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When my dear friend Johnny Vatuone was in his early 90?s, a couple years after his beloved companion Elvira died, my companion Marilyn and I decided to take a trip to Italy. It occurred to me that we should take John with us so that he could visit with his large family that was still living in Sardegna. Johnny, who was still depressed over the loss of his dear wife, agreed immediately when I suggested to him that he join us. So we embarked on a trip that because of the warm responses to us by John?s family, and our ability to explore Sardegna and later Sicily, was great. When our plane arrived in Rome we took John down to the ferry to Sardegna, where his nephews waited for him. Marilyn and I continued to explore Italy, eventually getting to Milano, where we had good friends who were able to put us up. After a couple more weeks of wandering we headed back to the west coast and took the ferry to Sicily. We enjoyed both the landscape and the people we met there. Also, I found the typical Sicilian food delicious.

Sicily turned out to be a great part of our trip. We then took the ferry back to the mainland and caught the ferry to Sardegna. In some ways, this turned out to be the best part of our trip. John?s family was very glad to see us and they did their best to see to it that we could explore Sardegna with Johnny acting as our guide. Despite Johnny?s age he was still very strong and vigorous. One evening still sticks in my mind. After a day of wandering, Johnny told us that he was going to take us out to dinner at a restaurant that evening, so that we could eat the national dish of Sardegna. He wouldn?t tell us what it was. When we got to the restaurant and were seated John ordered our meal, speaking to the waiter in the local dialect, which I couldn?t understand. Surprise! Surprise! What the national dish turned out to be was couscous served with a rich tomato sauce. Once we ate out dinner I started to think about the couscous. I then recalled that when I had read the history of Sardegna some time ago, it was revealed that this island had been conquered by the Arabs back during the middle ages and the Arab domination had continued for almost two hundred years, before they were finally driven out by the Spaniards who were eventually driven out by the French. Thus Sardegna has a mixed history and culture. I thought that I would finish this column by getting my mind back to our trip to Sicily and give you the recipe for a typical Sicilian dish.

Pappardelle alla Siciliana
1 lb. Fresh spinach noodles
2 lbs. Tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 lb. Can Romas, strained and diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbls. Basilico, (Basil) minced
2 tbls. XV Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste, Lots of grated parmesan cheese

The Process
Mix together fresh and canned tomatoes, garlic, basilico, olive oil. Mash with a pestle or masher. Do not puree, texture should be rough. Heat the sauce until hot. Do not boil. Meanwhile, cook the pasta until done, al dente. Don?t overcook. After about six or seven minutes start taking one piece of pasta out to check for doneness, mix the warm sauce and salt and pepper with the pasta. Have a good green salad to accompany the meal and a good glass of Chiante. Enjoy.

[tags]Pappardelle alla Siciliana recipe[/tags]

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