Tucci in Italy (2025) s02e02 Episode Script
Sicily
1
[wind whooshing]
I'm wearing crampons.
I'm in Sicily on Mount Etna.
That's the sea, where it's warm and sunny.
This is the mountain,
where it's sunny, but not warm.
That is the top of the mountain
that is an active volcano.
[sighs]
Contrasts.
That's what it's all about.
[light jazz music playing]
Sicily is, of course, Italian,
but at the same time,
unapologetically itself.
Italy's largest island
sits just off the toe of the boot
at the crossroads of the Mediterranean.
It's a place of contradictions,
famous for its dazzling beaches
and archaeological treasures,
but infamous for the shadow
cast by criminality
and corruption.
These contrasts are very evident
in the culture of the people here
and in the food they eat.
[jazz music continues playing]
I'm starting my journey in the shadow
of Sicily's most notorious
geological threat,
Mount Etna, where, ironically,
one of the island's
most prized products thrives.
When I was a kid, I don't ever remember
having a blood orange in America.
But when we moved to Florence,
the grocer had them.
I had never seen anything like it.
It's absolutely delicious.
And my kids go completely mad for them.
In fact, I gave them
a whole bunch the other day
'cause I could tell their blood sugar
was running a little low in the afternoon.
The best blood oranges are grown
just inland of Sicily's
second city, Catania
where the snow of Etna meets
the warm sun of the plains.
-Good morning.
-Welcome.
-Stanley.
-Gerardo.
[Stanley] These 60 hectares of oranges
belong to Gerardo Diana.
Your family has had this
for how many generations?
-For forever.
-Like five genera-- yeah.
Basically, whenever there is
the history of the family,
there is always the history
-of this farm.
-Right.
It's a lot of work,
but it's beautiful work.
This year, it's a good season.
-[Stanley] Is it?
-We have a lot of fruit.
[Stanley] The blood orange
isn't easy to cultivate,
but it grows here thanks
to the dynamic microclimate
created by the volcano.
Right now, it's January,
and it's beautiful weather here.
But you get these fluctuations
in temperature, right?
-Every day.
-Every day?
Basically, now we'll reach the 20 degrees.
-Uh-huh?
-And tomorrow morning,
thanks to Mount Etna microclimate
-Yeah.
-we have zero degrees.
This is what it makes
our blood orange special.
[Stanley] I see.
They have inside some substances,
which are very difficult for me
to say in English
-because they-- anthocyanins.
-So, just say them in Italian.
Anthocyanins.
In Italian, what is it?
Anthocyanins.
-Mm-hmm.
-It's basically they react
to the different-- to this, uh,
difference of temperature.
-Yeah.
-And they become,
-in order to protect itself
-Yeah.
all the fruit, it becomes all red.
[Stanley] Yes, I've--
I've read about this.
They're high in antioxidants.
-[Gerardo] Exactly.
-Right? High in vitamin C.
And this is really one of those
good effects of Mount Etna.
[gentle music playing]
[Stanley] On a good morning,
Gerardo and the pickers
can harvest up to
800 kilograms each of oranges,
some of which become lunch.
[cork popping]
[all speaking Italian]
-Salute. Salute.
-[glasses clinking]
[Stanley] Cheers.
Do you eat this every day?
Or almost every day?
Every day.
[Stanley] Si. Si.
-Can I cut one open?
-Yeah, you should.
Oh, my God.
-Look at that.
-[Gerardo] What a nice color.
-Look at that.
-Incredible.
And it's very good because it has a lot
-of mineral salts inside.
-[Stanley] Yeah.
And then, we can go on working,
which, we won't be tired.
-[Stanley] Right.
-Because if we would eat pasta,
then it would be difficult
-to go back and work, so.
-Yes, then you overdo it.
You save that for-- for nighttime.
-For the nighttime.
-For the nighttime.
[Stanley] The sweetness of the oranges
is paired with fennel that grows wild
on the outskirts of the farm.
The blood orange does not need
help, because it has a great taste.
But you can enrich it with
a bit of fennel.
[worker] È buono.
Oh, my God. Oh yeah.
[Gerardo] It has a very strong flavor,
which blends very good
with the red oranges.
Because they're totally opposite.
They're opposite, but they blend together.
-It does-- it does work.
-It's like a wedding.
Sometimes you need to be
different with your wife.
Otherwise, it would be too monotonous.
[Stanley] Yeah. [laughing]
Alright, should we eat?
♪♪
[Stanley] Wedges of
freshly picked blood orange,
sprigs of wild fennel,
splashes of olive oil.
This is a mouthwatering
working man's lunch.
This is delicious.
I can have fennel in London,
or America, or wherever.
But unless it comes from here
[Gerardo] Yeah.
the taste is totally different.
The taste, the soil, the climate.
I'm glad you like it.
[Stanley] Most people
don't put oregano on it.
No. This is a typical Sicilian recipe.
So, we-- we try to utilize
all what we have in the farm.
