All language subtitles for A.Taste.of.Italy.S01E09.Catania.1080p.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-squalor

(upbeat music)

(lighthearted music)

- [Nisha] I'm chef and
restaurateur Nisha katona.

- The star of the show there,

is a gorgeous aubergine.

- [Nisha] I love coming to
Italy on delicious foodie forays

to see what Italians
are really eating.

- This is a tuna hot dog.

I've never seen
anything like it.

(Nisha speaking in
foreign language)

- [Nisha] In the markets.

- This is like an Aladdin's cave

for the pork lover, which I am.

- [Nisha] On the streets.

(lighthearted music)

- [Nisha] And in
the restaurants.

- It's well worth getting
here just to try this.

- [Nisha] Now I'm taking
the path less traveled

to hidden culinary hotspots.

It's one of the most beautiful
cities I have ever seen.

On a voyage to uncover
recipes and ingredients

passed down through generations.

(Nisha laughing)

- You bring in your
family, your history.

- Our history is the
base of our future.

- [Nisha] Proving there's
more to Italian food

than just pizza.

- mint and tuna try it.

I would never have
thought about it.

- [Nisha] And on the
way, I'll be cooking up

new dishes inspired
by my travels.

(moaning)

- Its fantastic.

- A million different colors

and a thousand
different flavors.

- [Nisha] So join me on a
new delic Italian escape.

Delicious.

(lighthearted music)

(slow music)

- Today. I'm in Catania on
the east coast of Sicily,

overlooked by the brooding

and very active
volcano, Mount Etna.

- [Nisha] Sicily sits
off the Southeastern tip

of mainland Italy.

And is the largest island
in the Mediterranean sea.

The fertile volcanic
soils of Etna slopes

produce an abundance of
fruit and vegetables,

Whilst Catania's
location on the coast

and shore sits markets burst
with the freshest seafood.

This time I'll be sampling
some avant-garde street food,

learning how to make a
smokey or Bozzie salad,

and stopping off of
plenty of sweet treats.

Before making a dish of my own,

inspired by the
fresh produce here.

- Catania is rightly famous
for its fantastic fish market.

So I'm meeting fellow Chef
and Italian, Lello Favuzzi,

for a foodie stroll
amongst those stalls.

- [Nisha] These days, Lello
is a head Chef in London

but his love of food comes from

his Sicilian mother
and grandmother.

- Hi Lello!

- [Lello] Hey
Nisha! How are you?

- This is absolute heaven.

I mean, for chefs like us.

- This is a paradise.

I believe the fresh is just
brought from last night.

So it's so fresh, You
can see the quality,

the eye of the fish.
The, I mean, the color.

Are sensational. May I see this?

I mean is still moving.

- Yeah.

(man laughing)

- [Lello] Wow.

- So Lello. What I love
about these Italian markets,

there's never one kind of
pron, one kind of squid.

There's like five
kinds of squid.

What do you use these
different ones for?

- [Lello] Look. In England,
easy to find the calamari squid

but the cutter
fish in that sites,

- [Nisha] Yes.

- I think it's impossible.

And when you do a fritto Misto
without the deep fry fish,

I think is so lovely.
They so tender.

- [Nisha] Fritto
misto literally means

"a mix of fried things".

It can include vegetables,

but using seafood
like squid, prawns,

and small fish is very popular.

- So when you see
something like mackerel,

do you think oh I'll
close with a tomato sauce?

- Yeah. It could be,
but I love my charcoal.

So sometimes I think a good
mackerel on the charcoal

when he's fresh and
meaty is the best.

- [Nisha] Lello, swordfish here.

So whenever I've been into
a restaurant in Catania

what's, what would
they say is swordfish?

- [Lello] Quality
is very sensational,

its very fair meat. Is perfect.

- I need to have that
before I leave then.

- [Lello] I think so.

- [Nisha] This is a
complete Wonderland.

We could talk all day,
but you're cooking for me

- [Lello] Of course I do today.

- And I hear you're
not cooking fish.

- I'm sorry. No,
it wouldn't be not,

but I'm doing something
with vegetable.

And in this area

- Yeah.

- Have you ever
heard about volcano?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah. Its so close

- Etna?

- Yeah

- Okay. That's what I
want to show you today.

