Jul 18
We all pour tomato sauce over pasta, don’t we? If you browse through the Internet, you’ll find a lot of recipes with tomato sauce over spaghetti, or fresh tomato and garlic sauce over angel hair pasta, or creamy tomato sauce over penne pasta. I wonder why tomato sauce is always on top and…not in the bottom?
In the last 3 – 4 days, it has been really hot in Rome. Temperatures went as high as 40 °C (104 °F) and I have been feeling suffocated and literally dehydrated. Not even water quenched my thirst and just the thought of eating anything that it’s not fruit or salad made me sick!
“Tita was the last link in a chain of cooks who had been passing culinary secrets from generation to generation since ancient times, and she was considered the finest exponent of the marvelous art of cooking”.
From the Novel Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel.
Favignana is famous throughout Italy for its “tonnara”, an arab origin term, which means tuna fishing and processing. Every year during Springtime – between May and June – Favignana islanders engage in Red Tuna fishing. This event attracts a lot of domestic – as well as international tourism – to Favignana since fishing is conducted according to traditional old methods.
Before travelling to Favignana, most of our friends advised us to be careful about choosing where to eat in Favignana since we could easily bump into tourists traps. In fact, while walking down the streets, we noticed that there were quite a few touristic spots.
My husband, who is very picky about eating out, always does research by consulting Italian Restaurant Guides beforehand. He relies specially on Guida del Gambero Rosso , Osterie d’Italia di Slow Food , and Ristoranti d’Italia dell’Espresso. To complete his homework, he further reads reviews on Tripadvisor.
Being a small island, Favignana is very easy to get around by scooter or bike. In fact, most people you come across in the island either are riding scooters or bikes. Another option is renting a boat, but we refrained from doing so because we were only staying for three days. Had we had a week in Favignana, we would have definitely rented a boat. The best way to discover Italian seacoast is by boat. Being able to take a bath while admiring the Mediterranean coast from the sea is an experience worthwhile trying.
“When I am an old man and live by the sea, will all your thoughts fly to me? When I’m far away from the places we’ve known, will all your love bring me home?”
That was the chorus of the song “Fly to me” by my favorite British band – Keane (Fly to me – Keane). That haunting, beautifully written song I was listening upon my arrival by ferry to Favignana was just perfect to describe my feelings throughout my journey in this wonderful island.
“Can you cook me some pasta tomorrow evening? I really feel like pasta. It’s been a while since I have eaten it”: my Italian husband said.
Having been living in Italy for more than 10 years, and specially having been married to an Italian, I discover that pasta is for Italians what rice and beans are for Hondurans. We gotta have it – if not daily – almost every day of the week.
There are some recipes that scream “Summer”, such as the one I am about to present. However, I will not take credit for it since I got my inspiration from an appetizer I ate about a year ago (yes I happen to remember what I ate last year!!) at Duke’s Restaurant in Rome (www.dukes.it). Unfortunately, this year that appetizer is not on the menu anymore!! Therefore, I decided to make my own version of it.
I love Rome’s geographic position: right in the center of the Italian Peninsula. Drive 170 miles south and you arrive on the Amalfi Coast. Drive 100 miles north and you are in Maremma, a wonderful area in the southernmost part of Tuscany.
Tales of Ambrosia 