Page 4C
EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE
East Oregonian
Saturday, July 8, 2017
A trip across
centuries
Exploring ancient history on Italy’s small island, Sicily
AP Photo/Siobhan Starrs
Tourist Matthew Kirkland takes a photo of a bronze statue at the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, Sicily, Italy, on April 14. The seven Greek temples date to ancient times
and have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
By SIOBHAN STARRS
Associated Press
PALERMO, Italy — Sicily
sits at the toe of Italy’s boot, just
two miles from the mainland at its
closest point, and a short ferry ride
from the town of Messina. But our
gateway to Sicily was on the other
side of the island, flying into the
capital Palermo.
We have holidayed in Italy
before, but now with my partner
and our 6-year-old daughter Kitty in
tow, and two weeks at our disposal,
we were ready for a road trip. Sici-
ly’s size, culture, food and weather
make it an enticing destination.
Located in the Mediterranean,
Sicily has been of strategic impor-
tance from ancient times. The
Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans,
Saracens and Normans are just a
few of the civilizations that invaded,
each leaving their mark.
A rainy day led us to Palermo’s
Royal Palace. Construction began
in the ninth century during the Arab
era, and it was later expanded by the
Normans, invaders from northern
France, who assimilated designs of
the Islamic and Byzantine courts
that preceded them. Sicily’s Arab-
Norman architecture is on UNES-
CO’s World Heritage List.
The jewel of the Royal Palace
is the Palatine Chapel built in
Byzantine style with lavish golden
mosaics of saints, Arabic patterns
and a wooden muqarnas-style
ceiling — a type of ornamented
vaulting often associated with
Islamic domes.
Sicily’s Opera dei Pupi, which
dates to the 19th century, features
wooden puppets in tales of medi-
AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra, File
Snow-covered Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, spews lava during an eruption on April 11,
seen from the Sicilian village of Pozzillo, Italy. Mount Etna is a very active volcano, where eruptions
of smoke and sometimes lava are a sight for visitors to Sicily and locals alike.
eval chivalry and battles. Some of
the opera’s puppets, and others from
around the world, are on display at
the International Museum of Mari-
onettes. An in-house show stars
Orlando, a medieval knight who
must rescue his beloved Angelica
from a legion of Saracens. Parents,
be warned: It is a rather violent
plot (though our daughter loved
it), with the hero slaying dozens
of marionettes, which ended up in
heap on the tiny stage. Some lost
their heads, one lost its face.
A few days later we were
sitting on the terrace of our hotel in
Taormina, on the island’s northeast
coast, enjoying the sunshine, when
Mount Etna, Europe’s tallest active
volcano, emerged from behind
clouds and appeared to float,
emitting two white plumes from its
snow-covered summit.
Taormina is Sicily’s plushest
resort, more Capri than Naples, with
an ambiance that recalls “La Dolce
Vita.” Audrey Hepburn, Ingrid
Bergman, Richard Burton and
Elizabeth Taylor are just a few of
the famous names who have stayed
here. The resort’s main attractions
are the ancient Greek theater and
a cable car that takes you down to
a rocky promontory called Isola
Bella.
Our quest to circumnavigate the
island led us next to Syracuse on
Sicily’s south eastern corner. We
stayed in Orytiga (Ortigia), a small
island which was once the historic
center of the city, connected to the
mainland by two bridges.
Syracuse’s main cathedral, il
Duomo, is built on the site of a
Greek temple. The original Greek
columns, which can still be seen,
were incorporated into a church
in the seventh century. A massive
earthquake in 1693 devastated
much of the region and many towns
were rebuilt in a late baroque style,
which became known as Sicilian
Baroque. Syracuse’s Duomo is a
good example and we also visited
the nearby town of Noto, also
famous for baroque buildings. Even
if you’re not a fan of the opulent
style, it’s fascinating how Sicily’s
history can be explored through its
architecture.