How vegs taste good
in this country.

- Yeah, I'd love to see that.

- The minerality they've
got from the volcano,

from the soil, from
the atmosphere.

It's sensational.

- I trust you. I
trust, I trust Etna.

- [Lello] Yeah.

Let see if I can find
some aubergine for you.

Do you like aubergine?

- Oh my gosh. I'm Indian. Yes!

- [Lello] Oh, here we go.

- [Nisha] They are incredible.

- [Lello] That's what I
was looking for. Nisha

- [Nisha] Wow! Is that
a volcanic aubergine

- Oh that's.

- [Nisha] or is that
a volcanic aubergine?

- Look at the color.

- [Nisha] Its okay
by herself isn't it?

I can't wait to see what you
gonna to cook with these.

- [Lello] Beautiful.

Should we go?

- [Nisha] Great. Okay.

(soft acoustic music)

- [Nisha] What better way
to celebrate volcanic veg

than with the smokey
flavor of charcoal.

- So today I'd like you to
try a very old recipe of mine,

Actually, a recipe of my mom.

- I love it even more.

- This fantastic dish
with the aubergines.

Every time I come back, my
mum will do this salad for me.

She steamed all
the, all of the veg,

I would like you to try,
I'll be charcoally today.

- [Nisha] So this is
something that came

from your mother's
kitchen originally?

- [Lello] Yes.

- [Nisha] What do
you call this dish?

- Aubergine in oil salad.

- [Nisha] melanzane insalata.

- Melanzane e chipotle insalata.

(Nisha hums in agreement)

- [Nisha] Britt's might be
more familiar with roasted

or pan fried aubergine.

But Lello has cooked his
whole on the barbecue.

the key is to cook them

until they are soft
all the way through,

then the delicate smokey
flesh is easy to remove

from the charred skin.

- And this is great if
you're just doing a barbecue

just put them on
the side. Don't you?

- [Lello] Yeah. Yeah.

- [Nisha] Cooking the
vegetables like this

gives them a gorgeous flavor.

- [Lello] And we're gonna
put in a colander now.

all right?

We gonna use the
liquid of the aubergine

- Aha.

- [Lello] to create a
lovely dressing for it.

- [Nisha] Keeping that
liquid, the really important.

- Yes.

- [Nisha] Thing here.

- Its crucial. Its
crucial for this recipe.

- [Nisha] Next, Lello
removes the skins

from the barbecue red onions.

Is it always red
onion that you use?

- You can use white
onion or spring onion.

- Spring onion, yes.

- Is up to you, its
up to the season.

- I love the way,
you know, in Italy

they have taught a lot
the chefs that I've met

about the seasons,

as though that's another
voice in the kitchen.

- [Lello] Hundred
percent. Hundred percent.

Its so charming. Its
really important.

- [Lello] Especially
here in Italy.

- Yeah

- [Lello] The products
are just amazing.

- Yeah.

- [Lello] So then the
onion, you can see now

the water is, is getting brown.

- [Nisha] Yeah.

The drained aubergine and
onions go into a bowl.

- [Lello] So let's work
on the magic dressing.

- Yeah.

- Okay?

- [Nisha] Lello starts
with the liquid he saved

from the aubergine.

- [Lello] A little like quantity

of honey, clear honey just
to give that extra sweet.

got vinegar to add.

I'm gonna add a
bit of olive oil.

And then you can whisk.

and this is ready.

- [Nisha] Now just a
few more ingredients

to be added to the salad.

starting with a punch
of minstrel garlic

and then salt and pepper
to bring out the flavor

of the vegetables.

- And add a bit of
oregano, twigs I think.

- [Nisha] This is what's
making it suddenly

not Baba ganoush,
not India, no. this

- [Both] is Italian.

(Nisha laughing)

- [Nisha] With the oregano.

- And to be precise, Sicilian.

- [Nisha] Next,
fresh basil and mint.

- [Lello] Use the
light, Fresh twigs.

So don't be shy. Chop again.

Just sticking it.

- Fabulous. Colors
are beautiful already.

- [Lello] Oh yeah.

- [Nisha] The sweet
smoky dressing

goes onto the vegetables
and gets a good mix.

- So we're going to add
a bit of pomegranate now.

