Red Prawn Addiction

Look at this. It's absolutely beautiful, isn't it?

For those of you who know your prawns, you might guess that the intensity of its red colour is directly proportional to the intensity of its flavour. And you'd be correct.

The meat is succulent, like a normal prawn, but it is sweeter and packs a greater umami punch than its 'normal' prawn cousins. So the flesh alone would win some Prawn Oscars, but the head, now that would win some Prawn Nobel Prizes. The head flavour is really, really incredible, like a sweet, prawny, umami-loaded atomic bomb.

So no surprises when red prawns, known as gamberi rossi in Italian, featured in most of our meals during our time in Western Sicily. The best way to savour their taste is to try them cooked simply: grilled with salt, and a drizzle of lemon. Especially at a place like Osteria La Bettolaccia, who know how to pick the freshest red prawns, and cook them better than almost everywhere else in Trapani.

Also, try them with the local busiate pasta and almonds, or in a risotto. Both these dishes are executed sublimely at this Osteria.

But, this restaurant also serves up a dish where the red prawn isn't the star. Their cous cous is probably the best cous cous I've ever eaten. Not that I'm a cous cous expert, but I'm sure you'd find it pretty hard to find a cous cous dish better than this, especially if you love your seafood.

Fragrant, fluffy cous cous is paired with a rich, savoury seafood broth, topped with calamari and small red prawns deep fried to absolute perfection. Squeeze a little lemon on the fried seafood, and this completes the dish. Really, really good.

I couldn't praise this restaurant more highly; not only is the food sublime, but the service is impeccable. Combine this with a modern interior, relaxed atmosphere and very reasonable prices, this is probably my top recommendation in the whole of Western Sicily.

Osteria La Bettolaccia

Via Gen. Enrico Fardella, 23/25, 91100 Trapani TP

Hours: Mon – Fri 12 – 13pm, 8 – 11pm; Sat – Sun 12 – 3pm, 8 – 11.30pm

http://www.labettolaccia.it

Antipasti never tasted so good

So some of you might not agree with what I'm about to write. Compared to antipasti found in other regions of Italy, I far prefer Sicily's light, bold and zesty versions. For a true home-made taste of such creations, I'd recommend Zia Pina in Palermo, which serves up exceedingly good antipasti (buffet style, but don't let that put you off) and simple seafood.

Look at this antipasti spread. Making you hungry? Well, it should. Make you very.

Anyway, what are these delicious delights? They range from simply grilled aubergines topped with sweet tomato sauce, mushrooms grilled with cheese, aubergines stuffed with cheese, breadcrumbs and a hint of orange peel, sardine balls in a sweet-sour vinegar based sauce… I could go on, but all you need to know is how good they tasted, each and every one of them.

The seafood here is pretty good too – we had fried calamari (very fresh, though a tad over-fried), and grilled large prawns (also very fresh, though a tad under-cooked for my taste).

Zia Pina

Via Cassari 69, Palermo

Hours: Mon – Sat: 12 – 3.30pm (lunchtime only)

Closed Sunday

Cost: Antipasti + seafood ~ 20 Euro per person, excl alcohol

Grilled greatness, boiled brilliance

Ahh Palermo's streetfood scene. Arancine, I'll mention these balls of greatness in another post. Let's get straight to stuff which might not sound ideal for some people's palates.

In Palermo's Vucceria market, in the evenings, you'll find a piazza (square) where a number of street vendors are serving up some delicious Sicilian street-treats.

Stigghiola, grilled lamb's intestines. This is what I wanna talk about. Normally, I'm not an innards kind of person but this time, I must admit, I was impressed. Charred and crunchy on the outside, tender and slightly fatty in the middle, and definitely free of that innard or strong 'lamb taste', this street snack was surprisingly addictive. Highly recommended.

And, it'd be pretty hard to miss the guy selling octopus in the middle of the square. When overcooked, octopus can be really rubbery and tough – but this guy really knows how to boil these eight-tentacled creatures. Drizzle on a bit of lemon juice and you're good to go.

Then, as the locals do, pop over to Taverna Azzurra (on the corner of the square) and wash down those delicious lamb's innards and octopus tentacles with a beverage of your choice.

La Vucciria, Piazza Caracciolo

Beach-side bites

We were in Favignana, an island famed for its glorious beaches whose crystal clear emerald-blue waters were just too alluring to turn down. The most famous of which, Cala Rossa, was our first destination. About 3km from the main port, we rented bikes and set off straightaway in a bid to reach there before the crowds (note that we took the 7.15am Ustica Lines ferry over from Trapani on mainland Sicily).

You'd be surprised at how hot cycling at 8.30am under the mid-August Sicilian sun can be. After taking a couple of wrong turns we made it to Cala Rossa. My arms were feeling toasty already, even with some SPF 50 suntan lotion on.

As you can see, Cala Rossa is worth the journey. Its waters are as clear as some of the best beaches I've seen anywhere in South East Asia.

You might be wondering why I haven't mentioned a single word about food after 8 sentences and a few pics. Your patience is rewarded: next to Cala Rossa, a guy sells Pane Cunzato – a typical Sicilian sandwich filled to the brim with delicious ingredients including tomatoes, anchovies, olive oil, dried oregano,basil and capers – pretty awesome stuff.

Next stop. Cala Azzurra – but on the way, we had to stop by a road-side truck shaped like a lemon. Who wouldn't? We each order one of their 'special' granitas – lemon-infused shaved ice with fresh orange juice on top. Unbelievably refreshing.

Cala Azzurra was pretty nice but wasn't much in comparison with its sister Rossa. So, I'll start talking about food again. Before you leave Favignana, don't miss some fantastic gelato near the port, at Mama's. My two scoops of the pistachio and fig were right on the mark – creamy but not too thick, as proper gelato should be, and whose flavours really showcased the earthy nuttiness of the pistachio and the fruity nuttiness of the fig.

Gelateria Mama's Ice Cream

Via Molo S. Leonardo, 31, 91023 Favignana TP

Hours: Mon – Sun: 9.30am - 11pm

An exemplary plate of pasta

After being semi-roasted in the heat of Favignana, we needed a restaurant extremely close to where we were staying. Fortunately, Salirosso was literally just round the corner.

We'd tried some Gamberi Rossi (red prawns) earlier in Scopello and we were craving more. So we shared three dishes: firstly, gamberi rossi with paccheri (large, flat tubes of pasta) and cherry tomatoes – this was probably the best pasta dish we ate on the whole trip. The pasta was immaculately al dente, the sauce had the perfect balance of saltiness and sweetness, and these prawns – well, they were just phenomenal. I'll shower these prawns with more praise in another post.

Next, a scampi (langoustine) soup with linguine. This was quite tasty, but the soup was a tad too salty for our taste. The spaghetti a la vongole (with clams) was better – whose creamy sauce was given an interesting twist by being blended with radicchio (a type of bitter red lettuce). But, when eaten alongside the red prawn paccheri, these dishes were always going to be overshadowed.

But Salirosso is not just a one trick pony (or should I say red prawn). They also make extremely good desserts. Their Torta Salirosso, whose almond, ricotta and chocolate flavours balanced each other with surpeme precision, was pretty sublime. And their pistachio parfait, which oozed the sweet nuttiness of those little green gems which by this point of the trip I was addicted to, another winner.

Salirosso

Via Sant'Eligio, 13, 91100 Trapani TP

Hours: Mon – Sun: 8pm – 11.30pm

About 20 Euro per person excl. alcohol

https://www.facebook.com/Salirosso