David and I greet our guests at Macalle Restaurant in Ortigia where we did our cooking demonstration.
July 2020 update: I am so excited to be teaming up again with my wonderful friends at Oldways for their Sicilian heritage cooking webinar (This time, from my kitchen in Connecticut)!
What a magnificent trip this was! David and I just got back last month from Sicily where we were honored to co-host Oldways 2018 Sicily Culinaria Mediterranean trip! This was our first trip with Oldways, a non-profit food and nutrition organization whose mission it is to improve public health through cultural food traditions and lifestyles and simply inspire good health through heritage!
Oldways has been organizing these culinary trips all over the world (Spain, Turkey, Greece, Morocco, Italy, France…) for over 20 years–click here to see what other cultures they have explored and what their upcoming trips for this year will be. In fact,Oldways had already done a culinary trip in Sicily back in 2005 and loved it so much that Sara Baer-Sinnott, President of Oldways, decided to go back, this time with David and me as their invited guests of honor, how lucky for us! 34 guests from all over the United States and 2 from France (my beloved aunt, Tatie Dan Dan and a lifelong friend of ours, Michèle) joined us on this trip of a lifetime.
Sicily is a marvelous pot-pourri of Mediterranean culture rooted in Greek, Arabic, Spanish, French and Italian heritage. No wonder I felt right at home there! I was born in Oran, in North Africa (it was a French colony at the time) and raised in Perpignan in the South of France, which means that the first 14 years of my life were spent on either side of the Mediterranean Sea. So, for me, this was a pilgrimage to my culinary roots! I am still filled with the sights, the colors, the music, the fragrances and of course the tastes of this magical island!
We explored cathedrals, archeological sites, and historical sites guided by our beautiful, vibrant and just fabulous Italian tour guide, Lilly, and we ate in the best trattorias and restaurants in Sicily, hand-picked by our knowledgeable and wonderful Sara Baer-Sinnott. Most notably, one of my favorite was Corona Trattoria, (just named Best Trattoria in Sicily in 2018!) where Chef Giovanni Corona prepared a special lunch for us, filled with Sicilian specialties. Mary Taylor Simeti, culinary historian and one of the greatest authority on Sicilian food was also there to share wonderful stories about the origins and wonders of Sicilian food.
We walked through bustling outdoor markets bursting with beautiful displays of fresh produce, spices, fresh herbs, seafood and local cheeses! At the Palermo street market, we devoted a whole morning to tasting typical “street food” from the local merchants: panelle (chickpea fritters), cazzilli (potato croquette with fresh mint), arancini (rice ball with chickpea, wild fennel, fresh orange and pistaschio), sfincione (spongy pizza tomato slices sprinkled with oregano). Not to worry, I will explore all these recipes and share them with you, and in some cases, when warranted, even give them my Cuisinicity touch, in the coming weeks!
Our market tour ended at this little “hole-in-the-wall” bar, Taverna Azzura, filled with Sicilian charm and ambiance, where we toasted our day (mid-day!) with local wine, good bread, sundried tomatoes and olives!
Another magnificent market that we explored when we moved to the southern tip of the island in Syracuse later on our trip, was the Ortigia Farmer’s market right by the sea. Among our many exploits, we had a demo of the making of fresh Mozarella at the famous Caseficio Borderi! It was fascinating to watch, take a look…
I have so many wonderful little video clips that I uploaded live day by day (click here if you want to experience our trip with us that way). Just so much fun!
Earlier in the week, we went to the spectacularly beautiful Regaleali estate for a wine tasting in their gorgeous tasting room. We sampled their wonderful Grillo and Catarratto white wine and their red Nero d’Avola, a red wine native to Sicily that we sampled in its many expressions throughout the trip, and according to David (who is the real wine connoisseur in our family) theirs was excellent!
As if this wasn’t special enough, our wine tasting was followed by a cooking demo and exquisite lunch at the Anna Tasca Lanza estate and cooking school, led by our gracious host, Fabrizia Lanza herself! Click here to visit her magnificent website, it will make you dream as will her latest cookbook, “Coming Home to Sicily” which I just LOVE!
Another memory that is engraved in my heart is our day in Agrigento, on our way to the southern tip of Sicily, where we visited the valley of the Greek temples that dominate the ancient town overlooking the Mediterranean sea, surrounded by orchards of almond, orange, lemon and olive trees. The scent of rosemary, orange blossom flowers, mimosa still fills my soul! Pictures cannot do justice to this dreamlike heavenly spot, so I decided to pick just one photo to capture the patron of all olive trees, as it is a perfect segue to one of my very favorite moments on this trip….
300 year-old olive tree, Agrigento Sicily
……our picnic Lunch at Kolymberta Garden, the valley of the Temple’s hidden botanical garden, where we did an olive oil tasting of the Taibi family’s exquisite extra virgin olive oil, OlioTaibi, presented by Guiseppe Taibi himself!
I have to say, it is the best olive oil I have ever tasted! It is no wonder because it just won the gold and silver medals at the world’s largest olive oil competition in New York just a couple weeks ago! You can click here to find out where to get it in the US. It is spectacular and I am now using it in all my recipes!
Another lovely highlight on this trip was our visit to Planeta winery , where we did another wine tasting and had such a warm welcome with a simple and just delightful family-style lunch with a great big bowl of pasta: the best there is!
David, who is the real wine connoisseur in our family raved about their dry Moscato! For those of you who understand what he is talking about, here is what he had to say about it: “..It opened like a fine Riesling and closed with the delightful peach qualities of an Albariño, it was superb!”
