A fragrant fruit, citron was the first citrus to reach the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.

Unlike lemons, limes or oranges its not the juicy segments in the center that are most valued, its the thick white rind under the bright yellow peel.

Citron rind is candied and used to flavor sweet cakes and cookies or eaten as a sweet treat with a cup of espresso.

Citron rind can also be served on its own flavored with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt or added to a salad of oranges and  fennel.

The lemon scented rind is said to keep moths away from woolens.

Wild fennel, more than six feet tall, grows in the Sicilian countryside. In Greek mythology, Prometheus used a stock of fennel to steal fire from the gods.  The fennel in the market is a refined cousin of the wild fennel.

The inflated  base of the fennel stalks is sweet, crisp and has a mild anise flavor.

Fennel is served both cooked and raw. The feathery fronds add flavor to poached fish.

Sliced fennel combined with blood oranges, extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt is my favorite way to serve it.

These pieces of fennel look like the  extinct, fennel antelope.

(The Greeks have mythological beasts, why can’t I?)

Radicchio is an ancient vegetable. Pliny the Elder, (23 AD – 79 AD), suggested that radicchio purified the blood and aided insomniacs in their quest for a good night’s sleep.

When radicchio is dug up, the leaves are green, then, they are put in dark sheds and the leaves turn maroon as the  plant stops producing chlorophyll.

(Just like maple leaves in Vermont!)

Radicchio can  grilled and served with a splash of olive oil, shredded and stirred into risotto or added to a mixed salad.

Cooked radicchio is less bitter than raw radicchio.

This section through the stem reminds me of Renni Mackintosh’s rose.

Everything, except cafe’s and the sea seems to be closed today because it’s Easter Monday. We moved from one flat to another yesterday, and emptied the fridge as well. An empty fridge and shuttered markets presented a bit of a challenge at lunch time. fortunately we were able to get a loaf of bread from our favorite cafe on Via Roma.

Charles sliced the bread, I toasted it in a bit of butter in a frying pan, (we are ‘roughing it’, making do without a toaster or an oven), and then we had to decide between wild berry jam or  honey blended with hazelnuts. I chose some of each.

Although Palm Sunday has come and gone I thought you might like to see the handmade palm decorations that are sold in the piazza on the Sunday before Easter.

Check back, I’ll be posting more interesting bits soon.

Dear Friends,

I can’t believe it’s been more than a week since Charles and I left Vermont. We started our Italian holiday staying with our friend Fleur who lives, works and eats in Rome.

We are now in Ortigia in Sicily, where we are continuing to live, work and eat. I’m not writing about a meal I cooked because I haven’t! Rather, I want tell you about some of the lovely sweet and savory dishes I’ve had in Rome.

Paving in Rome

On our first day, after walking to the Pantheon, we had a nap while Fleur made dinner. She sauteed thin veal cutlets, each topped with a slice of prosciutto and a sage leaf, and made a sauce by reducing a bit of white wine in the sauté pan. She explained that what we were eating was called saltimbocca, which translates as “jump in mouth”. (It did.) Chicken or turkey cutlets, a thin slice of ham and fresh sage leaves would make a successful New England version.

Bakery Breakfast

Colazione is breakfast in Italy. It is a modest but sweet meal. Eggs and bacon are saved for pasta carbonara, (spell check suggested that I spell it coronary), cornflakes are for American exchange students and oatmeal is for the horses. At the corner bakery, we chose pastries layered with apple, oozing ricotta, and others filled with chocolate and hazelnut and shared them as we walked to the cafe for cappuccino. A New England version might be a slice of apple pie, a cheese Danish or toast slathered with Nutella. I suggest serving a pot of tea because no one makes cappuccino like the Italians.

Spaghetti Sculpture

We found a small restaurant near the Forum for lunch. There were four of us so we ordered two pastas – penne with a tomato sauce flavored with pancetta, (Italian bacon), and gnocchi in a simple tomato sauce – and two salads – one, a bowl of fresh mixed greens flavored at the table, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and the other, thin slices of aged, dried beef, called bresaola, with radicchio and wedges of lemon. To recreate this meal, pick up some fresh pasta, tomato sauce and mixed greens at the market, tune your radio to the broadcast of the Metropolitan opera and forget about the bresaola.

After more walking, we found the mother of all gelaterias, Italian for ‘heavenly ice cream store’. There were at least fifty customers, some friends, some Romans and many countrymen (tourists). The cases were filled with an overwhelming variety of creamy, frozen goodness. It was easy to resist ‘The Standards’ – strawberry, chocolate, coffee, and pistachio, and even the less familiar melon, pineapple, mango, and raspberry. We met our match in the exotic section. I got four flavors in two scoops – dark chocolate with hazelnuts and walnut with figs. Alison outdid us all with one scoop of strawberry dark chocolate on top of a scoop of pear and cheese gelato. Did I mention that she’s pregnant?

After another nap, we put on our walking shoes and crossed the Tiber. Fleur took us to her favorite restaurant in Trastevere for a six-course dinner after she had extracted my promise not to reveal its name, (jet lag made that an easy promise to keep.)

We began with sea bass carpaccio topped with white truffles, and a pasta with fava beans and more shaved white truffles. Then, we were served a steaming platter of Matthew’s favorite – pasta all’amatriciana. That’s pasta topped with a tomato sauce flavored with guanciale – un-smoked Italian bacon made with cured pig’s cheeks. Then came the steak, a thick cut of chianina beef served rare and topped with a squeeze of lemon juice and a splash of olive oil and accompanied with grilled red endive.

Ancient Corner

After devouring a bowl of Romanesco broccoli that had been steamed and then sauteed in olive oil with garlic we were ready for dessert. Fleur insisted that we try her favorite – gorgonzola semifreddo. Gorgonzola is soft blue cheese and semi-freddo is similar to soft serve ice cream. Blue cheese ice cream sounded pretty strange to me, until I tasted it. It was scrumptious!A small mountain of almond and lemon flavored Italian cookies accompanied the bill for dinner. We staggered home to bed. The only way I can imagine re-creating this meal is to fly to Rome, phone Fleur and offer to treat her to dinner at her favorite restaurant.

I’ll write more when I can. Sipping cappuccino in the morning, finding sandwiches in the market mid-day, watching the sun set over the sea and enjoying dinners prepared by others is taking most of my time.

Love to you,

Carol