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Agrigento: a guide for a weekend between art and good food – Italian Cuisine

Agrigento: a guide for a weekend between art and good food


A weekend in the beautiful Sicilian city. To enjoy the artistic, literary and archaeological beauties; admire glimpses of enchanting nature and savor dishes and recipes of ancient tradition

Agrigento could be one, none, one hundred thousand paraphrasing the title of the most famous novel by Luigi Pirandello, to which the city gave birth. Those who visit this stretch of southern Sicily often simply visit the Valley of the Temples, without dwelling on the gourmet goodies and i places of art hidden of Agrigento.

Literary itinerary

You can decide to retrace the places mentioned in the Pirandello novels. Love for their land lives and lives in its writing that exudes Mediterranean nature. "Dominated, on the top of the hill, from the ancient Norman cathedral, dedicated to San Gerlando, the Bishop's Palace and the Seminary, Girgenti was the city of the priests and of the dead bells. From morning to night, the thirty churches with long and slow tolls woke up the cry and the invitation to prayer , taken from Old and young, the opera where the great writer and dramatist most describes the city and its churches. Among the most beautiful to visit, Santa Maria dei Greci with the visible remains of a Greek temple and St. Nicholas, directly connected to the archaeological Museum of Agrigento.

For food lover

The alleys of the ancient Girgenti they look decadent and full of charm. It starts from Rabato, old district outside the walls, until you get to the Bibbirria, the door of the winds towards the plateau of the Norman cathedral, symbol of the Christian reconquest and one of the oldest religious buildings in all of Sicily. During the walk obligatory stop at Holy Spirit Monastery: Here the cloistered nuns still preserve the original recipes of the conventual pastry shop. The dessert to try is the "celestial" pistachio couscous (not to be confused with the Arabic one, which is salty), an invention of 1300 made with pistachios, almonds, cinnamon, chocolate, walnuts, candied fruit, dates and spices. Saint Peter instead it is a church no longer used for worship and now converted into a multifunctional space from Temenos Cooperative (rich annual program of cultural and musical events) that also manages the restaurant Terracotta, an unavoidable stop for those who want to savor the goodness of the Sicilian fishery sea and the many Slow Food presences selected by Fabio Gulotta. An example is the girgentana goat cheese, autochthonous breed with majestic spiral horns saved from extinction by the breeder Giacomo Gati. Some specimens have been introduced in the Parco della Valle and can be admired in the large enclosure in front of the Temple of Concordia. In the central Via Atenea is instead the La Scala restaurant of the chef Vincenzo Santalucia, one of the promises of the new Sicilian cuisine.

Spring 2019. Almond Blossom (1/10 March)

In March there is one of the oldest folklore festivals in Europe: the flowery almond. A popular tradition of Agrigento that anticipates the arrival of spring through the flowering of the plant that symbolizes this stretch of the Sicilian coast. Every year the event attracts millions of visitors and folk groups from all over the world who perform in the shadow of the temples as a sign of dialogue between different peoples and cultures. On the occasion of the 74th edition, the association The Soste di Ulisse presided over by the two-star chef Michelin Pino Cuttaia, promotes an educational workshop (March 8, Palacongressi of Agrigento) to raise awareness on the issue of food waste.

Summer 2019. Sunrise at the Temples with granita (August / 1st September)

Also this summer will return the theatralized dawns organized by CoopCulture – every Sunday in August and September 1 – in the Valley of the Temples. An extraordinary show during which it will be possible to witness the sunrise, participating in a visit to the sacred area of ​​the ancient city, led by an archaeologist and expert guides of the site. The visit will end with a special Sicilian breakfast based on briosce and almond and lemon granita (ticket € 20: admission, theatrical visit and breakfast at the Pietro Griffo Museum cafeteria).

