Sicily: towards Agrigento

11th August

We leave Marsala after a short break in the market....you must visit them because the smells, the colours and the noices are...out of common!
Our first stop is in Sciacca, the terrace on the Mediterranean. There is a square that allows you to look further in direction of the Southern. The town is ancient and it is perched uphill... but it is full of beautiful foreshortenings.
Two years ago I spent some days in Sciacca and I had the possibility to take part to the religious procession held on the occasion of the 15th August, when one hundred sailors, with bare feet, takes the statue of the Vergin Mary around the city. Streets are crowded with people trying to touch the statue and praying: it's really something evocative.
On that occasion I wen to the harbour for dinner, and, please, do it! I still remember the owner of the reastaurant steep an entire octopus in the boiling water for some minutes, taking it out and serving it on my plate....it was really something delicious. Don't miss Chiosco da Ignazio e Filippo Patacco, Via Lido Esperando (Loc. Stazzone) but it's open only at night.
Before leaving, we sit down in the bar Gran Cafè at the corner of the terrace and we decide to taste the

ARANCINE

INGREDIENTS:
1kg ROMA rice;
2lt 1/2 water;
3/4 nut kitchens;
1 pinch salt;
1 sachet zaffron;
100g butter.



It must be said that arancine can be filled in with different fillings: ragout, spinach and mozzarella cheese, ham, mozzarella and bechamel,....
If you decide to use the ragout, please prepare it one day before and use for the above reported ingredients 500 of meat.
Boil the rice in the water so that, when the cooking time has expired, it wil imbibe all the water. So doing the starch of the rice will remain in the pan and the rice you get, will be dry and sticky. Before the end of the cooking, add a spoon of flour.
Then add the zaffron, melted with very few water, the salt, and the butter and wait for the rice to get cold.
After two hours, take some rice and flatten it on the hand. Put in the centre some ragout or whatever you prefer, cover it with some more rice and shape it as a ball.
Pass the ball in a legacy of flour and water and finally in the bread crumbs. Fry in boiling oil until golden.

In the afternoon we leave for Agrigento but we would like to take a bath and so we decide to adventure towards the WWF natural oasis of Torre Salsa....the road is dirt and quite long but when you reache the parking place where the guard explains you how to behave in the natural spot right to preserve nature, you understant that it was worth it!
We walk surrounded by nature and we reach the beach, there are very few people and late in the afternoon an ice cream van arrives to let you restore...but it seems to be very far away from civilization, a place where man has not yet arrived.

We finally arrive in Agrigento and while reaching the centre of the city you are astonished because from the main road you can see the temples of the Valley....
We park the car out of the town and, with our bags, we start looking for our bed&breakfast: it's full of them and it's so nice to hear local asking you "Are you looking for a Bric&Brek?"

Sicily: Favignana

10th August

Egadi: archipelago composed of 3 little islands: Levanzo, Marettimo and Favignana. The last one is our goal today but if you are a couple, go to Marettimo that is much more charming, beautiful and romantic!!!
We bought the tickets just in front of the harbour in Trapani and in less than one hour we reached the beautiful spots of Favignana...
As soon as you get off the boat you are asked from the locals "Would you like to rent a Bike?"..."Yes, please!"

We rode our bikes and we started our tour of the most beautiful spots and beaches of this island: Cala Azzurra, Cala Rossa and Cala Rotonda where, according to an ancient legend, Ulysses approached. Unfortunately they are a little bit crowded during the summer but you cannot miss them...they are unbelievable!!! and it's so nice to go around the island riding the bike even if you have to mind the sunburst!!!
We reached the little town one hour befors the departure of the boat, so we decided to eat an ice cream very close to the main square staring at the beautiful shops and the sellers of oregano and capers.

Tonight we decided to stop in Marsala that is famous all over the world for the production of the wine named MARSALA and you cannot leave the city without having visited the winery Fiorio where you can also taste their products. While walking in the streets you can observe a different Sicily... it seems much more refined and elegant. The main street with the main entrances in the walls that run all around the city and the main Cathedral, so southern, so baroque.
But on the way to Marsala we stopped at the Saline Ettore Infersa, we arrived just on time for the sunset and it's something marvellous because all around everything is white, here salt has been produced for decades and it's so beautiful to look at the sun disappearing just behind the mill. From here you can reach by boat also an ancient Phoenecian and Carthaeginian settlement in the Mediterranean area: Mothia but remember not to get there too late.
At dinner time you can have a glass of wine under the porch of the bar in the site staring at the sunset and tasting...

PANE CUNZATU

INGREDIENTS:
1 loaf of wheat bread
2-3 Tomatoes
Pecorino Cheese
Basil
Olive oil


Cut the loaf in two halves, open it in two parts and pour abundant oil on both inner sides of the bread.
In the meantime, slice the tomatoes and pour their juice on the bread so that it flavours and softens bread together with the oil.
Add slices of pecorino, season everything with other oil, salt and oregano and cover it with the top cap of the bread and let it rest for some hours so that it gets softer before enjoying it!