I love it with the oregano.
[Gerardo] It's a good food,
and it tells a lot
about the traditional food of Sicily.
So, tell me, do you ever
worry about Etna, um
We live with it.
Etna is very important for us.
It's a symbol, perhaps.
[Stanley] Si.
It's the mother of the
territory of Catania.
Because you look at it and see
if you've been away,
and you want to come back,
that is the first thing you see
and then you're back home
in your motherland.
-Yeah. Again, cheers. Cheers.
-Cheers. Thank you.
[all] Grazie, grazie, grazie.
[Stanley]
These days, citrus fruit and Sicily
have become almost synonymous,
but the truth is,
oranges aren't native to this island.
It was the Arabs that
introduced citrus here
in the 10th century,
just one of the many foreign cultures
that have brought new ideas
and ingredients to the region.
There's a book about Sicily.
I think it's called The Island
at the Crossroads of History,
and it just talks about how it is,
like, so perfectly situated,
like Italy itself, but actually,
it is the first place
that everybody went to.
[ship horn blowing]
[jazz music playing]
[Stanley] This made its capital, Palermo,
one of the most conquered cities on Earth.
[jazz music continues playing]
While the towns in the east
look and feel Italian,
in contrast, the capital in the west,
has a more layered identity.
Greeks, North Africans, and the Spanish
all made it their home away from home.
And to this day,
the city is a vibrant mosaic
of disparate cultures and ways of living.
So, this is the cathedral of Palermo.
It is a perfect example
of how all these different cultures,
uh, formed the city in a--
a single piece of architecture.
You have Norman, Byzantine, and Arabic,
because this was a mosque.
It's just one of the most
incredible pieces of
architecture
not only in Sicily,
but in the world, I think.
It's a surprisingly harmonious
blend of historical influences.
Something not only found
in the city's architecture,
but also in its cuisine.
♪♪
[Stanley] This is the Capo,
a maze-like food market
in an ancient part of Palermo.
Cultures from all over the Mediterranean
have convened here, sharing ingredients
recipes, and bartering in this market
for over 1,000 years.
- Can I please have 100 grams of these?
- Yes.
Thank you very much.
[Stanley] Local historian
Chiara D'Agostino
is guiding me through
the stalls to sample something
the city has become famous for,
street food.
I'm getting quite hungry,
-so we might as well--
-[Stanley] Yeah, I'm starving.
You know I'm-- please, I'm always hungry.
-Hello.
-Buongiorno.
- Good morning.
- Welcome.
[Stanley] Dainotti's has a reputation
for some of the best snacks in the market.
What's the names of these ones?
These ones, in Palermitano,
are called "cazzilli".
[Stanley] Called what?
- "Cazzilli".
- "Cazzilli"?
It's Palermitano, yes.
-Si.
-Yeah.
The "cazzilli".
-What does it mean?
-You know what it means.
Oh, does it? Okay, alright, okay.
Little penises.
[Stanley] But the pinnacle
of Sicilian street food
is a very special, humble ball of rice.
-We can have arancina.
-Arancino.
-Yeah? Arancina?
-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
"Arancin-A."
"Arancina", my bad.
"Arancin-a"!
It's very important, in Palermo,
the arancina is female.
-Yes.
-And we care about that.
-Yes.
-In Catania
and east of Sicily, it's male.
-It's male.
-Arancino.
-Why?
-They are different.
Are they different?
Our "arancina" is Arabic.
[Chiara] Yes.
Whereas in Catania it was
brought by the Spanish.
The Aragonese.
They're two completely different recipes.
-Yes, it's true.
-Ah.
Our one is Arabic, a lot of influences.
-It's got saffron in the rice.
-Right, right.
[Chiara] While the one in the east,
in Sicily, is white rice.
-[Stanley] Oh, it is? Okay.
-[Chiara] Yes.
And the fillings as well are different.
[Stanley] Uh, so what's a filling here?
With butter, with meat,
and with meat and mozzarella.
[Stanley] I think I'll have the carne.
-[man] It's beautiful.
-[Chiara] Yes.
-[Stanley] It is beautiful.
-[Chiara] Round. Perfect.
Just one of my favorite things
in the world, yes.
Yes, and also, I-- I wanna try
one of the little penises.
-[laughing] Yes, okay.
-Yeah.
My grandmother used to make these.
-Mm!
-Yes, but she didn't call them
"little penises."
Well, that's exclusive for Palermo.
I want to go look at those spices.
You have all of these different spices.
You have turmeric, you have chili powder,
paprika, you have curry.
[Chiara] And we've been using
them in food for ages, so.
-[Stanley] Oh!
-Even the arancina,
-you can see how yellow the rice is.
-The amount of saffron.
Yes, that's because it's rich in saffron.
-Yeah.
-And of course, it's all made
to look like an orange, right?
That's why arancina.
Did you see this?
Look, that is gorgeous and delicious.
This mixed culinary and cultural heritage
has given rise to a particularly
Sicilian flavor combination
called agrodolce, sweet and sour.
