Today’s post is 1105 words, 31 photos, 1 video, a 5 minute read. Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

This week I return to my series on Taormina, Sicily. If you missed the first two episodes, click here and here. Last week I interrupted the series for a timely post on a visit to Madison by Friendship Force Toronto. Click here for that story.

Meanwhile, back in Taormina……

The day was sunny and warm. We were greeted at breakfast at the Hotel Continental with a clear view of Mount Etna. No clouds or fog covering the peak indicating it would be a nearly perfect weather day in Sicily. It was.

Speaking of breakfast, here’s a photo of the fruit bar we visited every morning during our stay. All the fruit was delicious but the strawberries were extra tasty and locally sourced.

The Walk to the Market

After breakfast, Rosa, our Road Scholar group leader, led us on a walk to the small market place. Along the way we made a couple of stops, one to look at a sculpture and the second to for a brief look at a Roman theatre.

The sculpture was in a small piazza below our hotel. We walked by it a few times earlier in our stay but didn’t stop to examine it. To me it looked like a gnarled tree root. However, when Rosa instructed us to walk around and look at it closely, we began to see something more. The patterns and textures as well as the human like qualities appeared. From then on when we walked past this sculpture, we stopped and had another look, seeing even more. That’s the sign of a good work of art.

On the Palazzo Corvaja near one of the ancient main gates to the city are the well preserved ruins of the Odeon (Small) Roman Theatre. This theatre was built in 21 B.C. during the rein of Emperor Caesar Augustus when the Romans occupied Taormina. With a capacity of 200, only the elites of the city were allowed to attend performances in this theatre. During its use, it was covered but that is long gone. Today, this theatre is being used for special events such as the setting for the village nativity scene at Christmas.

The Market

When we entered the small Taormina market, Chef Massimo was waiting for us. He told us that from the age of 10 he was interested in cuisine and learned to cook Sicilian dishes alongside his mother and grandmother. With them, he made pasta, macaroni, meatballs with sauce, caponta, and other dishes. Today, his goal is to spread the joy of cooking and preparing tasty dishes that delight.

At the market Chef Massimo, showed us how to choose the best ingredients such as tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, celery, and artichokes. He and the vegetable vendor work together to select the right produce for the dishes he wants to serve his customers.

After all the vegetables were selected, Chef Massimo took us to the butcher for a lesson on the meats used in Sicilian cooking.

Meanwhile the florist was making the flower arrangements that graced our tables when we ate our meal later that day.

I couldn’t resist taking this photo when the florist lit his cigarette. 

When all the vegetables, meat, fish, and flowers were collected, we boarded a small bus for the ride to Chef Massimo’s kitchen.

The Kitchen of Chef Massimo

We arrived at the house of Chef Massimo where he holds his cooking classes. The view from his cliffside home is spectacular, I hope you agree.

Everyone has a job in Chef Massimo’s kitchen. We were issued an apron that we could keep if we wanted and instructed to throughly wash our hands. Then we got busy preparing the dishes we would later eat. Some in our group chopped vegetables for caponata, others made meatballs on lemon leaves, others began making the sauce for the homemade maccheroni (macaroni).

I was assigned to the maccheroni manufacturing table. My Traveling Partner worked on the artichoke dish. On the table we made a mound of a mixture of flour and semolina and made a big hole in the middle. In the hole, we added eggs, and a pinch of salt. We whisked the egg with a fork, then began to knead the dough by hand, added water as needed. When the dough was smooth, it was ready to make macaroni. We rolled out the dough into long strips, then cut it into one inch pieces.

Then came the tricky part. We used thin steel rods that looked like umbrella or bicycle spokes. We formed the pieces of dough around the spoke then began to roll it on the table until it elongated to a length of 2-3 inches. Then the macaroni was extracted from one end of the rod. The trick was not to over roll the dough, it then stuck to the rod and came apart during removal. It took several tries to get the hang of the extraction but it didn’t take long our group had enough macaroni made for the meal. When that job was finished, I helped to clean and prepare the artichokes.

Chef Massimo prepared the fish dish (I believe sea bass) in the area off from the prep room.

After a couple of hours of preparing the meal, Chef Massimo and his assistant cleaned and set the prep tables, cooked the macaroni, and the rest of the dishes we would eat. The Sicilian wines were on the table when we sat down to eat and quickly poured. When the decanters were empty, they were quickly filled by the chef’s assistant.

We had three starters, a first plate, and two second plates, one was the sea bass. 

The small room where we were seated was very loud and it got louder the more wine we drank!

 

It was a delightful day with Chef Massimo. We learned how to make a few delicious Sicilian dishes that we can add to rotation back home. However, I’ll buy quality pasta instead of trying to make it like the chef showed us how to do.

It was 4 PM when we returned to the hotel. We were so full with good food there wouldn’t be a need for dinner that night. A scoop of gelato would do!

Whenever traveling, consider taking a cooking class to learn about local cuisine and culture. And if you find yourself in Taormina, Sicily check out cooking with Chef Massimo, you’ll be glad you did. It’s fun and you’ll remember the meal for a long time.

Until next week, happy travels!

Tom

PS: Click here for a link to the post about my book “Farm Boy.” Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Thanks to all have plunked down your hard earned dollars and read the book. TM