The Province of Syracuse

 

 

Fifty miles south of Catania, the ancient city of Syracuse is located in the small island of Ortygia. Because the area was covered by swamps the Greek called the city Sirako which means marsh. Syracuse had a brilliant historic period when it was the capital of Megale’ Hellas, meaning Great Greece, the territory under the jurisdiction of the Athenians. In 663A.C, it had a brief period of splendor, when it became the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

Syracuse has circa 135,000 inhabitants; the province is very rich with water and a big incentive has been given to agriculture, in particular the cultivation of the Pachino tomatoes, the small sweet tomatoes very popular all over Italy and in the world.

The renowned Syracuse’s cuisine is distinguished for the simplicity of presentation and for the limited number of ingredients used in the recipes, which give the opportunity to single out and appreciate the different taste of the ingredients used.

The ‘mpanata Siracusana is baked bread dough stuffed with bitter broccoli rape, sweet sausages, onions and sharp caciocavallo cheese: a unique combination of bitter-sweet- salty.
The very Spartan eggplant salad, the caponatina, is different from the same dish made in other parts of Sicily. It is made with fried eggplant, sautéed celery, not many capers, a few olives, sweetened vinegar and grated chocolate. Eat it cold as an unusual appetizer!
Fried bread is a snack served while waiting for the dinner to start.

Fusilli alla Siracusana is pasta with a sauce made with eggplants, peppers, olives, capers, and anchovies instead of salt. Pasta col nero dei todari is bucatini and cuttlefish’s ink sauce cooked slowly for a long time with garlic and a few tomatoes.
Ravioli di Ricotta are served with a light tomato sauce stuffed with the local ricotta and the Caciocavallo Ebleo cheeses, made in the province of Syracuse.                                                  
The rabbits, abundant in the region, are sautéed with onions and potatoes and then baked with wine or vinegar and sugar, called coniglio alla stemperata. Sautéed rabbits are also slowly cooked in tomato and the sauce served over homemade taghiarini, ribbon shaped pasta.

The Ionian Sea touching the shores of this province is a fish haven and it is rich with a variety of fish.
Fishing is actively undertaken and beneficial to the local economy. Oyster farming is also an enterprise well expanded.
In season, tuna fish is plentiful, it is preserved by housewives and commercially processed and packed by the local factories.
Tuna is grilled covered with a sauce called salmoriglio made with the local lemon, fresh oregano, parsley and olive oil or the tonno alla ghiotta, which  is tuna cooked in light tomato sauce, potatoes, herbs, spices and the grilled eels, copious in the marsh in vicinity of Syracuse, are some of the local special dishes. Zuppa di pesce, soup of fish made in Syracuse is unique for the taste and for the cooking technique used. Tender and lemony octopus salad can be served as a main dish or as appetizer. The strange looking but delectable homemade linguine, taghiarini, with cuttlefish is served with black sauce made from the cuttlefish’s sack containing a black liquid or the very uncomplicated pasta, local creamy ricotta, cheese and no other ingredients are two of the much sought-after Syracuse dishes.

Many vegetables are offered as side dishes, the chickpeas and fava are preferred. The popular ceci all’insalata, are boiled chick peas served with oil and vinegar. The plentiful fava, broad beans, either fresh or dry, are sautéed with onions, or boiled with whole garlic cloves and dressed with vinegar, oil and oregano or just with salt and pepper as a snack.
In Syracuse the artichokes are stuffed with a combination of local cheese, parsley, garlic, and onion. A few drops of oil are drizzled on the top and they are steamed. Very simple, very delicious!

The cheeses are famous all over the world to name a few: the semi fresh pecorino pepato  with whole fresh pepper berries, is a zesty table cheese and the caciocavallo Ragusano, made in the province of Syracuse, which can be mild and smooth when young, aged to 4 months or sharp tasting  and salty when it is aged over 6 months.
Let us not forget that one of the best wines in the world is the well known Nero di Avola, made in the province of Syracuse!

Pastries with dry figs are made in the region, also the gatto’, a sponge cake that combines ricotta fragrant with cinnamon, sugar, eggs and candied fruits or the cassatedda which is a baked or fried ricotta cream turnover similar to those made in Trapani. Affuca parrini are plain cookies to dunk in wine and the S shaped biscuits are called grandma cookies. Many other desserts are on hand at a conclusion of a meal or for a treat to enjoy with a cappuccino.
The cuccia of Saint Lucy, the city’s Patron is made with cooked grain, milk and chocolate, and is sampled often, but on December 13, Saint Lucy Day, it is a must on every table.