All at Sea

"Where have you been for lunch today?" asked an interested Salvotore." Trattoria Maria" I reply enthusiastically. " What did you think of the food?" he enquires."Very good, I think I may go back there tonight. They have a special chicken dish on the menu and it may be good to divert from fish for one night" I tell him. " Yes, Trattoria Maria, the food is ok but a little expensive. Tonight you must go to a place owned by a fisherman and you pay 25 euros for food and wine. One price but they only serve fish and lots of it," he explained.
While i didn't agree with his further assessment of Trattoria Maria ( that lunch I had eaten an excellent, if a little peculiar risotto with provolo cheese, green peppercorns and pear, yes, that is pear. For dessert an almond packed semifreddo with a ribbon of chocolate sauce and a very smooth digestif made with bayleaves)this man had given me several good recommendations for restaurants and so that evening four of us went in search of Al Timone near Porto Empendolce.
Finding Al Timone proved an adventure in itself. " Is this a one way street," I ask the others. " No, but you could try driving on the correct side of the road," came their reply. The car heading straight for me should have been enough evidence and the fact that 5 minutes later I did the same thing, in the exact same spot was either sloppy judgement or comic timing.
A few minutes later, driving downhill, we spot a boat that seemed to be suspended in mid air, surrounded by a bamboo type fencing.This was Al Timone.
Inside, the rhythm was quite pulsating, driven by the energy of the bearded owner, who delivered plates at breakneck speed in a homely,unfussy manner. " Please wait 20 minutes and then you can have a table,", as he directed us up to the waiting area upstairs. I say waiting area, for, after negotiating the narrow, winding steep staircase and through the captains cabin, you arrive to the deck of the boat and wonder if the floor will support your weight.Slanted and unstable, it was a most peculiar but fun place to be contemplating an aperitif. I headed back down and requested some wine and a few hasty minutes later was heading up with a small carafe and 4 glasses. The wine tasted as unstable as the top deck and as Cathy commented, looked and tasted like weak sherry. What have we got ourselves into here, I remember thinking.
To say that the host was a touch unruly, would be a little unfair and as he showed us to our table, I could observe him at closer quarters. He slammed down a huge carafe of that wine, threw down a basket of bread and then ceremoniously landed a whole boiled octopus and left us staring at this bizarre spectacle. Plump mussels with chilli and tomato followed and crispy minced fish fritters.The jelly like exterior of the purple skinned octopus revealed delicious tender meat which melted in the mouth. The ladies implored us not to attack its brain but David and I were soon tucking into this, slicing deftly with a knife and grinning as we squeezed the flesh with lemon juice. This was a challenge of the mind and overcoming our own food insecurities and squeamishness and it felt good.
The tables were turning quickly, people waited outside, sitting at a makeshift table on the side of the street. Next came pasta with tomato and chopped sardines, a mound of spaghetti topped with a rich sauce and screaming of home cooking.He kindly arranged for Spaghetti with basil, to allow Alison to eat something. I'm not sure he was that impressed, after all this place is not supposed to do requests but this was soon forgotten after he'd seen us demolish the octopus. Acceptance is a beautiful thing. Platters of charred whole fish followed, perfectly cooked, moist flesh and crispy skin. He sang out in delight at the qualities of Spigola, the local bass which he raved about all night. Fried calamari and heavily, salted, crusted prawns completed the feast. Gosh these people know how to eat and all this for 25 euros, meant it was a bargain.The food here was the nearest thing I came to experiencing real home cooking and I'm thankful for that.If you want refinement, this is not for you but if an experience full of character is what you crave, then Al Timone delivers on all fronts. Just mind your head when climbing the stairs!

