Ragusa: the agriculture
and gastronomy. The intense flavours of
Sicily.
There are names that only need to be heard to throw open the
door on a world of myths and spells, that conjure up a
compelling story from the dim and distant past of
civilisations that have settled in harmony and have left an
indelible mark that can still be enjoyed to this day. This
might sound like a stereotypical tourism brochure, but it
isn't. In fact it is the image that springs to mind when you
mention Sicily, one of the most fascinating and culturally
prodigious areas of Italy. Culture in the widest and most
multifaceted sense, not only made up of the immeasurable
heritage of art and history to be found in every part of the
island, but the culture of crafts, of a long fishing
tradition, of work in the fields, the processing of
agricultural and fish products. In other words, the great
culture of food. An extraordinary culture and certainly no
less attractive than that of its other assets and the
environment, a culture that deserves a few words.
Over the past 20 years, the Sicily and the province of
Ragusa of agriculture and food - but not just that - has
taken gigantic steps forward. Without neglecting the values
of tradition, the island freed itself from the chains of
self-contemplation and, thanks to the ingenuity of its
people, with the elan of the novice it rejuvenated and
upgraded its cultivation and product processing systems to
bring them into line with the requirements and eating trends
of our time. In full battle array, it set off on the
conquest of wider market outlets for its intense flavours.
with wine and oil at the top of the list. and acquired new
taste converts almost everywhere in Italy and abroad.
A long time has past since the majority of Ragusa's wines
were used for blending to give body to wines from abroad,
which were also famous; but a little too feeble. The time
when restaurants served robust wines like «alto grado», now
totally unsuitable, despite being agreeable and genuine.
Now the new self-awareness of Sicilian wine growers and
producers - those that have realised they possess priceless
oenological treasures and a variegated soil that is
difficult to find anywhere else - brings us wines whose
fragrance and variety never cease to amaze. This is also due
to the passion and intuition of the new cellarmen, an area
in which women are increasingly becoming the protagonists.
There are in fact many, and mostly young, women in Sicily
and Ragusa at the head of agricultural and wine producing
companies, and they nave brought the fresh breezes of
enthusiasm that translate into astute marketing and
communication strategies, starting with aspects that are
only apparently exterior, like the refined names of the new
nectars and sophisticated labelling.
In addition to the promotional commitment of the
institutions, it is also thanks to them that Sicilian wines
are now amongst the most popular in North America, Japan,
Germany and Scandinavia, because of their unparalleled
bouquet, fragrance and the myriad shades of flavour that
only a generous and multiform land like Sicily can impart.
Thanks to this island, non-autochthonous vines like
Chardonnet, Shirah, Merlot -just to mention a few - have
acquired a new and captivating personality and new nuances
that make them completely different to those produced in
other places. These new entries have joined the great
indigenous whites and reds, first and foremost the Nero d'Avola,
Cerasuolo of Vittoria, which all the producers on the island
are able to personalise but without undermining its
temperament. And we mustn't forget the nectars of Etna that
benefit from the volcanic free burning below their roots.
It's a lengthy subject because the province of Ragusa have
their trump card: fine wines that will never let you down,
even if you have had one too many!. And something must be
said about the raisin wines. Ragusa is the only "laboratory"
of its kind in the world. They mustn't be confused with the
fortified wines produced in many other countries and to
which spirit has been added. It is only in this corner of
the Mediterranean that it is possible to combine the
time-honoured expertise of the island's winemakers, a
generous sun, a full-bodied land and the caress of the sea
breeze. Not just one, but many sublime nectars gush forth
from a privileged area formed by the parent island and,
above all, by her satellite islands.
The production of oil has also undergone a kind of
Copernican revolution. The heavy, thick and highly acidic
Sicilian oils that were out of the market in the rest of
Italy, are now a distant memory. Today, thanks to more
sensitive attention to the cultivation, harvesting and
pressing stages, the extra-virgin oils produced on the
island, at first the Monti Iblei dop extra virgin oil,
dominate the scene in Italy and elsewhere, and are reaping
the honours. The range offered to connoisseurs is as
assorted as the various types of olive which are pressed
separately or expertly blended, the living testimony to an
ancient and profound love of the land and one of its
symbolic products. In this field, too, women are playing an
Increasingly decisive role, lovingly proud of their new "creations",
the truly unique and frequently organic oils that are made
by the cold¬pressing system.
