Unless you’re reading this from Australia, or another of the countries in the southern hemisphere that read my blog, I figure that by now, you could use a dose of sunshine. At the end of last summer I spent five glorious days in Sicily learning how to put sunshine in a jar.
It’s easy. Take a ridiculously large amount of perfectly ripe Sicilian tomatoes. Cut them up. Leave them in the sun for 4 days to reduce down to about one tenth of their original volume. Put them in a jar and save it for a gloomy February day.
Actually, you don’t have to save it. You can use this estratto di pomodoro all year round. ‘Stratto, as it’s called in Sicily, is tomato paste by any other name. But made in the heat of the Sicilan sun. I’m not going into the details here (you’ll have to wait for my next book Eating Italy, to come out for that in early 2018). But in the meantime here is a video I made, which pretty much explains the process.
But if you’d like to find out more about the place this was made, the magical Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School run by Fabrizia Lanza, then I’d love to invite you to come hear her speak in Rome next month. I’ve organized a Conversation between Fabrizia and the host of KCRW’s Evan Kleiman to take place on March 17 at the American University of Rome (see below for details.) I hope you can make it!!
- WHEN: Thursday March 9, at 18:00 (6pm)
- WHERE: The American University of Rome
Auriana Auditorim
Via Pietro Roselli 4, Rome Italy - WHAT: Evan Kleiman, the host of the NPR radio program Good Food, will interview food activist Fabrizia Lanza to discuss some of the most important issues facing Italy today. Elizabeth Minchilli, a Rome based food writer, has invited Evan and Fabrizia to Rome to talk about these issues. Following a brief introduction by Elizabeth, Evan will conduct an hour long conversation with Fabrizia, asking her about the agricultural scene in in Italy and her farm and school in particular. How do small Italian farms survive in the globalized environment of the EU? What have been the positive and negative results of having a business that relies on international clients. What is the relationship of the estate to the local communities? These are just some of the questions that will be explored.
This is a wonderful video Elizabeth, thank you!
I loved this video, Elizabeth!
Thanks!
This is so interesting! How do they keep insects from getting at the tables of tomato paste?
No one could really answer that. But there weren’t any!!
A very interesting video! I was actually born in Sicily and lived there until the age of eleven but I had never seen anything like this before!
I wonder if it’s the acid from the tomatoes that keeps the insects away (?). While living in Sicily I remember seeing tomatoes on window sills to dry.
Possibly.
Great video! Attending cooking school there is on my bucket list-some day I will be there.
How come the tables aren’t stained red because of the tomatoes??
Tomatoes only stain when they are mixed with oil, like in a sauce. On their own, they don’t really stain.
We, my husband and I, will be in Sicily for two weeks this May. I welcome anyone’s wonderful experiences or suggestions.
Love this. You said at the very end that they put it into jars.
Do they do anything to preserve it or keep mold from forming? Put it in the fridge or just put it in the pantry like it is?
They process it, like canning.
Hello Elizabeth, please l want to learn how to make this tomato paste, do you have a book on this ?
There is a chapter in my next book, Eating My Way Through Italy, about how it is made.
Yes this process is extraordinary. I cant find anything like this in Australia, despite having many many wonderful Italians living here since post WW2 immigration. BUT i have been to the Tasca Lanza estate and it is truly magical. I saw this ‘estratto’ for sale in small slabs – where you could cut off a rich moist chunk! —at the fresh markets in Palermo and Catania, but sadly could not buy any to bring home! it is a totally different, much more naturally sweet and intense product because of the sun and type of tomatoes…but i did revisit my Sicily trip for a few moments while watching the video….and I saw hardly a fly or an insect all through my three weeks early mid June in Sicily, couldn’t believe it. People in kitchens with windows and doors wide open, i was waiting for the flies, haha……Even in the less salubrious parts of cities, where rubbish was piled up! but flies and mosquitoes are our burden here in Australia in Summer, sadly…..
what type of wood are the drying tables made out of?
I’m not sure!
What kind of wood do they use to make these beautiful tables?
I’m not sure, sorry.
❤️thank you so much for this. It made my day. How beautiful.