Before we came to Sicily we saw a program on the Travel Channel, called Bizarre Foods. The host came to a little town in the Madonie Mountains, called Cerda, to an artichoke festival. He went to a restaurant where they specialize in artichokes. Today we searched out this town and this restaurant and it didn't disappoint.
The Nasca restaurant indeed specializes in artichokes. We were first served the antipasti, which consisted of seven different dishes, all on their own plates. First came out a plate of olives and a plate of marinated artichoke hearts. These weren't the bitter, nasty artichoke hearts we are used to in jars, but had a sweet flavor. Next came out a frittata of artichoke, some boiled artichokes, an artichoke spread on toast, lightly fried artichoke hearts and last, but not least, whole artichokes, cut in quarters and roasted directly on hot coals. These last two were unreal and I would really like to learn how to cook them like this. I really thought this was the whole meal and asked the waitress for coffee and she just laughed and told me this was just the beginning. Next was a penne pasta with artichoke hearts, fava beans and a creamy ricotta cheese. Oh my!! Then came our fish dish, a giant prawn with some smoked fish and not an artichoke in sight. Maybe they ran out. For dessert we had a delicious cannoli, crunchy and creamy! All this, including wine, water and espresso, for 19 euros!
Tonight we are in Palermo. It's a gritty, dirty busy city, not for the faint of heart. Driving in and finding the Eurocar office was horrible, but thanks to Amy we somehow made it. Our hotel is in an old palace and I think the last time it was painted was in the 18th Century. Supposedly, Musselini stayed here. The air con doesn't work well and it's not in the best area of town. But what do you expect for 40 euros?
Tomorrow, Saturday, we will visit the city before getting on our 20 hour ferry ride to Genoa. Hopefully there we will have wifi and we can post our blogs.
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