The flavours and aromas of Sicily with Rosa Malignaggi
Rosa Malignaggi offers culinary tours of Sicily, as well as Italian cooking demonstrations in her Melbourne home. In September she will lead the 10th Rosa’s Table Culinary Tour of Sicily, accompanied by her husband, Nexus Designs Managing Director Michael Malignaggi.
The experiences are designed to showcase the diversity and authenticity of Sicilian food, culture and traditions, but if armchair travel is more your speed – for whatever reason – Rosa offers her guide to the best of Sicily’s food, coffee and wine.
Rosa, what makes Italian food and hospitality so special?
It’s all about tradition and generosity, and I’m all about that and passing that on to my three daughters. As an example, in 2011, we took our daughters to visit my parents birth village of Calatafimi in Italy and we were having a meal with my mother’s school friends and old neighbours Caterina and Agata. What struck me about this meal was how the flavours were so like my mother’s and so too their style of cooking. Our first course consisted of a plate of pasta with Napoli sauce which was followed by one of my most favourite dishes that I have ever shared with family, a seasoned meatloaf.
Suddenly, everything fell into place for me, my past, growing up with my mother’s flavours of Sicily, the present, the smiling faces of my daughters surrounding me as they devoured each dish and the future, a desire for my daughters to return to the land of their ancestors. I will never forget that moment.
The meatloaf dish was simple, rustic, its flavours most satisfying, but above all, it represented all that my parents have tried to instil in me, a sense of pride and a passion for where I have descended from and what I would like my children to be thankful for and respect their grandparents for in their future adult lives.
What led you to begin Rosa’s Table at home in Melbourne?
I invited a mother’s group I belonged to for a cooking demonstration in our home and it started from there really. They had such a great time that they and my family encouraged me to offer them to the general public. This meant that I could stay at home longer with my children and not have to return to fulltime teaching!
How did you come to decide to start taking food tours?
The seed was planted on a trip to Sicily with my parents. They treated me to a Sicilian summer holiday after year 12 in Australia and during a gap year from first year of university studies. On this trip, my father took me to his old family country property. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Dad explained to me where they grew each crop and then he pointed to a giant fig tree, which he told me he used to lay under and dream of foreign lands, like America, and to be reunited with his older brother.
I remember thinking, how ironic that all I wanted to do was stay and never leave Sicily! I made a pact with myself in that moment, that one day I would show the world – well, as many people as I could – the true beauty of Sicily and not that which is so stereotypically represented in mainstream media. It wasn’t until a few decades later when one of the participants of a cooking demonstration said to me, “You know you talk about Sicily so much, why don’t you just take us there?” So I did, and that one tour led to another until now we are coming up to our 10th!
If you’re going to Italy for the first time, what are the absolute must-do food experiences?
A visit to the local food markets. My favourites are Ortigia Food Market, Catania Fish Market and Palermo’s Ballaró and Mercato del Capo. Everything about the Sicilian food markets is stupendous. It is amazing to see the spectacular displays of fruits, vegetables, small goods, cheeses, seafoods and condiments and spices. Oh and olives, there’s a vast assortment as Sicilians are spoilt for choice when it comes to olives. Then there is the banter between the stall vendors and their patrons. It’s so theatrical – the cheapest front row seat to any show.
The Capo and Ballaró markets of Palermo are generally where the locals like to shop, so it’s a great way to immerse yourself into the local food scene and get a feel for everyday Sicilian norms and mannerisms.
My friend Linda Sarris, known as The Cheeky Chef conducts excellent and personalised street food tours of Palermo and the Ballaró market which I highly recommend.
For those who like sweet treats, Caffé Sicilia on Corso Vittorio Emanuele in Noto Sicily is wonderful. My culinary hero, Signor Corrado Assenza is a great pastry chef creating a tapestry of traditional Sicilian pastries with an innovative touch. He is always happy, kind, patient and humble and he always makes the time to talk with me and my tour group when we visit. You must try his saffron gelato or his Campari gelato – and his cannoli and array of granitass. In fact, start with a granita degustation, move on to the gelati and finish with a cannoli!
An olive oil degustation at Tenuta Cavasecca at Via per Canicattini Noto Sicily is exceptional. Here, the Ficara family run a centuries old olive grove and produce some of the finest olive oil in Sicily. Dario Ficara is a young and inspiring food artisan, focused on maintaining family traditions and honouring the land of his ancestors. His love for the olives that nourish his soul can be found in every drop of olive oil he lovingly serves to us as he leads the group through an extensive degustation, accompanied by a few provincial antipasti. This is a very worthy culinary experience.
In conclusion, if you were to recommend three places to eat in Sicily, what are they and why?
Osteria Aliváru da Carlo Napoli at, Via della Vetriera 1
This restaurant is in the Kalsa district, which was the first Arab settlement in Palermo. It is relatively new but boy, it’s a good one. It’s simple fare done well, in abundance and very affordable. The fresh seasonal flavours are straight from the market to the table. And my favourite is the Paccheri con Ragu di Polpo. This pasta is shaped like a very large tube and I delight when the octopus ragu pieces get trapped inside so I can slurp it all up!
Nuova Dolceria at Corso Umberto 1, 18 Siracusa
Just before you cross one of the bridges to visit the island of Ortigia, stop here for a coffee and one of Francesco Manuele’s amazing desserts. I cannot list one in particular, as I love them all, but the award winning Mandorlivo Gelato is incredible. Francesco combines olive oil, candied lemon and almonds, all locally sourced, to create a mighty fine culinary experience. His morning cornetti are just as satisfying.
Salumeria Barocco at Corso XXV Aprile, 80, Ragusa Ibla
This is one of our personal favourites in the charming town of Ragusa Ibla. We take our tour group here to visit a very special food artisan, Signor Salvatore, who calmly and ever so proudly prepares several salumi and cheese boards for us all to share, and it is all made locally. It is also very affordable and a wonderful way to spend a warm summer evening.
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Imagery kindly supplied by Rosa Malignaggi