It's the backbone of one dish
everybody here has a passion
and a recipe for, caponata.
And Chiara has brought me
to her family home
to cook me hers.
-Okay.
-You are a good cutter.
-Babe! Come on!
-[laughing]
No, I love this dish.
My mother makes it on--
-Caponata? Oh!
-Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
[Stanley] They're little
chunks, aren't they?
-Everything is a little chunk.
-Yes. Everything is in chunks.
You need to feel the texture,
it's not a sauce.
It's sort of the Italian ratatouille,
or is that--
-Sort of. I would say
-Not-- maybe not quite.
it's the Arabic ratatouille.
[Stanley] Right. And in here?
[Chiara] Here, we got olives,
and also we got some capers,
which are the only native
ingredient to Sicily.
Everything else was-- came from
Everything else comes either
from the Greeks or the Arabs.
[Stanley] Okay, so now,
we're gonna put it all together.
[Chiara] First, we need
to fry the aubergines.
[Stanley] You're practically
deep-frying it,
-in a way.
-[Chiara] Yes, we are. Sort of.
'Cause if you do a shallow fry
Explain it, 'cause it's
a very important thing.
Yeah, exactly. [laughing]
I'm obsessed with this whole thing,
which I didn't really understand
until a few years ago.
Yes, so if you don't want things
to be soaked in oil
-and be too oily
-Yeah, yeah.
you need to put more oil
into the frying pan.
-Yes, yeah.
-Exactly.
It's the opposite of what you think.
-Exactly the opposite.
-Yes.
[gentle music playing]
It's something that you make on a--
-on a Sunday afternoon.
-Yeah.
-When you've got the time.
-Yeah.
-You got nothing else going on.
-Yeah.
-[Chiara] Patience.
-Yeah.
Everything in Sicily
requires patience. We are--
Even Sicily itself
requires patience, yeah.
Sicily itself requires a lot of patience.
[Stanley chuckles]
[Stanley] With the eggplant fried,
the onions, celery,
tomatoes, and olives
are cooked in a separate pan.
[sizzling]
You know, when the Greeks came to Sicily,
they found out the native Sicilians
were pretty much the same as now.
We still had this
pretty laid-back attitude.
We love to eat, we love to rest.
And they were absolutely outraged by it.
-Really?
-They were like, "Oh, my God,
"these people don't want to do anything,
they just want to lay back and eat."
-[exhales sharply, laughs]
-Yes. [laughing]
Okay, so we turn the flame off.
[Stanley] Yes, okay.
And we need to make the agrodolce.
Two and a little bit
-of red wine vinegar.
-Okay. Right.
Sugar.
-[Stanley] And then?
-That's it. You mix it.
[Stanley] Mm-hmm.
[glass clinking]
[Chiara] And you can start to smell it.
-[Stanley] Yeah.
-The smell of agrodolce
-is the smell of Palermo.
-[Stanley] Yeah.
And we can take
-our freshly-made caponata
-Mm-hmm?
and just pour it in with
all the oil and all the juices.
[Stanley] Mm. Mm.
And now, we need to get it ready to sit.
-To sit?
-Yes. You can't eat it hot.
Have you ever eaten it hot?
[sighs] No.
No, but you're obviously upset
even by that question.
-Yes.
-Yes, I'm so sorry.
It's okay, it's just unthinkable.
[Stanley] Yesterday's batch
of caponata is ready to eat.
-And then
-Okay.
-Just enjoy.
-Cheers.
-Cheers.
-Cheers.
-Mm.
-Mm.
-That's really good.
-That is so nice. [chuckles]
-It's so delicious.
-Mm-hmm.
-Sweet and sour.
-Mm.
It's like Sicily.
Sicily is a sweet and sour place.
It's the most beautiful island ever.
Palermo is the most beautiful city,
on Earth, for me, personally.
-Palermo? Yeah.
-Yes.
But then, it's such
a tough place to live in.
[Stanley]
Palermo is a genuine melting pot.
A chaotic hub of exchange.
Sometimes challenging,
but always exciting.
Sicilians seem to thrive
on these contradictions,
which might explain why they're
so open to new influences.
[seabirds calling]
[intriguing music playing]
[Stanley] The quiet
seaside towns of western Sicily
feel a world away from
the island's hectic capital,
in more ways than one.
[dog barking]
Hello. I'm in Mazara
which has the largest Tunisian population
in Sicily.
And you can tell by these buildings
and by the way they're decorated that--
that I'm not lying to you.
♪♪
On Sicily's southwestern edge,
Mazara del Vallo is closer
to Tunis than it is to Rome.
[lighthearted music playing]
That proximity has led to
a centuries-long exchange of people
between here and North Africa.
The latest wave brought
thousands of Tunisians,
lured by a fishing boom in the 1970s.
They bolstered numbers
in the local fishing fleet,
which is now the largest in Italy.
[Sofia Giacalone] Stanley, ciao.
