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.