- [Nisha] Okay, yeah.

- [Lello] You just need
to dab with a spoon

and naturally they come out.

- [Nisha] Do you
know what I love

about this kind of aubergines?

You know it's going
to be soft and sweet.

- [Lello] I like, I
like mountain of this.

- [Nisha] Yeah, like too.

- [Lello] I would eat
every day. Trust me.

- [Nisha] The last
drizzle of dressing.

- [Lello] look at that.

- You know its full of umami.

- [Lello] Correct!

- Yeah.

- [Nisha] And for
a final flourish.

- [Lello] This is a salty
ricotta from Catania.

My mum doesn't use that,

but I think he's a great
addition to the recipe.

And this is ready.

- Oh gosh, that
looks incredible!

This is something
that divides nations.

The way you treat
an aubergine huh?

- Works?

(Nisha humming in agreement)

- The oregano

is genius.

But it's the oregano that pulls
me straight back to Sicily.

That aubergine is full
of texture isn't it?

- [Nisha] Gorgeous smokey
aubergine, sweet onions,

fresh herbs and salty cheese.

Definitely one I'll
be making at home.

Now I've ticked the
magnificent veg off my list.

There's only one
thing on my mind.

- In Catania would be criminal
not to feast on seafood.

So I'm heading to find
some absolutely incredible

seafood street food.

- [Nisha] "Mm!!"
trattoria is run by

husband and wife team
Gaetano and Carmella.

And it's known for
its innovative take

on traditional dishes.

And today, they
want to serve me up

three of their favorites.

- Oh wow.

This is gore may
street food. Huh?

Thank you so much.

I'm looking forward to
trying it. Wonderful.

- Thank you.

(speaking foreign language)

- I love the fact that
it's all fish based.

This is a tuna hot dog.

I've never seen
anything like it.

(soft acoustic music)

The tuna sausage is paired
with a hearty helping

of sweet and sour red onion

and topped with gorgeous melted
local caciocavallo cheese

which is a bit like
Hammond tail or Gruyer.

(soft acoustic music)

(moaning)

Really meaty and herby.

Is delicious.

Why have I never had
one of those before?

Fantastic.

Now this is a
swordfish parmigiana.

swordfish is a big thing here.

The parmigiana is made
by layering slices

of grilled aubergine and salt
fish with tomatoes and cheese.

And it's topped with breadcrumbs

and to follow, the
fruits of a cactus.

Whilst prickly pears aren't
widely available in the UK.

You can find them
in some greengrocers

and other sweet fruits
like Mellon would work

served like this.

With mint, salt and pepper,
lime zest, and lemon juice.

Not a lot of Parmigianos,
And I do love them.

Never with swordfish,
never with any fish.

Absolutely delicious.
moist tomatoey.

And I love the breadcrumbs
and the cheese on top.

My gosh. That's fantastic.

(moaning)

I'll have to say, was one
of the best parmigianos

I've ever had, honestly. Right.

I'm very excited about this.

I'm very excited about this

cause it's a popular street food

and all it is, is
seasoned fruit.

So fresh cause a
prickly pear is very,

it's a really sweet fruit.

So you've got the lemon
that brings it alive

in a different kind of way.

Got that fantastic
mint. And the salt.

It's a stroke of genius, that.

Really unusual street food

really clever, clever, clever
blending of ingredients

that just matter to the
Sicilians, matter to Catania.

Swordfish tuna on prickly pear.

And honestly the
flavors are incredible.

- [Nisha] I'm in foodie
heaven here in Catania.

And whilst the dishes
I've had so far

are innovative twists
on classic recipes.

Next on the menu
is something that

Sicilians have been in
love with for centuries.

- Oh wow.

(soft acoustic music)

- [Nisha] I'm in Catania
on Sicily's Eastern coast

with its rich volcanic soil

and endless
glittering coastline.

There's no shortage of
delicious things to devour here.

Already, I've sampled
incredible seafood

in the form of flavorful
and amazing street food.

And chef Lello's
beautiful adaptation

of his mother's recipe showcased

the unbelievable vegetables
grown on Etna slopes.

All of this fantastic
produce is certainly

giving me inspiration
for a dish of my own.

But first, you can't
come to Catania

and not indulgence
on something sweet.