Ciao.
[Sofia] Oh, my God, thanks for coming.
[Stanley] Thank you for having me.
Sofia Giacalone
runs her family's almost
100-year-old fishing company.
-This is Salem Othmane.
-Stanley. Nice to meet you.
[Stanley] And Salem Othmane
has spent decades
working on trawlers
based out of the port here.
It's perfectly positioned
to access rich fishing grounds,
where a highly prized
and lucrative delicacy,
the Mediterranean red prawn, can be found.
So, this net goes
700 meters deep in the sea.
In this depth, the water is so pure.
[Stanley] Sofia's boats are on
their two-month-long biological pause.
Wow.
It allows the shrimp to reproduce
and the fishermen
time for rest and repairs.
Let's show him the next bit.
-Whoa, it's ti-- it's tight.
-It's very tiny.
-And this is--
-[Sofia] Take care.
And this is the kitchen where
- You are the chef?
- You're the cook.
I am the chef.
He is the chef.
[Sofia] He's the chef.
Here is where people eat?
Here is where people eat.
Where do they eat? Here?
How many people?
Seven people in total.
Seven people are on board of this vessel,
so everyone has his own task.
So, for example, Salem is the chef.
He needs to provide the food to everyone.
Because the catch
of the Mediterranean red prawn
lasts from 30 to 45 days.
So, for 30 days
- So, for 30 days
- 30 days.
at sea?
It's hard Salem, right?
In bad weather, good weather,
always at sea.
-[Sofia chuckles]
-Yeah, yeah.
[Stanley] They say
that dedication is worth it.
Mazara red prawns are prized
for their delicate taste.
-[Sofia] Stanley.
-[Stanley] Si?
Take it. It is delicious, isn't it Salem?
- Too good.
- Too good.
[all] Salute, salute.
[Stanley] We're eating them
in their purest form, raw,
which is the best way to enjoy
the depth of their flavor.
-This is very good
-Mm. And so sweet.
How long have you
I've been working
for almost 25 years for
- 25 years?
- Yes.
I came here at 17 years old.
And in Tunis there was no work,
but it wasn't
No, there was work, but
less earnings than here.
Years pass,
and now I have been here
in Italy for 45 years.
Yeah.
Is your wife from Tunisia?
- Is your wife from Tunisia?
- Yes.
But my children were born here in Sicily.
They were both born here in Mazara.
And your son
he doesn't do this job?
-[Stanley] No, no.
-[Sofia] No.
In the beginning he wanted
to do his father's job.
I suggested not to, because
You said, "no"?
Yes, because his father's job is hard.
And I don't want my son to do the same
And I don't want my son to do the same
- A better life.
his father's life,
I wanted him to have a better life.
Yeah.
This is the purpose of life, no?
Like you-- you want
to give the opportunities
to your children,
like to-- to live a better life.
The truth is, I've been happy here.
And always here in Sicily,
I haven't moved to Sardinia or anywhere.
I've always been
-[Stanley] Yeah.
-He liked Sicily, and, um
the only place is here,
in Mazara del Vallo.
And I'm happy.
Yeah.
[seabirds calling]
[Stanley] Along with their skills,
Tunisians brought ideas and ingredients
that influenced the cuisine here.
A little further up the coast,
the synthesis
of Arab and Italian tastes
is celebrated in a famous dish,
and that dish is going to be lunch.
[waves crashing]
[lounge music playing]
[Stanley] The Sicilian city
of Trapani is on a headland
that juts out into the sea,
forming a natural harbor.
Historically one of
the most important ports
in the Mediterranean,
it's likely the first place
couscous arrived into Italy.
I'm going into this little trattoria here,
uh, to meet a woman
who's of Tunisian descent,
but who makes a version of couscous
that is the Trapanesi version,
even though she grew up
eating one that her mother made
that was the Tunisian version.
Does that make any sense?
Anyway, I'm going in.
You'll-- you'll see.
Confusing or not, Trapani seafood couscous
is a dish people now travel
from far and wide to try.
Hajer Aissi, who runs
this traditional trattoria,
makes one of the finest in town.
-Hello. Hello.
-Hello.
Good morning.
Stanley, buongiorno.
Good morning.
[Stanley laughing]
[Stanley] Hajer came to Sicily
from Tunisia at the age of six.
Why did your parents come here?
My parents my dad came first.
Yeah?
He was supposed to stay
a short time, just for work.
He was a carpenter in Tunisia.
Instead, six months to a year
turned into 35 years.
[Stanley] Si?
We've been here 35 years.
-Wow. Wow.
-Si, si, si.
[Stanley] Here, the couscous
is hand-rolled.
It's a lengthy process that involves
gradually adding water to semolina.
What do we do now?
We season it with cinnamon,
onion
and parsley.
Are all these things
in the Tunisian recipe?
No, this is the Trapani recipe.
They had to personalize it, I'd say.
[Stanley] Ah.
- Now it is Sicilian.
