Sunny Sicily, friendly faces, fantastic food

Everyone I know that has visited Sicily comes away with two overwhelming impressions. The  kindness of the Sicilians and the amazing food.  Food is treated with passion and respect. It is a land blessed with lots of great local produce. Some of my favourite Sicilian dishes are arancini, cassata and cannoli. They all seem a  bit difficult to make and  the desserts especially rely on top quality ingredients hard to find outside Sicily. I think you need to have a Sicilian mamma or nonna At this time of year, when the almond trees are already in bloom on the Sicilian hillsides, the artichokes in our local shops all come from  Sicily every day. The greengrocer sits in the shop preparing them. He cuts away the dark outer leaves and puts them in a big bowl of water and lemon juice . It is a great help to find them there ready prepared.

Here is my recipe for Sicilian artichoke and pasta minestrone. It brings some Sicilian sunshine to our table on a February evening. 

Minestrone Siciliana con pasta e carciofi

Serves 4

1 onion finely chopped

3 sticks of celery finely chopped

6 sprigs of parsley chopped

500 g passataor pomodori pelati 

3 artichokes , each one sliced in quarters

100g short pasta

Salt and pepper to taste

Grated pecorino cheese

Gently saute the onion and celery in 2 tbsp olive oil until soft and translucent. Add the tomato passata and simmer for ten minutes. Add the prepared artichokes and then pour over 6 cups of cold water. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for a few minutes.add the pasta and cook for about 15 minutes until pasta is tender but firm. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add some of the grated cheese and serve the rest separately.