- Sicilians are renowned
for having a sweet tooth

since the Arab domination
the 10th century

brought sugar to the island.

I've been told that
this is one of the best

cafe bakeries in Catania.

So I'm heading there
for some sweet relief.

- [Nisha] A thriving
sugar industry

was established across the
shores of the Mediterranean

as part of the Arab
agricultural revolution.

And sugar continued
to be an important

crop grown in Sicily
until the 16 hundreds.

(speaking Italian)

- This is beautiful.

- Yeah. Thank you so much.

- [Nisha] You have so
many cakes in Sicily.

and that centuries long
love affair with sugar

has resulted in a stunning
variety of desserts.

I have seen these in a
few places. What is this?

- Yes. This is a

(speaking Italian)

- [Nisha] What,
what is it though?

- These are the breast
of saint Agatha.

- The breasts of saint Agatha.

- Why?

- Because in the
prison, saint Agatha

cut off the breast.

And the symbol of
Catania now is this.

Yes. The "minna di Sant'Aita".

- That's incredible so
did she became a martyr

They cut off her breast.
They turned that into a cake.

what's in them?

- Inside the spongecake.

- Yes.

- Ricotta filling.

- Yes.

(speaking Italian)

and sugar and cherry in the top.

- It does look
breast like I see.

And then cannoli.

- Yep.

- Which is, now this is
a really Sicilian thing.

It's the first thing I
do when I get to Sicily

is buy cannoli.

- Cannoli, the typical one
is with ricotta filling.

- [Nisha] Yeah. So
this is with pistachio

and I see pistachio
everywhere in Catania.

Why is it such a big thing here?

- pistachio, of Bronte. Okay?

- They're Bronte pistachios.

- Bronte the small town,
20 kilometer of Catania.

Is famous

- Do you think the
pistachios tastes different?

Than, cause I know
they're precious

and they're expensive.

But do you think that
those Bronte pistachios

are particularly delicious?

- Yes, its different. For,

if you change with
the Iranian pistachio,

is very different.

- Aha. I would really
love one cannoli

and one of these cakes
that's very typical.

(acoustic music)

- Lovely. Thank you very
much. see you later.

- You're welcome. You're
welcome. See you later.

(soft music)

- Oh wow.

Green marzipan. I
wasn't expecting that.

Oh wow.

That's a really good sponge.

And you know what? The
crazy thing is not too sweet

Cause it's got a
good bit of marzipan

and a lovely bit of
ricotta in there.

So it tones the whole
thing down really lovely.

That is a gruesome
story, I know.

That's a strange
thing to celebrate,

but they are delicious
and they are beautiful.

And they're just right to
get you through the day.

And now for the cannoli,
which is just for me,

one of the big
symbols of Sicily.

Gorgeous pistachios.

That's just what I
love about Sicily,

is you look at the desserts

and you think they're
going to be sickly sweet.

but what they do is that sugar

that the Arabs brought
in the 10th century,

they balance it.

It really tones everything down

and brings a real elegant.

It's really delicious, fine.

(lighthearted music)

- It's kind of
thing you could have

two or three times a day only.

The Sicilian love
affair with sugar

also contributed to the
history of another one

of Italy's most
famous sweet treats.

The story goes, that
gelato originated from snow

that was brought
down the mountains

by ancient Roman soldiers
who would then flavor it

with nuts and honey and berries

as a kind of posh snack
for ancient aristocrats.

- [Nisha] Then in
the 11th century,

a frozen sugar syrup
invented by the Arabs

became popular in Sicily.

But it wasn't until
the 16th century,

that gelato as we
know it was born.

(speaking Italian)

- Beautiful.

This Fragolina Dell'Etna.

Are these the little
strawberries that grow here,

in Etna?

- Okay. Thank you.

(moaning)

That's amazing. Good flavor.

Really strong, sweet story.

Very, very flavorful.

Gelato is churned more
slowly than ice cream

making it denser with
a more intense flavor.

- Ah, so it's not
is like a sobeys.

No, no milk.

- No milk

- But strawberry and a
little bit of orange,

little bit of orange huh?

- [Nisha] Gelato has a lower
fat content than ice cream.

containing more
milk and less cream.

in the case of fruit gelato,

it can be made with only water.

