10 Things I love about Sicily
Olive|March 2022
Emilia Strazzanti, co-founder of the Strazzanti shop and supper club, tells us what makes the food of Sicily so special to her and her family
10 Things I love about Sicily

Emilia and her two sisters, Nina and Sofia, opened Strazzanti in London's Fitzrovia to celebrate their Sicilian and Neopolitan heritage. Emilia has worked as a chef specialising in pastry in Paris, Milan and Sicily but returned to London to help set up the family business. It started life as a shop before diversifying into a wholesale business supplying the likes of Selfridges and Bar Termini, and now hosts a supper club as well. In 2020, Strazzanti also started offering cooking kits called Il Piccolo Pacchetto - the little parcel. strazzanti.co

1 Eating history

At various times Sicily has been ruled by many other powers that brought their cuisines and cultures - that's left an imprint on Sicilian life and food. You'll witness it in dishes such pasta con le sarde, jewelled with raisins - a rich Arabic influence. From dishes that are salata (salty) and dolci (sweet), to piccante (hot), Sicily's cuisine as a whole has no strict definition - it draws on all its cultural past.

2 Pasta alla norma

Named in honour of the native Catanian Vincenzo Bellini, who composed the opera Norma in the 19th century - he enjoyed pasta dishes made with much-loved aubergines. It's a must-try.

3 Capers

When it rains, the air is filled with the saline notes of the caper plants that grow up and around the rocks that dot the outskirts of towns. You breathe a scent of fresh, vibrant salinity. It's these capers that we cook into many of our dishes.

4: Arancina or arancino?

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2022 من Olive.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2022 من Olive.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من OLIVE مشاهدة الكل
kitchen therapy with Rosie Birkett
Olive

kitchen therapy with Rosie Birkett

Give salad the Jersey Royal treatment with Rosie's rustic new potato platter

time-read
3 mins  |
May 2023
PUB MENU The Barley Mow
Olive

PUB MENU The Barley Mow

Put aside some quality time at the weekend to recreate this relaxed Anglo-French pub menu from a newly restored Mayfair landmark

time-read
3 mins  |
May 2023
BOLTHOLE Fort Road Hotel, Margate
Olive

BOLTHOLE Fort Road Hotel, Margate

Kentish ingredients, local artists and extra touches of hospitality give this distinctive seafront hotel the perfect combination of contemporary style and seaside nostalgia

time-read
1 min  |
May 2023
COOK LIKE A LOCAL South Korea
Olive

COOK LIKE A LOCAL South Korea

Su Scott introduces the deep, complex flavours of this East Asian country

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2023
READY? SET MENU? GO!
Olive

READY? SET MENU? GO!

Delegate decision making to the experts - say feed me, thrill me. Rather than poring over menus, opting for a great-value set menu or a blow-out tasting experience allows you to kick back and relax, confident that incredible food will follow

time-read
5 mins  |
May 2023
Speedboat Bar SIGNATURE DISH
Olive

Speedboat Bar SIGNATURE DISH

Whip up a spicy chillispiked dish and zingy ginger cocktail from Thai canteen Speedboat Bar in London's Chinatown

time-read
2 mins  |
May 2023
Coronation chicken cups
Olive

Coronation chicken cups

Give this gorgeously creamy filling the canapé treatment - perfect for easy entertaining

time-read
1 min  |
May 2023
3 WAYS WITH Pickles
Olive

3 WAYS WITH Pickles

Whether it's cornichons, onions, beetroots or dill pickles, you can do so much more than you might think with these vinegary beauties

time-read
3 mins  |
May 2023
Keep it sweet
Olive

Keep it sweet

Show-off desserts to end your meal with a flourish, from food writer Claire Saffitz

time-read
9 mins  |
May 2023
Cook with the season
Olive

Cook with the season

That sweet spot between spring and summer brings with it some of the very best produce

time-read
8 mins  |
May 2023