- Yes.
[Stanley] The couscous is sealed
using a basic dough
made of flour and water,
then steamed in a couscousier.
Beautiful.
What's next?
The next step is the soup.
Zuppa. [speaking Italian]
The seafood broth which brings it to life,
is also cooked from scratch,
using the freshest fish from local boats.
This fish. Can you see the fish?
Can you see it? You can speak to me.
-[cameraman] I can see the fish.
-Okay. [chuckles]
So, these beautiful little fish,
everything's fresh today.
These beautiful little fish
are gonna go in, they're gonna
get ground up, and they're gonna
go into the broth.
And then, these bigger fish
are pieces that get cut up later.
I get very excited about fresh fish.
But I want to eat just this.
Right? With some bread.
[both laughing]
Then we'll put in
the first part of the fish.
- The "poor" fish.
- "Poor fish"?
Si.
[Stanley] The larger, pricier fish
are then cooked whole in the broth.
Now we moisten the couscous.
And we leave it to sit for two hours.
Otherwise, it swells up in the stomach.
[Stanley laughing]
[Stanley] Ooh. Very exciting.
So, what do we do now?
So, now we start.
Si.
We put the broth over it little by little.
Si.
And then slowly,
depending on how much broth you want,
you can add more,
and the couscous is ready.
[Stanley] Mm.
Delicious.
Thank you.
And that
- How do you say - "cinnamon"?
- Cinnamon, yes.
It's very subtle.
It's delicate.
Yeah, delicato, si.
Now, in Trapani, what's it like
between Tunisians and Sicilians?
- They're the same.
- The same?
The culture is the same.
At least, I've always considered
it to be the same.
Their customs, flavors too, aromas
Sicily resembles North Africa a lot.
- They don't live separately?
- No.
The religion is different,
the culture too.
But over the years, little by little,
a cultural maturity has
happened, you could say.
They see the person
They see beyond, they see the person.
- The person, not the idea.
- Not the context, exactly.
Because really, there is no difference.
-Grazie. Thank you.
-Prego.
[Stanley] Centuries of exchange
between two seemingly different cultures
has enriched Sicilian cuisine
with new dishes
that no matter what one's heritage,
all can agree are delicious,
whether they are made
from the bounty of the sea
or from where I'm headed next,
the mountains.
[Stanley] Up in the rugged north,
the Nebrodi mountains are pig country.
They're home to the Sicilian suino nero
or black pig.
An ancient native breed.
They've been here since 700 BC.
It has survived for so long
because it adapts to everything.
[pig grunting]
[Stanley] This is a very unusual pig farm.
It's a world away from the concrete sprawl
of industrialized agriculture,
which unfortunately is more
common in Italy nowadays.
I'm here with farmer Franco Borello.
They eat what they
come across in the woods.
Grasses, roots, acorns,
chestnuts, hazelnuts too.
When they don't find much around,
they come looking for me.
[both laughing]
Let's give them some barley.
[Stanley] The Nebrodi
are descended from wild boar.
They're so civilized, in a line.
Over time, they've been
replaced by larger breeds
that yield more meat and make more profit.
But, before, they were almost extinct.
- But, before, they were almost extinct.
-They were almost extinct because
these were the pigs found in the area,
and all families, here in the
countryside, raised these black pigs.
But then, slowly,
as the countryside was abandoned,
these pigs disappeared.
In the '50s, they were almost gone.
Back then people wanted
lean meat, pink meat.
They wanted a good yield.
They didn't consider
the quality of the meat.
This one has a lot of fat
and now we know it's good for you.
It's a good fat.
With Omega-3.
Eating the fat of these pigs is
like eating extra virgin olive oil.
Yeah. [laughing]
Let's send them out into the woods.
- They aren't coming?
- They aren't coming.
To make them come over,
I'll give them a little something.
[Stanley] Well, the pigs
were supposed to go out,
but the feed got spilled,
and now they won't leave.
I love that. It's funny.
The pigs clearly just do
their own thing here.
But Franco does intervene
at one time in their lives
right at the start.
These igloo-like structures, called Zimma,
have been used to shelter
birthing pigs for centuries.
In here is where the piglets are born.
Do you know what this little step is for?
No.
In the first week, it stops
the piglets from getting out.
Because we're in the woods,
there are falcons that could
get them in those first days.
After a week, they're bigger,
so birds of prey can't get them.
It's not damp.
It's a perfect habitat.
Wow.
Do you want to go in?
-No, it's okay.
-No, bene.
[both laughing]
[Stanley] But the family farm
also boasts a family restaurant,
which, though remote, pulls in diners
from all over the island.
Talented young chef Alessandro Maniaci
runs the kitchen.
[knocking]
Hello?
Good morning.
- Hi.
- Hi.
[Stanley] The home cooking touch
comes from Franco's mother Anna.
Hi.
Good morning.
[Stanley] At 87, she still cooks dishes
for the restaurant daily.
When was this made?
This is very fresh,
it was made two days ago.
