Thank you, Jen, and I do hope you will make it to Licata and To Ragusa as well, before too long.
I will post some pics os my own meal in Catania, at MI CUMPARI TURRIDU; but before that, let me just share the pasta that this vey excellent cook at our hotel on Salina uses every day both in her hotel and in her home kitchen. She gifted me some of this Campanian (Gragnano) dried shapes, but I see that it available on Amazon, albeit for a pretty high price:
https://www.pastificiogentile.com/
Did I mention the hotel: A walk downhill and a pretty steep walk uphill to the “town” of Malfa; apparently there are many rental homes available on the islands through those ubiquitous rental sites…
CATANIA
Small part of the haul that the hotel helped me to pack up and send back to home in NEW YORK CITY:
Second night in Catania, dinner; ME CUMPARRI TURIDDU; not far from Piazza del Duomo and out hotel buy had to take taxi due to partner’s compromised abiliity to walk.
A few generous antipasti plates, complimentary, including this bread spread with sciacca which was excellent (rectangle second from bottom in photo)
Olives and sun-dried tomatoes; remember when the latter was a trendy item in the US? i b ought a pack and will be using often, I am sure:
Busiate Trapnese style with tomato and almonds–superb!! (11 euro)
TURIDDU’S special pasta, with Salina capers, eggplant, anchovies, bread crumbs, raw cherry tomatoes, garlic…snapshot encapsulating the cooking of Sicily; 10 euro. (marked with SlowFood symbol; this place is in the SF guide)
Donkey rolled around components…sorry to not be more precise…donkey is a popular dish from Catania south to the Ragusa area…tender and very good. IN Ragusa I bought the beloved salami di asino, which we will have to consume rather than get stopped, again, at customs at JFK for attempting to smuggle forbidden items into the USA.
Small glimpse of restaurant; diners seemed to be mostly locals:
They use Pianogrillo oil, from the azienda near Chiaramonte Gulfi, available in NYC and online from GUSTIAMO.COM; this wholesaler in the Bronx opens its doors to the public every once in a while (I think on Fridays) and I very much enjoyed my visit there a few years ago…
T