Trattoria Maria

It was quickly becoming clear that if you were not a lover of anything edible from the ocean, then this coastal area of Sicily would be hugely challenging. So, as I continued to plough headlong into another feast of fish, my wife resigned herself for another long lunch watching me deliver plate after plate of food to my expectant stomach." How do you manage to eat all that food at lunch?" would be a typical question she would pose. For me it is easily justified, for one has to be prepared to find room for one's curiosity. Without curiosity, I would be lead into a world of mediocrity and to the nearest McDonald's, of which, there are, alarmingly, a growing number on Sicilian shores.
Trattoria Maria is a little gem of a restaurant, discreetly found on the descent into Porto Empedolce and hosted by a bustling lady, full of passionate enthusiasm that bubbles like Mount Etna. I watch as plates of pasta, risotto, grilled fish and highly scented melon appear from the kitchen, delivered to tables dominated by the male species. Alison chooses a solitary plate of spaghetti con pomodoro, while I plump for taglioni con calamari e basilico and grigliata die pesce locale. The perfumed, highly scented pounded basil blends with a good glug of olive oil, which clings to the firm pasta and strips of meltingly soft, that has few ingredients but maximum impact. Alison's spaghetti bursts with sweet tomato flavour and assisted by a sprinkling of local pecorino cheese. The fish,purchased from local boats that morning, is unrecognisable to me. Three highly charred fish, cooked on the bone and rubbed inside with rosemary were delivered accompanied by only lemon wedges and a simple chopped lettuce. She reels off the names in Italian, then scribbles them in my notebook and then disappears. She returns minutes later to present a wide selection of gleaming fish and scribbles the name of all them in my book also. Her young son interrupts briefly, informing his mother that she has missed one out." The best fish, is a small cod that is caught locally" she tells me. " We have none to day but you must try it if the opportunity presents itself" she insists. At least, that's what I think she said.
You see melons everywhere here and I follow the lead of the table next to us and order a portion for us to share. The last of the yellow skinned variety had been served, so we had to settle for the orange fleshed cantaloupe, which she presented whole for me to smell and approve before cutting. Juicy, sweet and perfumed, it was a mouth quenching way to finish.
A decent shot of espresso for me and a decaff for Alison and two hours had floated by,as we took our leave and promised to return another day.

Slow Burner in Sicily

"I'm sorry the restaurant is closed", says the bar lady. A gruff, stern looking chef appears through a door dragging on a cigarette.
No problem I think, this is Sicily, surely we can have a few ravishing bar snacks? Can you imagine the shock on my face when a bowl of pale ready salted crisps and peanuts landed pathetically on the bar. I turned to Jono, who looked deflated and a little embarrassed. We drank Dutch beer all night, while teased by the lingering scent of grilled fish and seafood influenced pasta sauces. It was an inglorious start after my initial adrenalin rush of excitement.
A bounty of food was what I was promised, dawn to dusk and beyond I was informed and this was as certain as a native driver hugging your bumper on the SS640 to Agrigento. I'd come to Sicily to celebrate the wedding of Jonathan and Maria, the former a devoted Italian food lover and guaranteed to plunder the streets for the best in Sicilian cuisine.


Mercifully, over the coming week, glimpses of traditional cuisine were laid before me. The very next day six of us had a decent meal meal in La Pescatore, a busy but laid back restaurant in the touristy town of San Leone. ( complete with fun fair and a host of energetic jewellery sellers)
Lobster with spaghetti, linguine with seafood, tiny grilled red mullet and most interestingly the well known dish of caponata. This version included olives, seafood and a good sprinkling of almonds and pistachio nuts, that was like no other caponata I'd seen. During my stay I discovered that no one caponata forms the definitive ensemble and that local cooks all over Sicily stamp their own identity of this antipasti classic. Aubergines are a must though, as is the sweet and sour balance of adding wine vinegar and sugar. Celery, capers, anchovies, parsley, red peppers, tomatoes and onions may all find a place but the soft, almost collapsed chunks of eggplant are an everpresent comforting joy. The crisps were quickly crushed to a dust, hoovered up and consigned to the bin. Things were on the up.