Addresses for a weekend food in Agrigento

Where to eat
Terracotta, via Pirandello 1
The restaurant has been repeatedly awarded the coveted Slow Food snail for the high quality of the raw materials used in the kitchen. Do not miss the selection of Sicilian historical cheeses.
La Scala restaurant, via Atenea 72
The restaurant is intimate and welcoming, from its balconies you can admire the main beauties of the historic center. Among the cult dishes of the chef Vincenzo Santalucia: Pacchero with prawns, cuttlefish soup and cannolo with bitter orange sauce.
Osteria Expanificio, piazzetta Giuseppe Sinatra 16
Housed in an old post-war bakery, the restaurant is located in one of the most beautiful squares in the historic center, a few meters from the Pirandello Theater. Ideal to taste the typical Sicilian cuisine.

Where to buy
Infurna pastry, via Atenea 96
Historic pastry shop in the main course. The specialties are sweets with pistachios and almonds: shells, granules, curls and crunchy.
Holy Spirit Monastery, Courtyard Santo Spirito, 9
The church and the monastery are of fourteenth century origin. Adjacent to the magnificent Gothic portal is the homonymous B & B. Every morning the nuns prepare breakfast with homemade products, including sweets typical of the centuries-old convent tradition: couscous with pistachio and almond paste.
Wine shop CVA Canicattì, Valley of the Temples
The Park Authority has entrusted the management of the small vineyard under the temple of Giunone to the wine cooperative CVA Canicattì. The wine produced in limited edition is called Diodoros and part of the proceeds is used to finance the maintenance of the archaeological site. Diodoros and the other wines of CVA can be tasted in the sales outlet of the cooperative near the entrance to Porta V.

What see
archaeological Museum "Pietro Griffo", Contrada San Nicola
One of the most important archaeological museums – exhibits 5688 exhibits that illustrate the history of the Agrigento territory from prehistory to the end of the Greco-Roman age – and the most visited in Sicily.
Kolymbethra Garden (Combo ticket for Valle + Giardino)
Archaeological and agricultural jewel, entrusted to the Italian Fund for the Environment. An extraordinary place that contains colors, flavors and scents of Sicily. It tells the story of ancient Akragas with its finds and hypogea, excavated 2500 years ago. To be purchased at the FAI bookshop the organic jams produced with the citrus fruits of the Garden (lemon, mandarin, bergamot).
Lucchesian Library, via Duomo 94
One of the hidden wonders of the historic center of Agrigento. Inside there are more than 45 thousand volumes collected on precious hand-carved wooden shelves.
Palazzo dei Filippini, via Atenea 270
The former College of the Filipino Fathers is a precious art gallery. Extraordinary the gallery with over 100 works by the Palermo landscape architect Francesco Lojacono (1838 – 1915), nicknamed the "Sun thief".

Where to sleep
Terraces of Montelusa, Piazza Lena 6
Delightful bed & breakfast in the heart of the historic center. Breakfast in the large terrace with a panoramic view of the domes, the sea and the temples.
Foresteria Baglio della Luna, via A. Serafino Guastella 1 / C
Comfortable resort, a few kilometers from the city center, immersed in the peace and greenery of the Valle Park.
Hotel Villa Athena, via archeological walk 33
Guests can access the Valle's tour directly from the hotel, affiliated with the Small Luxury Hotel of the World and the only 5-star hotel in Agrigento.

Recycle chicken: the art of leftovers – Italian Cuisine

Recycle chicken: the art of leftovers


Among the meats, chicken is the classic passe-partout: it is practical, tasty and versatile. Plus, it fights insomnia and depression. Both from the point of view of the body and that of the spirit, there is an abysmal difference between the 'industrial chicken' and the 'free-range', that is bred in dignified living conditions: choose the latter, even if it costs a lot more. Among other things, it contains twice as much Omega3. And in any case, not even a gram of his flesh will be thrown away. We decline our recommendations for anti-waste cooking in the chapter chicken: what to do with leftovers of a roasted chicken, grilled, but also boiled or stewed?

If you are not "provided" with pets to which you trimmed what is advanced (always taking care to eliminate dangerous bones), you must invent something to avoid waste. "Nothing is thrown away in the kitchen!", Especially if we can reuse it to prepare other quick and tasty recipes.