The Sicilian agriculture and food menu has many other
surprises in store. Amongst other things, it has been able
to enhance and update an extraordinary inheritance of the
delicious hard and soft cheeses, young or mature, peppered,
salted, made from cow's, sheep's, goat's milk or
combinations, that are produced all over the island. A
selection that could make the French envious, proud as they
are of their rich variety of cheeses. Top of the list is the
legendary Ragusano (the caciocavallo), one of the oldest
cheeses in Sicily, and Ragusa, followed by other typical
specialities: a true symphony of flavours with many other
talented "soloists", including the Provola from Ragusa,
Iblea ricotta, "cacio modicano". The caciocavallo ragusano
is a tasty cheese formed into a parallelepiped shape, made
from Modica cow’s milk. This cheese is used for antipasti
and desserts, and can be fresh and sweet or ripe and spicy.
There are many types of recipes based on this cheese that
are served in the Ragusa restaurants, for example "cascavaddu
all’argintera", made with slices of caciocavallo, placed in
beaten egg and then fried in oil.
Honey is also a typical product of the province of Ragusa,
especially the honey that comes from the Iblei Mountains.
The area surrounding Ragusa is the only one where carobs are
grown. Carob trees are part and parcel of the landscape.
This type of fruit, introduced into Italy by the Arabs,
produces “carcao” used to make candy, liquor and flour for
cakes.
There is also the Ragusa product par excellence, that has
been produced for centuries: Caciocavallo ragusano, A
typical menu served by one of the several restaurants in
Ragusa may start off with a typical antipasto dish such as
scaccia ragusana: a tasty focaccia pizza bread filled with
tomato sauce and chili pepper, and grated caciocavallo
cheese.
Cavatieddi are a fresh pasta dish, served in Ragusa and in
Modica, with a sauce based on pork stew.
As a second course you can choose a plate of cold meat "’a
stemperata": meat with a sauce made from garlic, olives,
capers, carrots, celery and mint, fried and wet with vinegar.
You can also try tripe cooked in Ragusa style,
cooked together with almonds, nuts and cinnamon.
Biancomangiare is one of the desserts recommended. It is a
typical sweet made in the province of Ragusa based on
almonds. The original recipe includes finely chopped almonds,
sugar, corn starch, lemon rind, cinnamon and cream, all
mixed together and poured into the typical terracotta moulds.
Once it has become solid Biancomangiare is turned out onto
plates covered in lemon leaves and served.
The unmistakable flavour of the fruit and vegetables is
concentrated Sicilian sunshine and the early crops take a
little warmth from the island to the north of Italy and
elsewhere in Europe where it is still winter. The most
expressive ambassadors of Sicilian agriculture - it almost
goes without saying - are still the exclusive, juicy citrus
fruits with their intoxicating perfume; their introduction
to the island dates back to the time of Arab domination (together
with the banana, rice, sugar cane and cotton). But the
island has always been identified by its landscape of
luxuriant citrus orchards, real "gardens of the Hesperides"
that have become the symbol of Sicily itself.
It must be said with justifiable pride that no other
Mediterranean region possesses so much variety, which is
also continuously increasing thanks to the creation of new,
delicious hybrids.
The journey through the island's agriculture cannot come to
an end without a visit to the world of vegetables that
boasts the unique "cherry" tomatoes of Pachino that can now
be found throughout the country, or those of the Catania
hinterland or the Birgi plain at Marsala. The lentils of
Monti Iblei and Ustica or the many varieties of aubergines:
from black te round and purple, and the tiny dark aubergines
from Comiso.
The leap in quality that has come about over the last two
decades in the agriculture of our largest island is truly
amazing. If the Sicily and province of Ragusa of food and
agriculture, and not just that, were to be listed on the
stock exchange, it would definitely be worthwhile buying
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