Fragments of volcanic rock surrounded by the different shades of blue of the Tyrrhenian sea. L'Aeolian archipelago it is made up of seven islands, daughters of fire and land, off the northern Sicilian coast. Seemingly similar to each other, each of these seven sisters has a specific soul and identity that differentiates them from each other.

Salina

Salina for example it is the green island. Green like the rows of Malvasia and capers, the two products that symbolize the Aeolian. A strong peasant soul still beats in the hinterland, as it is easy to guess from the main ingredients of the traditional local dishes based on vegetables, cereals and fruit. In the peaceful town of Leni, Francesca Cincotta – with the help of grandmother Assunta and mother Maria Rosa – has transformed the small village of Al Belvedere into a boutique hotel. Three generations of tenacious women who tell travelers, through the scents and flavors of family recipes, the deep bond with their island. The structure is open all year round to encourage conscious and sustainable tourism, not only in the summer months, in line with the objectives pursued by theSalina Isola Verde Association.

The sweets of the soul

As often happens in Sicily, to fully understand a place you visit you need to try the typical sweets, still prepared at home on holidays with a few but essential ingredients. Among the oldest are the squared or squared pasta (burned in Italian), or a fried dessert so called because of the manual hot processing; and then the sfinci, pancake made from flour and red pumpkin ("cucuzza" in Sicilian dialect) flavored with cinnamon, cooked on the occasion of the completion of the roof of a house, as a sign of good omen for the family who was starting a new life from that moment.

Pumpkin was also used for the preparation of jam and to stuff Christmas pasticciotti. Today the pumpkin and cinnamon jam it is a delight that never fails in the Belvedere's rich breakfasts, to be enjoyed on the beautiful terrace with panoramic views of the Aeolian Islands. A real gluttony that conquers, every time, guests of all nationalities.

THE nacatuli instead they are the most elaborate Aeolian dessert: it is a sheet pulled with Malvasia wine with a soft filling of almond and mandarin zest inside. They are the typical Christmas dessert, but are often offered as a gift to the guests of the wedding reception. Characterizing element is the sheet stapled and decorated just like a lace of the wedding dress, while the motifs reproduce the shape of flowers, fish, birds, leaves and baskets, all symbols of the Aeolian daily life, as a good wish for the newlyweds.

About the squared pasta, "Grandma always said," says Francesca, "that when a woman is sad she has to braid her head, so as to trap the pain in her hair and prevent the sadness from reaching the rest of the body, because if she were to reach her eyes it would make them cry; if she reaches her mouth she will make her say untrue things; and it doesn't even have to get to your fingers otherwise it would have ruined the manual labor. My grandmother, does the same also apply to these sweets you are preparing? "Yes, my dear," she replied, "the knot holds back the sadness and lets only love come." In Aeolian dialect they are called squared pasta and they have an immense affective value, for this reason we have romantically renamed them love knots.

Recipe of grandmother Assunta to prepare the love knots

Ingredients

1 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, salt, flavorings (cinnamon, rosemary, lemon peel).

Method

Boil in a pan a cup of water with a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of sugar, a heaped spoonful of extra virgin olive oil, a sprig of rosemary and the peel of an untreated lemon. Take a cup of flour and quickly pour into the boiling water and then spill the contents on the marble or on a washable surface. Work it initially with a wooden spoon (because it is hot), then continue manually until the dough becomes smooth and silky. Shape long sticks and tie them. Leave it to rest on a tea towel for 1 to 2 hours. Fry in hot oil and pass them still hot in sugar and cinnamon.

Residence Hotel Al Belvedere (open all the year) – Via Santa Lucia 11, Leni / Salina (Messina).

For advice on other places to stay, consult the website of the Salina Isola Verde Hoteliers Association.