The fall/winter season came quickly. In November we had a very mild month and then all of the sudden we woke up one morning chilled to the bone with a storm. We found Mt. Etna with a huge snow cap on it already! During this time of year you start seeing a whole new batch of foods at the market. Chestnuts (castagne pronounced: Cas-tah-nee) are one of them. On the side of the roads you will see this giant billowing of smoke coming out of what looks like a chimney starter. Inside they are roasting a boatload of chestnuts. The locals love these things. On my many attempts of trying them from several different sources (based on recommendations of locals)… they are all similarly bad. I think that its the texture of the chestnuts that I don’t like. They have this mealy kind of chalkiness to them that just sucks your mouth dry. Sorry for the graphic explanation, but I hope that it made it clear…ha.
On the other hand Artichokes (carciofi pronounced: Car-cho-fee) are also showing up! Continue reading “Chestnuts and Artichokes in Sicily”