Strawberry Love 🍓
It is summer in Sicily which means it is time for summer fruits and across the island you will see in street markets and piled up on the little Ape vehicles and small open backed vans parked up along the sides of the roads strawberries piled up like little gems.
This summer berry grows beautifully on our volcanic terrain which makes them bright ruby red in colour.
Whilst English strawberries are only just starting to ripen in May in Sicily they are in full abundance.
Strawberry in Italian is Fragola.
In England the county most known for its strawberry production is Kent which is located on the south east corner where the strawberries are cherry red, large and sweet and many people love the summer activity of going strawberry picking at fruit farms and of course everyone knows the tradition of strawberries and cream each year at the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
Maletto in the province of Catania in Sicily is where it is said that "The best strawberries in Italy" can be found.
The town is situated on the slopes of Mount Etna at 1000 meters above sea level and boasts a Festival for Strawberries of which the highlight is huge strawberry tarts which are paraded around town then shared around between the crowds.
I particularly like the tiny wild strawberries which help make wonderful cakes and desserts.
Sicilian strawberries also make a wonderful granita flavouring and the most delightful gelato. I am quite partial to stopping for a cheeky gelato on the walk home after a meal out instead of ordering a dessert.
Last month whilst at home in Sicily we took our new rescue puppy Duke one Sunday morning up to Taormina for his first walk there to have breakfast as we always have done with Daisy but due to a early and busy tourist season every bar and café was full with no free tables.
We eventually found a table at Bar Billy & Billy in Piazza Duomo where, shock horror, they had run out of granita! Granita and brioche is the traditional Sicilian breakfast loved by everyone and is particularly fabulous to devour on a hot summers morning.
It was a hot morning and the owner told us that he could make us a nice refreshing Sicilian Orange, Strawberry and Mint Salad for breakfast and it was absolutely delicious as we sat in the café with Duke, who was getting a lot of attention from other tables, watching the world go by.
We asked the owner for the recipe and so here it is:
One Pallet of Strawberries
One Sicilian Orange
Juice of One Large Sicilian Orange
Juice of a Quarter of a Sicilian Lemon
One tablespoon of Brown Sugar
A few fresh Mint Leaves
Chop the strawberries into small pieces and segment one of the oranges and cut them also into smaller pieces. Juice the other orange and the lemon and shred the mint leaves.
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and add the brown sugar and mix. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and store in a refrigerator for at least an hour to let the flavours mingle. Then serve for a delicious breakfast or dessert.
Believe me you will thank me for this amazing concoction as the fruits will sparkle like Sicilian jewels and the minty infused flavour will make your taste buds explode.
Mint is used widely in Sicilian cuisine and is a vestige of the invading powers of Arabic rule on the island. Sicilian mint is very aromatic with spear shaped leaves. Mint really gives a kick to this dish.
After suffering from the sadness of missing Sicily, yes that really is a true ailment, I made this fruit salad when we got back home to London and we were immediately transported back to that morning at Bar Billy & Billy in Taormina.
The combination of Sicilian oranges, that I smuggled back from Sicily, English strawberries and fresh mint from my English garden, which had flourished whilst we was in Sicily with thanks to the awful rainy British weather, created a wonderful treat for us from our two homes, London and Giardini Naxos.
P.S. My lovely glass dishes were left to me by my amazing Irish mother in law 🍓