It's different from the pork
we eat every day.
[Alessandro] Si, si.
-The meat is so dark.
-Yes.
That's really because of the pigs' diet.
They are free range.
They're free.
-Si. And then, what's this?
-Gelatina.
This is the head of the pig.
[Stanley] Mm-hmm?
-And like all the
The parts which are considered
the scraps of the pig.
This represent our philosophy.
-Yeah.
-Don't throw away nothing.
-Yeah.
-From nose to tail.
-Nose to tail.
-Yes.
-Nose to tail, yeah.
-Nose to tail.
-This is the international
-Yes.
-gesture for nose to tail.
-Nose to tail, nose to tail.
We're making fried sausage
with eggs and broccoli.
Broccoli? And it's your broccoli?
Yes, from our farm. We grew it.
Tell him the origins of the dish, Grandma.
Where does it come from?
When priests used to
go to the countryside
to bless the houses.
They don't do it anymore.
You know, there's no time.
Even priests don't have the time.
Si. Si.
So, this lady wanted to give
the priest something.
She said, "What shall I give you?
Some eggs from our hens?
Or would you rather some
sausage from our pig?"
And the priest said, "Mmm.
I like both fried sausage AND eggs."
[both laughing]
And that's the priest's morsel.
-[Stanley] Yeah.
-[both laughing]
[Stanley] Everything cooked and served
is sourced from the farm itself
or the local area.
Oh, my God, the smell of it though.
-[gentle music playing]
-[birdsong]
Franco's daughter Anna Laura
and son Giuseppe
are also involved in running the business.
-[Stanley] Thank you.
-[Giuseppe] You're welcome.
[speaking Italian]
Thank you, Grandma.
-Grazie.
-Thank you, thank you.
[laughter]
So
I love it, but I would like to
try that one.
- Grandma's dish.
- This is a dream.
[Alessandro] Si.
[Stanley] That is just so beautiful.
I have to taste it.
That's delicious.
Eggs.
The sausage, the broccolini.
[Grandma chuckles]
Perfect, I will make this
as soon as I come back home.
You can bring it in England. Yes.
You have not tried prosciutto yet.
[Stanley] Oh, si.
Thank you.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God, that fat.
-The fat is so smooth.
-It's so interesting.
Well, I'm never leaving. Si, grazie.
[light chatter and laughter]
-Grazie.
-[laughter continues]
Big farms,
is it difficult to fight them?
Big companies are absorbing
almost everything.
Si.
Almost everything.
It is a pity.
Traditions get lost,
the land is abandoned.
To safeguard the land,
we need small companies.
Export?
No.
Export
I am not that interested in exporting.
I could export, I have many,
many requests.
However, I would need
to increase production.
It would become a farming system
of intensive production.
And this is not good.
We raise the right number of animals
for the land
that we have available.
Yeah. Well, thank you.
Thank you for everything.
-[family speaking Italian]
-[Stanley] Really.
-Thank you.
-[glasses clinking]
Thank you so much.
Grandma.
[both speaking Italian, laughing]
This was
marvelous.
[laughter and chatter]
[Stanley] The refusal
of the Borello family
to compromise their agricultural practices
and bring food as good
as this to the table
makes them a very rare breed themselves
in a quickly changing world.
My final stop is an equally idyllic place,
that is facing yet
another man-made threat.
It seems that the Greeks were here.
[gentle music playing]
This is the Valley of the Temples,
five square miles of ancient
Greek archaeological treasures
close to the southern coast of the island.
Alongside the ruins is a huge garden,
known as Kolymbethra.
It's a horticultural treasure chest.
[Federica Salvo] Here, we got
1,500 plants you know?
This is the perfect example
of a Mediterranean garden.
[Stanley] Federica Salvo is its director.
[Federica]
We got 16 different kind of oranges.
Along the walls,
you can see prickly pears.
-[Stanley] Yeah.
-They grow everywhere.
We got, of course,
olive trees, carob, and almond.
[Stanley]
This valley wasn't always so fertile.
When the Greeks arrived, it was barren.
But not for long.
Kolymbethra is a Greek word
which means, uh, "holy pool."
The idea of the Greeks
was to convert this quarry
into a huge artificial, uh, water basin.
2,500 years ago,
there were 18 aqueducts
dug into the stone
which were pouring water
inside this huge water basin.
[Stanley] The water coming in here
-Yes.
-you still have
-the original structures?
-Absolutely.
Thanks to this,
we can irrigate our garden.
That's why it's so lush and green.
[Stanley] Kolymbethra is like a paradise,
but it's under threat from climate change.
The hottest temperature
ever recorded in Europe
was right here in Sicily,
a scorching 120 degrees Fahrenheit,
which is a concern for Federica
and her colleagues.
Ciao.
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
Stanley.
Rino Frenda is keeping a close eye
on the almond trees.
[Federica] Ciao.
Are you trimming the dry ends?
