polpette as I saw it referred to in Siracusa) in a store here that even vaguely compares to fresh product in Sicily, the memory will linger for a long, long time.
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