Sweet Sicilian Christmas with multi-cultural expressions

Just like at the opening of a theatrical opera on this festival occasion the curtain of Home Food rises over the southern point of our boot, in Palermo to be precise, a city which over the centuries has learnt how to balance the mix between Arabic culture and European tastes, as is testified by the characteristic lines of the Arab-Norman art, This event, presented in the delightful attic apartment where Annamaria lives is therefore a unique occasion to discover the artistic and architectural wealth of the historical centre whilst at the same time sampling the warmth of a true Sicilian family.

It is in fact the love of her region and her social enjoyment that have enabled our Cesarina to become an excellent depositary of the culinary knowledge of this area, whose sublime notes are prompted by ancient Baronial symphonies, The appetizer of swordfish and smoked tuna with extra virgin olive oil of Castelvetrano crudités is a family preparation of a well known salad from western Sicily, where Annamaria replaces the usual herring with thinly cut tuna and swordfish, which is then rolled around vegetables (fennel, green olives and onion) subsequently served with an endive salad. In accompaniment, a triumph of vegetables: fillets of peppers in oil, small balls of broad beans and pecorino, aubergine caponata and artichokes in a sour sauce made with Sicilian vinegar, wine, lemon and juice of orange.

As a first course the turkey filled with pasta and meat sauce arrives on the table and presented to our lucky table guests, the product of an interesting idea of a young cook who worked in a stately home in the province in Messina at the beginning of the last century, It is followed by the rabbit alla stimpirata, a delicious dish that Annamaria reserves for special occasions about which, for now, we will say nothing more, Closing the journey our meal is followed by sweetness: we begin with the bocconotti di mandorla (almond bites) the almonds being an ingredient much used historically in gastronomic art from the medieval Court kitchens to the pompous Renaissance banquets, We continue with the pistachio couscous, whose recipe was created in the monastery of Spirito Santo di Agrigento and which belongs to a convent cuisine which was almost exclusively devoted to sweets, To finish, ricotta rolls and blancmange, a pudding made with milk and lemon served on a base of pistachio preserve.