One of the great talents of my Italian cognata is her ability to prepare a four-course meal in less than an hour.
During an 8-day visit Sicily, I felt my waistline grow one inch thicker and for the fist time in my life I did not give a damn.
For Italians food is love, and refusal to partake in a course is almost an insult as I gleaned from my sister-in-law’s body language whenever I mentioned my weight.
On day two, I decided that when in Sicily I should do what the Sicilians do.
My meals consisted of antipasto (a large variety of vegetables and cold meats like prosciutto) followed by pasta and then a meat or fish dish.
To end our daily gastronomic feast we were served dessert which sometimes consisted of fruit, cake or a slice of wonderful tiramisu (oh the Americans don’t do justice to this coffee based dessert).
During our visit to Toamina, a patch of paradise 45 minutes away from where we stayed in Catania, I was introduced to granita, a typical Sicilian semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavourings.
(All images courtesy google)
Eaten with a brioscia (think of a sweet bun), which is dipped into its creamy top and enjoyed, granita turned into a daily sin!