In the middle of the island’s
southern coast, a road leads to
the Valley of the Temples near
Agrigento, an ancient Greek and
UNESCO World Heritage site with
seven temples dating to the sixth
century B.C. We visited two, the
Temple of Juno (also known as
Temple of Hera) and the Temple of
Concordia. Concordia, which was
eventually turned into a church, is
considered one of the world’s finest
surviving examples of a Greek
temple.
Our road trip through Sicily
had taken us across the island and
through history. But a winged
bronze figure lying languidly
outside the temple dozed in the sun
as it has for centuries, oblivious to
the stream of picture-taking tourists
and to the passage of time.
A summery pasta dish with cherry tomatoes, pesto
By KATIE WORKMAN
Associated Press
Summer, summer, summer. The word is fat and
round and breezy and rolls around nicely on the
tongue. And we want our food to be breezy, too.
If you have basil and tomatoes growing in your
garden, make this. If you have a farmers’ market
near you, make this. And if you have leftover pesto
hanging around, even store-bought, you can still
make this.
You’ll cook the pasta and make the pesto in the
time it takes to roast the little tomatoes. The amount
of oil in the dish is flexible; a bit is added to the
roasting tomatoes, a bit to the cooked pasta, and the
rest goes into the pesto. The pesto is intentionally
a bit thick, as it will distribute itself nicely over the
pasta and tomatoes when tossed, but you can always
add a little more oil if you want a more fluid pesto.
By no means do you have to use cavatappi — it
was the pasta I grabbed at the moment, and I do
love its compact, chewy, twisted little shape.
Another thing to love is the fact that this can be
served hot, warm or at room temperature. It’s a great
make-ahead dish, hanging out happily for a day in
the fridge before being brought to room temperature
and served. It’s very portable.
And it’s not too hard on the eyes either. Yellow
tomatoes are a nice burst of sunny color, but you
can use red too, or a mix of colors.
———
Katie Workman has written two cookbooks
focused on easy, family-friendly cooking, “Dinner
Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.” She
blogs at http://www.themom100.com/about-katie-
workman
CAVATAPPI WITH
ROASTED CHERRY
TOMATOES AND PESTO
Serves 6
Start to finish: 35 minutes
• 2 pints cherry or grape
tomatoes, halved
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• ½ cup olive oil, divided
• Salt and freshly ground
pepper to taste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup packed basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons finely grated
Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 pound cavatappi or other
chunky pasta
Preheat the oven to 300 F.
Line a rimmed baking sheet
with aluminum foil and coat it
with nonstick cooking spray.
Place the tomatoes and thyme
sprigs on the baking sheet and
toss them with 1 tablespoon
olive oil. Season with salt and
pepper. Roast for about 30
minutes, until they are wrinkly
and slightly collapsed.
While the tomatoes are
roasting, bring a large pot of
salted water to a boil. While
Sarah Crowder via AP
Cavatappi with roasted cherry tomatoes and pesto.
the water is coming to a boil,
make the pesto. Place the garlic
and basil in a food processor
or blender and pulse until
everything is roughly chopped.
Add ⅓ cup of the olive oil, a bit
of salt and pepper and process,
scraping down the sides part
way through until everything is
well blended. If it is very thick,
add a bit more olive oil. Add the
cheese and pulse until blended
in. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Cook the cavatappi
according to package
directions. Reserve ½ cup
of the cooking water, and
drain the pasta. Toss the pasta
with the cooking water, the
remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons
of olive oil (more if it seems
dry) and the roasted tomatoes
(discard the thyme sprigs),
and transfer to a serving bowl.
Dollop the pesto on top, and
toss. Serve hot, warm or cold.
Nutrition information per
serving: 560 calories; 227
calories from fat; 26 g fat (6 g
saturated; 0 g trans fats); 20
mg cholesterol; 406 mg sodium;
60 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 5
g sugar; 18 g protein.