Free Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes Page B

knows when we'll ever get back to Noto.
    Â 
    Briefly lost in Catania, we find the airport and fly out. Below us the coast gradually enlarges so that we see a slice of the eastern edge of the island. “What are you writing?” I see Ed is making one of his lists.
    â€œReasons to come back—we didn't see the mosaics at Piazza Armerina, the Arab baths at Cefalù. I can't believe we didn't make it to Taormina. A week was short. Let's go to the Aeolian islands—for the name if nothing else—and Pantelleria for the
moscato
dessert wines. What else?”
    A wisp of lemon scent escapes from my bag under the seat stuffed with lemon soap, a ceramic platter decorated with lemons and leaves, and a small bag of real lemons. “More of the groves along the coast.” I remember the hills outside the Baroque towns, criss-crossed with intricate stone boundary walls. “More of the inland part. We never even looked at tile for the bathroom. And we have to go back to Siracusa; the map listed forty-eight points of interest. We didn't see half.” I glimpse the slopes of Mount Etna then we bank into clouds, losing Sicily entirely.

A Sicilian Menu
    AFTER OUR TRIP TO SICILY, WE ' RE INSPIRED TO adapt some of the tastes from that island to our own kitchen. We prepare a dinner for three Cortona friends. Oddly, not one has been to Sicily. We get a glimpse of how they feel about it from Massimo, one of our guests. We use the same plumber he does, and Ed asks him, “You know that man who works for Carlo, the skinny one who talks so fast? Is he Sicilian?”
    â€œOh no,” Massimo answers, “he's Italian.”
    Ed lugged bottles of Moscato and Passito home in his carry-on bag, along with capers, almonds, and the marzipan fruits we couldn't resist. With dessert, we bring out a plate of them. Everyone admires the verisimilitude but at the end of the evening we still have the adorable peaches, pears, and plums.
    For Sicilian recipes from the source, I've enjoyed
La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio
by Wanda and Giovanna Tornabene, which is published in English and adapted to American ingredients.
    MENU   ——
    Caponata
    I've made
caponata
for years. The Sicilian version was more flavorful than mine. Why? The concentrated tomato
estratto
(tomato paste made from sun-dried tomatoes) available in Sicily, a freer hand with seasoning, the saltiness of anchovies. Spread this on bread or crackers. It's one of those perfect
hors d'oeuvres
to have on hand for guests. At lunch, a couple of tablespoons turns a plain ham or tomato sandwich into something special, and it's also a great pasta sauce—just toss with
penne
.
    â€” 
Bake two medium-sized eggplants on a piece of foil in the oven at 350 degrees for half an hour. Coarsely chop 1/2 cup each of pitted green and black olives. Sauté one large chopped onion and three or four cloves of minced garlic. Cut the eggplants into small cubes, add to the onions and cook to blend. Lacking the intense tomato sauce of Sicily, add five or six minced sun-dried tomatoes to 1/2 cup of tomato paste and one cup of tomato sauce. Stir into eggplant mixture. Chop three or four anchovy fillets. Add those, 2 T. of capers, a handful of chopped parsley, and the chopped olives to the eggplant. Season with oregano, salt, and pepper. Like many tomato-based recipes, caponata is best if made a day early. It will keep in the fridge for a week. Makes about five cups, depending on the size of the eggplants.
    Olive Piccanti
    â€” 
Mince two small hot peppers—one red, one green—and sauté with a small minced onion. Mix with two cups of large green olives, moisten with a little olive oil and lemon juice. Let rest in the fridge overnight.
    Pasta al Limone
    If I had to say what one ingredient I must have in the kitchen, it would be the lemon because the flavor, both assertive and enhancing, is like liquid sunshine going into the food. Anselmo brought me two