IF THE CHICKEN It is LESS OR HUMID
The chicken is a versatile meat that lends itself to many inviting dishes and, why not, even "schiscette" to take with you for lunch.
If we have advanced pieces of boiled chicken, we can indulge in the preparation of fresh and quick salads: they break up marinate the chicken leftovers in strips for a few minutes in a dish with oil and lemon, are added grapes or pomegranate, lettuce leaves, thinly sliced ​​celery and lamella almonds. So we will have a plate light and tasty and a great ally for the line! And, if the salad must astound, then with white melon, chicken, broad beans, crumbled taralli and anchovy sauce we will have no rivals: you cut a white melon into chunks, they blanch the beans and peel them (if they are not in season they go well even the frozen ones) , cut the boiled chicken into slices and prepare a sauce with oil, anchovies, mint and a few crumbled taralli. Even the most demanding guest will be served.

The leftovers from the day before can solve a lunch break on the fly between one meeting and another when "the sandwich and so on" seems to be the only solution. So let's try a chicken sandwich with decomposed guacamole: it is made with thin slices of toasted bread, slices of boiled chicken seasoned with salt and pepper, avocado, spring onions, tomatoes and lime.
Recycling chicken leftovers can also become a chic remedy of the last moment. If guests come to dinner without warning and the refrigerator is half empty just prepare the chicken and Russian salad and pistachio nuts, mixing the classic Russian salad with diced chicken, serve it in small glasses and complete with a sprinkling of pistachios.

Amaze with "special effects"
Everything is possible in the kitchen! A boiled or stewed chicken can become a rib or a slice of bread with truffles, or even a plate of gnocchi!
The secret? It is in the right recycling of leftovers, which become almost magical creations:
Chicken ribs: removing the bone from the boiled chicken legs, pressing the meat, flattening it, until it reaches the thickness of a rib; it goes through the egg and breadcrumbs and puts a piece of bone in the less wide part, so that it looks as much as possible to a cutlet. It is grilled or fried in a pan with butter … et voilà!
Chicken bread with truffles: in the mortar the leftovers of boiled chicken are crushed with minced truffle flakes and flavored with salt and pepper. It crudes with a little broth so that everything remains firm and is placed on the bottom of a buttered mold, giving the shape of bread in the box. At this point it is passed in the oven. Serve warm or cold in slices. And so the chicken became bread!
Potato and chicken gnocchi: mix well 200 g boiled potatoes mashed with finely chopped boiled chicken meat, add 3 egg yolks, 40 g of grated Parmesan cheese, salt and nutmeg. Rolls and then small dumplings are formed with the mixture. Now it is sufficient to boil for a few moments in boiling salted water.

The advice of the butcher Tonino, butcher of Varese, of meat and its leftovers makes it even a "mission" (as he himself declares). In his butcher's shop, which is called Novello, but for all is the "butcher shop of Tonino", no one is in a hurry to leave, so that if the time is right, the prosecco is also untapped. He does not advance the chicken, and has clear ideas about it: if the chicken left on the table is boiled, then it is the sauce that makes the difference. With mayonnaise or green or, if you prefer, with tomato sauce and some small pieces of tomato: sauté in a pan and leave to cool. A recycling to art! Tonino of ideas, as well as clear, it has several and there is no limit to the imagination …. With the aid of a mold prepares inviting cakes: they are cut the chicken leftovers boiled or stewed in cubes along with the vegetables that you prefer, you can add, even the ham.

IF THE CHICKEN IS ROASTED OR GRILLED
The remains of a roast chicken can become meatballs or a meatloaf, always considered poor dishes ideal for reusing leftovers. And, in these times, an eye to savings can not do well to our pockets!
Almost everyone, big or small, they love them meatballs, delicious balls of meat, flavored with parsley, flavored with garlic and browned in seed oil (as long as quality) or olive oil. The variations are really many and delicious. For example, there are the Tuscan meatballs: they mix boiled potatoes, eggs, garlic, parsley, lemon juice and very little milk to soften the mixture, then they are passed in breadcrumbs and fry. Or those made with Roman bread crumbs softened in milk, squeezed and passed in the mixer with chicken chopped roast, fat of cooked ham, lard, parsley, marjoram, egg, nutmeg, raisins and pine nuts. These are also passed in breadcrumbs and fried. A real treat for the palate!

