Sicilian Recipe for Couscous alla Trapanese
Filed Under Destination Features, Recipes
If you head to Sicily on our Best of the West culinary tour, you are sure to run into couscous. Yes, couscous! Many people don't realize that there are North African influences in Sicilian cuisine, particularly on the western coast near Trapani. You don't have to wait for a cooking vacation in Sicily, though. You can try an authentic Italian recipe for Couscous alla trapanese easily enough at home! Check… Read
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Special One-Time Only Departures
Filed Under What's Up at TIK
Here at The International Kitchen most of our cooking vacations can happen whenever YOU want to travel. Any week you chose, any culinary vacation you want (in season) we can usually run the itinerary for you. But we also offer some special weeks that happen specific dates, and these are usually special themed weeks or include a special escort. For instance? Here are some of our current Special Departures. A… Read
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Sicilian Recipe for Pasta alla Norma
Filed Under Food History, Recipes
One of Sicily's signature dishes is "Pasta alla Norma," a pasta dish with tomato sauce, eggplant, and salted ricotta. There is more than one account of how it got it's name, but most tie it to the opera "Norma" composed by the Italian Vincenzo Bellini (Bellini, like the pasta dish, hailed from Catania). See our culinary tours in Sicily. You can make the dish with almost any type of pasta.… Read
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The Catania Fish Market
Filed Under Destination Features, Travel Tips
Catania's fish market is one of the oldest and grandest in Sicily, with everything from live octopus and eels, to see snails, rays, bins of bivalves, and so many Mediterranean fish. Sardines and swordfish are two of the local specialties, as is tuna, which is farmed in the waters off the coast, and bottarga, a type of cured, salty fish-roe salami that can be served sliced or grated. Visit eastern… Read
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A Sicilian Dinner Party with Wine Pairing
Filed Under Destination Features, Kitchen Tips, Special Occasions, Wines & Spirits
At The International Kitchen we like to say "If you haven't been to Sicily, you haven't been to Italy." Why? What makes it so unique in our minds, and so worth visiting? Part of it is the authenticity. Sicily feels Italian in a way that much of the mainland does not: the increasing homogeneity of a global world brings us all closer, but it can also soften the edges of… Read
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Eggplant Caponata with Toasted Almonds and Dark Cocoa Powder
Filed Under Food History, Kitchen Tips, Recipes
Whether you want to serve a vegetarian entree, or a tasty side packed with vegetables, try this eggplant caponata dish from Sicily. Considered both a stew as well as a relish -- depending on how its served, and what it's served with -- this meal is considered an agrodolce, otherwise known as a sweet and sour sauce. This particular recipe hails from the kitchen of Chef Vincenzo of our Palermo… Read
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