One of the many highlights for me, and dare I hope for our guests as well, was my Cuisinicity cooking presentation with David’s commentary on nutrition, at Chef Maurizzo Macallè beautiful Sicilian Bistro right in the heart of Ortigia! We started out by going to the open market together and picked out the best produce for all my recipes (under the watchful eye of my wonderful aunt, Tati Dan Dan, of course!).
Translation: When you get to your destination, place the sundried tomatoes in a glass jar, add cloves of garlic, fresh basil and last of all: olive oil, absolutely delicious!
One of the most memorable moment for me was to have my aunt, Tatie Dan Dan, join me at the cooking table! As most of you know, she has been my role model and inspiration, along with my mom, for my love of Mediterranean cooking. What better way to illustrate the “old ways” of the passing and transmission of culinary tradition from one generation to the next, then to have her right next to me for my cooking demonstration! 
It was also such an honor and privilege to be able to “share the stage” with my husband and partner in life and work, Dr David Katz, and have him speak of the nutrition behind my recipes, and nutrition and health in general, in his eloquent, engaging and just magnificent ways! We like to say: He is theory, and I am practice or as I prefer to put it: He is nutritious and I am…delicious!
So, it is that we all return to our daily lives filled with the beauty of Sicily and memories of the healthful pleasures of the Mediterranean bountiful food that have stood the test of time for generations! Oldways has accomplished its mission of inspiring us with good health through heritage and David and I will cherish, always, having been a small part in it!
Alla salute!
Catherine ,many thanks to you and David for making this a memorable trip. Jim and I count this as our best travel adventure EVER!! Sara Baer-Sinnot is a genius at planning a culinaria tour. In just one week, we were immersed into the culture of Sicily: food, wine, archeology, history, art and geography. BTW….I served your menu from the cooking class to my son and daughter-in-law. Yummy!! It was a hit!
Oh my goodness Joanne, I can’t believe I missed your beautiful comment!
We just had a tornado here in CT and our property was devastated and have been dealing with the aftermath so, I had to let go of cuisinicity for a while!
I am so happy to hear you shared our menu with your wonderful family, that fills my heart! I am truly honored, coming from you especially! Thank you my friend, and remember when you write that book, please don’t hesitate to call on me or David to help you spread your word! I keep such a fond memory of our time together and please convey my best regards to Jim too!
love,
Catherine
Buongiorno a tutti! con voi ho sentito i profumi della sicilia… Grazie
Elyette
Mi fa tanto piaccere Elyette!! 🙂
Catherine, What a treat it was for Neil and I to meet you and David, your shared knowledge truly compliments each other and was a special gift to everyone on our trip. I hope we are lucky enough to have you join another Oldways adventure in the future.
So lovely to hear from you Lee! David and I are so touched by your comment! I hope we meet again on another magnificent Oldways trip too! In the meantime, we send you and Neil our love!
You are truly adorable! Love your recipes and ideas. What a great trip!
I so wanted to go on this trip just to be in the presence and to learn from you and Dr Katz. I hope there will be a rare opportunity like this again. In the meantime I will be ordering that olive and making some of those delicious dishes. Thank you both for all that you do for Health and Wellness
Thank you Lynette for such a lovely comment! 🙂 🙂
Dear Catherine ~ Oh what wonderful memories of our time in Sicily! Now, that was a trip! It was a pleasure meeting you and tasting your delicious recipes. So clever to put them in our program book. It is now a permanent addition to my cookbook collection. You are truly inspirational! Grazie! Grazie!
Dear Catherine,
It’s so nice to hear from you! I keep such fond memories of you and your husband that wonderful story of his “family” reunion in that little Sicilian village! Sending you both lots of love!
The other Catherine!
Thank you so much for taking all of your Cuisinicity family with you! I am definitely getting that olive oil!
Love the photos and videos. All the best – Greg
Hi Greg!
It was my pleasure (and duty) to bring my wonderful Cuisinicity family along, I am so happy you enjoyed the trip with us!! 🙂
It was a wonderful trip – and I have already made your Mediterranean Couscous twice, to great acclaim – what a fantastic dish! Thanks for sharing!
YAY Nitza, it’s so nice to hear from you! It was so wonderful meeting you and your sister and getting to know you!I keep such a fond memory of our time together! I am so happy to hear my couscous was such a hit!! I JUST LOVE IT!!! 🙂
What a fantastic and life-inspiring trip! Even though I didn’t physically go, it was a delight to follow your travels on Instagram.
Thank you Donna!! I love that you were there in spirit with us!! 🙂
How lucky to travel with Catherine and David — loved it!
Beautiful Momma! I loved reading and seeing the beautiful pictures!
Thank you my sweety! It was so much fun! 🙂
What a wonderful trip! It would have been even more wonderful to discover the secrets behind Sicillian bread! They eat sourdough bread in the mediterranean and I’m sure that this provides extra health benefits to the population. Please encourage American researchers to look at how sourdough bread can help the American population too.
WOW! This is so gorgeous. If the tastes are a teaspoon as rich as these photographs and stories, I can only imagine how delicious this trip was!
AW Thank you Rebecca! YOU are delicious!! 🙂
I have so much FOMO reading this! Will there be a 2019 trip?!
HAHA Monica, thank you! They have about 2 trips a year to different parts of the world, I know the next one is in Crete, Greece and it sounds fabulous!!! https://oldwayspt.org/events/crete-culinaria-2018