Every year we do
what we call pruning,
which is used to give
a shape to the plant,
and to let it grow better.
For instance, this bit here,
which I am yet to prune,
but as you can see, there's a dry part
that needs to be removed,
because plants, unlike us,
cannot go to the barber.
So we have to come here instead.
I also don't go to the barber.
- You're lucky.
- I used to, many years ago.
Not anymore.
Why are there no flowers,
at the moment, on this tree?
Because, of course, there have
been changes in temperature and climate,
which have confused the plants,
and so they don't flower uniformly.
[Stanley] It's not just
the trees that are confused,
the native black bees are struggling too.
[Federica] Of course,
the bees are attracted
by the scent of-- of a flower,
-or-- or a plant in general.
-Mm-hmm.
[Federica] With warmer springs
or earlier springs,
the scent comes out earlier.
-Earlier.
-So, the bees emerge earlier.
-Yes.
-But sometimes,
there is not enough food for them.
-Ah.
-And they die,
so entire families are disappearing.
[Stanley] You're starting to
plant different kinds of trees,
aren't you, different kinds of fruit?
Actually, some companies in Sicily
have already embarked on this journey,
towards growing tropical fruits.
Some passion fruit, some avocado.
some tried with banana plants,
but these are still preliminary steps.
- It's an experimental phase.
- Yes, it's in the experimental phase.
Si. Si.
[Stanley] Hopefully, these
experiments will work out.
After all, Sicilians are past masters
at making the best of things
and many of them are on the table today.
[light acoustic guitar music playing]
There's no kitchen here, but no matter.
Alessandro and Giuseppe have come down
from the mountains to cook al fresco.
They're making three different dishes
with some of the island's
extraordinary produce.
-Hello.
-Wow.
-Hello.
-How are you?
This is simply a pasta with sardines.
Grazie.
[glasses clinking]
Pine nuts, raisins, saffron, tomato paste
and, at the end, raw anchovies.
So good.
These
- Flavors.
- Flavors,
they are
truly Sicilian?
Flavors, colors all of it.
We have a lot of examples of dishes,
which are typical of Sicily,
whose ingredients are mostly
not from the region,
but in which the Sicilian genius
was to put them all together in one dish.
Put it all together.
-Si.
-Si.
-So, we're genius, guys.
-[Stanley] Good?
-Yes, genius.
-We didn't know that.
You are geniuses.
[laughing] They are.
[upbeat music playing]
What are we eating here?
Black pig's ribs.
[Stanley] The ribs are finished
with an agrodolce sauce,
made with honey from those
all-important black bees.
-[Stanley] Chef.
-[Federica] Mm.
You're spoiling us.
Wow.
[Stanley] Thank you.
[Alessandro] Can we eat with our hands?
Whatever you want to do.
Wow.
Oh, my God, that's so good!
-Mm.
-[Stanley] That pork.
Very good.
My compliments to those
who raised the pig.
Because working in agriculture
is not easy, especially in Sicily.
But in the morning, when I find
myself surrounded by the almond trees,
I love it. Amongst the dew,
and the smell of flowers,
you walk to an almond tree
that just blossomed,
you smell it - it's like going
into space, trust me.
Let me tell you,
I'm saying this with my heart.
It's true.
-[Federica] Wow!
-Oh!
Oh, look how beautiful.
What fruits did you use?
The custard is made of blood oranges.
On top we have mangos,
papaya,
passion fruit,
and a bit of avocado too,
which is also a fruit.
-[Federica] Mm.
-[Stanley] That's delicious.
-Amazing.
-[Stanley] That's amazing.
For me, this is the future.
We already have tradition,
and innovation can be brought by us,
the new generations.
We can give Sicily what it's missing,
a bit of innovation and a bit of vision,
for the future.
Si.
Shall we?
[Federica chuckles]
-Cheers.
-[glasses clinking]
Thank you, chefs. Thank you, thank you.
Thank you, you've been so kind.
[gentle music playing]
[Stanley] Sicily is an island
like no other
as rich and varied as the many cultures
which have shaped its past and present.
Its ability to absorb so many influences,
yet remain distinctly itself,
is perhaps the key
to its delicious difference.
[inspiring music playing]
[wind whooshing]
I'm wearing crampons.
I'm in Sicily on Mount Etna.
That's the sea, where it's warm and sunny.
This is the mountain,
where it's sunny, but not warm.
That is the top of the mountain
that is an active volcano.
[sighs]
Contrasts.
That's what it's all about.
[light jazz music playing]
Sicily is, of course, Italian,
but at the same time,
unapologetically itself.
Italy's largest island
sits just off the toe of the boot
at the crossroads of the Mediterranean.
It's a place of contradictions,
famous for its dazzling beaches
and archaeological treasures,
but infamous for the shadow
cast by criminality
and corruption.
These contrasts are very evident
in the culture of the people here
and in the food they eat.
[jazz music continues playing]
I'm starting my journey in the shadow
of Sicily's most notorious
geological threat,
Mount Etna, where, ironically,
one of the island's
most prized products thrives.