- That is fantastic. So fresh.

- Thank you.

- Gorgeous.

But one that I've really
seen that interests me

is this pistachio di Bronte,

cause that is very
typical of Catania.

I'll have one. I'll
have one in a cone.

- [Nisha] I just can't
get enough of those

Bronte pistachios.

- Thank you so much.

- There you go.

- My goodness. I mean,
I love pistachio,

but this is like
special pistachio

thank you so much.
Creamy. Thank you.

- [Nisha] I love Sicily.

And whenever I come here,

there's one thing I
always have to eat.

For me is the ultimate
dish of Catania

and this time I'm
cooking it myself.

I've had a fantastic
time in Catania

and as always eaten royally.

And there are some things

that have really grabbed
at my heart at the market.

But nothing more so than these

fantastic volcanic aubergines.

And the dish that
cries out for aubergine

more than anything.

And the dish to me that says
Catania more than anything,

is pasta alla norma.

Pasta alla norma
owes its name to

Sicilian composer,
Bellini's hugely successful,

opera Norma.

It's a simple but delicious
dish of aubergine,

tomato, basil and
salted ricotta cheese.

And inspired by the
many incarnations

I've enjoyed over the years,
this is my ultimate version.

We start by heating
a bit of oil.

I want to say a bit,
quite a bit of oil,

but the truth is,
aubergine loves oil.

And I'm going to chop it
into fairly big chunks.

Right. Let's pop those in.

It's really important
that you have this

sacred kind of moment,

where you're just
frying the aubergines

to get into to the
color that you want.

Because once you put
other ingredients in

like tomatoes, aubergines
start to absorb water

and they cook more slowly.

They're beginning
to brown already.

Now the ingredient that
marries best with aubergine

and brings out its true
fantastic soul is garlic.

one clove, pop
that into the oil.

And if I were to add
salt at this stage,

it will become a pulpy mass
only garlic only aubergine.

Let's let them keep their form,

let's let them turn
brown and sweet.

And then we're in with
the cherry tomatoes

which we want to pop alongside.

The Sicilian cherry
tomatoes are to die for

they are so sweet.

I come to Sicily most years.

I remember having an
amazing pasta alla norma

and it was made
with cherry tomatoes

and it was just lighter.

You can use 10 tomatoes,
you could use passata.

Whatever takes your fancy.

I want those tomatoes
to start to really fry.

So I'm going to sit them in
that garlicky aubergine oil

at the bottom of the pan

and I'm going to season
it with a little,

little bit of salt.

- [Nisha] Those just need
to cook for a few minutes

until they start to
soften, but remain whole.

Now this is ready to
rest, not finished.

Ready to rest there because
I want to get my pasta on.

So let's put that aside.

Now remember, those flavors
are going to continue

to weave their magic
with each other

and onto this big pasta pot.

whilst in Italy,

I have to make sure I
get my pasta just right.

It's gotta be al dente.

And you've got to have the
water as salty, as they say,

as the ocean.

Right. That's boiling away.

You've got to wait
for that point.

Now for the salt.

(slow music)

In goes our pasta.

(slow music)

Pasta alla norma is
always with rigatoni.

Rigatoni are these big tubes,

bigger than macaroni.

It's got these ridges on it.

So the ridges capture the salt.

After 12 minutes bubbling away,

the pasta is ready.

Right. Now, what I'm gonna do,

with this very
clever pasta Pan is

simply drain it. Like that.

I am gonna just simply
add that to my pan.

I'm popping the pan
back on the heat

just to warm through

and then topping with
a few ribbons of basil.

And finally, that
gorgeous salty ricotta.

Now, remember I'm in Catania,

so I've got their
hard salty ricotta.

You can always get
this soft is fine.

If you have soft spoonfuls
in or break it in.

But with this, I'm just
gonna peel large shards.

And there it is.

My pasta alla norma

which is operatic in its flavor.

Absolutely magnificent.

(slow violin music)

Catania is a
special place for me

and somewhere I visit often.

not only is it stunning,

but the food scene
here really has it all.

Fantastic fish markets.

innovative street food

gorgeous volcanic
produce, and of course

plenty of delicious desserts.

I'll be sure to come back soon.

(upbeat Italian music)