When the surplus is "miserable"
Often the leftovers from a roast chicken are scarce and are not sufficient to make "new" dishes. IS however it is possible to obtain excellent middle dishes, like croutons and canapes.
For irresistible croutons brown a chopped onion with a little butter, add the tomato sauce and minced meat and cook for a minute; at the end of cooking it is adjusted with salt and pepper. The sauce obtained is placed on slices of bread, then is completed with cloves of hard-boiled eggs.
The canapés will not be less: the advanced roast chicken is reduced to mashed potatoes, then mixes with cooked ham, a knob of butter, Parmesan cheese, a pinch of pepper and chopped parsley. With this mixture mini bread sandwiches are filled. Capers and slices of cucumber can complete the canapes.

The advice of the butcher And if the chicken is roasted or grilled? No doubt, you do the "vitel" tonnè: the advanced chicken is boned and cut into slices, then placed on a plate and covered with the tuna sauce (it is obtained by blending: tuna, hard-boiled eggs, capers, anchovies, oil and broth to dilute). The result will be perfect.

Tonino with leftovers also does the pizzaiola: two slices of mozzarella, a little tomato and a "turn" in the oven. And if the ingredients are available in season, you can not miss in his "top ten of leftovers", the spring chicken: tomatoes, basil, beans, onion and a leg of celery are added to the chicken leftovers. And the surplus is served ….


CURIOSITY: THE APP THAT HELPS YOU NOT TO DISCONNECT THE CHICKEN
P
we also control waste from our mobile phone. "W il pollo" is an app created by the Unione Nazionale Consumatori (click here), in collaboration with Unaitalia (click here) – free download from the App Store and Play Storewhich helps to orientate itself in the world of chicken. The app contains information on provenance, how to choose and store chicken and many recipes divided into five categories.

And so, if at the end of the meal there is a bit of chicken left, we have all the tools to recycle those leftovers and we could have "made it completely rude" by eating it all and with gusto even in the days after.

Ornella Guess
September 2016
updated to January 2019
Carra Traverso Saibante

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An Austrian cheese brand celebrates the masterpieces of art – Italian Cuisine

An Austrian cheese brand celebrates the masterpieces of art


The Salzburg Milch brand of dairy products transforms cheese sandwiches into famous works of art. that's how

In the enchanting setting of Salzburg, an Austrian city surrounded by the Eastern Alps, the many dairy products from the Salzburg Milch. This leading company in the sector, with a branch also in Italy, is the third largest dairy in Austria and has the record of having reached 190 million euros in turnover in 2016. The company stands out for its wide offer, 100% natural and non-GMO, which also includes a biological and UHT line of milk, yogurt and cheese, but also for the quality of the milk used. This is in fact characterized by the pure and rich taste and by the origin of local family farms where high levels of animal welfare are guaranteed and certified.
In a recent advertising campaign the Salzburg Milch decided to focus on creativity and pay homage to the art world with a series of small edible reproductions of great masterpieces.

Cheese is an art

Thanks to the work of the creative agency Traktor of Vienna, the dairy products of the brand Salzburg Milch have become the main ingredients of appetizing gourmet toast. The original concept of the campaign consisted of turning each slice of bread into a canvas on which to recreate a famous painting. Between layers of butter and fresh cheese, pieces of cheese, carved fruit and vegetables and colorful decorations of various kinds, here thanks to the Salzburg Milch come to life some of the more famous and recognizable pictorial works of art history, including The scream by Edvard Munch, The birth of Venus of Botticelli, the Girl with a pearl earring by Johannes Vermeer and theSelf-portrait with blindfolded ear of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh.

Austria and the great passion for cheese

Cheese is the most popular and consumed dairy product in Austria. According to an Ama study (Agrarmarkt Austria), 36% of Austrians show a preference for cheese. Of the 400 varieties of cheese produced in Austria, the one preferred by consumers is the Gouda, followed by fresh cheeses. For both types, sales reached € 107 million in 2016.

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