The Great Sicilian Breakfast .....
Breakfast is
the first meal of the day and most often eaten early in the morning before
undertaking a day’s work. Some believe it to be the most important meal of the
day.
A traditional Great English breakfast includes
bacon, sausage,fried poached or scrambled eggs, fried or grilled tomatoes, fried
mushrooms, fried bread or toast with butter and baked beans.
In these hot months in Sicily when
temperatures are reaching over 40 degrees you will be thankful of “The Great
Sicilian Breakfast” which is a totally Sicilian experience that you must try
and once you have you will become obsessed, it is so good you will want it any
time of the year and any time of the day.
Breakfast in Sicily is part of Sicilian
culture and tradition ... It is a religion.
In the 660’s AD the Arabs began their conquest
of Sicily. This was very thirsty work conquering the island. They brought Sarbut (sorbetto in Italian, sherbert in English) with them and needed
somewhere to chill it so they took snow from Mount Etna and stored it in caves
formed by ancient lava flows and flavoured it with Sicilian lemons which are in
abundance on the slopes of the volcano.
Mount Etna is like a natural freezer
even in the summer, from October to March you will see snow which winter winds
blow into crevices and lava caverns which become insulated by volcanic ash.
After the Arabs left Sicily the Sicilians
carried on this method putting the ice into containers and that is how the granita
was born.
Today’s granita is an ice cold refreshment
made of water, sugar and traditionally lemon juice but these days there is an amazing
choice of flavours including chocolate, almond, strawberry, coffee, pistachio,
mulberry and whatever seasonal fruit is available. The granita is like a
crunchy frozen slush – half-ice, half-drink with a granular texture that is
ravishingly refreshing on the most sultriest of Sicilian summer days.
Even in the smallest bars in Sicily you can
find the giant mixers that keep the almost fluid sorbet fresh all day long.
Granitas are usually served with warm Sicilian
brioche which is a soft sweet bread made using Marsala wine and honey for a
unique taste. Sicilian brioche is different from other types because it has a
characteristic shape, its full name is brioche
co tuppu. The word tuppu derives
from the French word toupee which resembles the shape of the top part of the bun.
The combination of the warm brioche and ice
cold granite is mind blowing. Once your Sicilian breakfast arrives tear the tuppu off the top of the bun, then dip into your granita, bite,
repeat, dip, bite, repeat …….
With such a choice of flavours you can choose
half and half and try two flavours, chocolate and almond is yummy. You will
also be asked if you want it topped with Panna
(fresh whipped cream).
Another favourite pastry for breakfast eaten
with a cappuccino or coffee is the cornetto
(little horn) not to be confused with the French croissant, Sicilian cornetti are sweeter and dusted with
icing sugar, they can be ordered plain or with fillings such as chocolate, nutella,
pistachio cream and marmalade.
Sicilian coffee is as dark as midnight and
served in the tiniest cups, they are served at the perfect temperature to drink
and the taste explodes in your head like a bomb, hence why you are always given
a glass of water to accompany your coffee. Traditionally Cappuccino is only drunk at breakfast.
The other morning beverage I cannot ignore is
freshly squeezed Sicilian orange juice. There are around 67,000 hectares of orange groves
in Sicily. Need I say more?
When meeting
friends it is 100% more likely that they will suggest meeting for breakfast. My
favourite flavours are traditional Sicilian lemon or almond, my husband loves
chocolate and our dog Daisy, well she loves a spoon of any flavour.
Sometimes my
Sicilian big brother will surprise us by dropping off a takeaway Sicilian breakfast at our home
on his way to work.
Of course hotels
and bed and breakfasts across Sicily provide a feast for breakfast, mostly
consisting of hams, salamis, cheeses, cornetti, pastries, cakes and fresh
fruit. But do try to pop out for breakfast and BE SICILIAN.
Now I hope I can entice you with my mouthwatering photo gallery:
Bam Bar Taormina |
Strawberry and Chocolate Granita |
Ice and Sicilian lemons ... the perfect ingredients |
Bar Turrisi, Castlemola |
Smiles at Bam Bar Taormina |
Freshly Squeezed Sicilian Oranges and Cappucino |
Chocolate Granita |
Lemon Granita |
Sicilian Espresso |
Almond Granita |
Sicilian Orange Juice and Cornetti |
Special Delivery from my Sicilian big brother |
an abundance of Sicilian pastries |
Daisy enjoying a Bite |
Next Blog post: "Cavalleria Rusticana"
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I am also a contributor to:
www.timesofsicily.com
Love Sarah x