When I was a kid, I don't ever remember
having a blood orange in America.
But when we moved to Florence,
the grocer had them.
I had never seen anything like it.
It's absolutely delicious.
And my kids go completely mad for them.
In fact, I gave them
a whole bunch the other day
'cause I could tell their blood sugar
was running a little low in the afternoon.
The best blood oranges are grown
just inland of Sicily's
second city, Catania
where the snow of Etna meets
the warm sun of the plains.
-Good morning.
-Welcome.
-Stanley.
-Gerardo.
[Stanley] These 60 hectares of oranges
belong to Gerardo Diana.
Your family has had this
for how many generations?
-For forever.
-Like five genera-- yeah.
Basically, whenever there is
the history of the family,
there is always the history
-of this farm.
-Right.
It's a lot of work,
but it's beautiful work.
This year, it's a good season.
-[Stanley] Is it?
-We have a lot of fruit.
[Stanley] The blood orange
isn't easy to cultivate,
but it grows here thanks
to the dynamic microclimate
created by the volcano.
Right now, it's January,
and it's beautiful weather here.
But you get these fluctuations
in temperature, right?
-Every day.
-Every day?
Basically, now we'll reach the 20 degrees.
-Uh-huh?
-And tomorrow morning,
thanks to Mount Etna microclimate
-Yeah.
-we have zero degrees.
This is what it makes
our blood orange special.
[Stanley] I see.
They have inside some substances,
which are very difficult for me
to say in English
-because they-- anthocyanins.
-So, just say them in Italian.
Anthocyanins.
In Italian, what is it?
Anthocyanins.
-Mm-hmm.
-It's basically they react
to the different-- to this, uh,
difference of temperature.
-Yeah.
-And they become,
-in order to protect itself
-Yeah.
all the fruit, it becomes all red.
[Stanley] Yes, I've--
I've read about this.
They're high in antioxidants.
-[Gerardo] Exactly.
-Right? High in vitamin C.
And this is really one of those
good effects of Mount Etna.
[gentle music playing]
[Stanley] On a good morning,
Gerardo and the pickers
can harvest up to
800 kilograms each of oranges,
some of which become lunch.
[cork popping]
[all speaking Italian]
-Salute. Salute.
-[glasses clinking]
[Stanley] Cheers.
Do you eat this every day?
Or almost every day?
Every day.
[Stanley] Si. Si.
-Can I cut one open?
-Yeah, you should.
Oh, my God.
-Look at that.
-[Gerardo] What a nice color.
-Look at that.
-Incredible.
And it's very good because it has a lot
-of mineral salts inside.
-[Stanley] Yeah.
And then, we can go on working,
which, we won't be tired.
-[Stanley] Right.
-Because if we would eat pasta,
then it would be difficult
-to go back and work, so.
-Yes, then you overdo it.
You save that for-- for nighttime.
-For the nighttime.
-For the nighttime.
[Stanley] The sweetness of the oranges
is paired with fennel that grows wild
on the outskirts of the farm.
The blood orange does not need
help, because it has a great taste.
But you can enrich it with
a bit of fennel.
[worker] È buono.
Oh, my God. Oh yeah.
[Gerardo] It has a very strong flavor,
which blends very good
with the red oranges.
Because they're totally opposite.
They're opposite, but they blend together.
-It does-- it does work.
-It's like a wedding.
Sometimes you need to be
different with your wife.
Otherwise, it would be too monotonous.
[Stanley] Yeah. [laughing]
Alright, should we eat?
♪♪
[Stanley] Wedges of
freshly picked blood orange,
sprigs of wild fennel,
splashes of olive oil.
This is a mouthwatering
working man's lunch.
This is delicious.
I can have fennel in London,
or America, or wherever.
But unless it comes from here
[Gerardo] Yeah.
the taste is totally different.
The taste, the soil, the climate.
I'm glad you like it.
[Stanley] Most people
don't put oregano on it.
No. This is a typical Sicilian recipe.
So, we-- we try to utilize
all what we have in the farm.
I love it with the oregano.
[Gerardo] It's a good food,
and it tells a lot
about the traditional food of Sicily.
So, tell me, do you ever
worry about Etna, um
We live with it.
Etna is very important for us.
It's a symbol, perhaps.
[Stanley] Si.
It's the mother of the
territory of Catania.
Because you look at it and see
if you've been away,
and you want to come back,
that is the first thing you see
and then you're back home
in your motherland.
-Yeah. Again, cheers. Cheers.
-Cheers. Thank you.
[all] Grazie, grazie, grazie.
[Stanley]
These days, citrus fruit and Sicily
have become almost synonymous,
but the truth is,
oranges aren't native to this island.
It was the Arabs that
introduced citrus here
in the 10th century,
just one of the many foreign cultures
that have brought new ideas
and ingredients to the region.
There's a book about Sicily.
I think it's called The Island
at the Crossroads of History,
and it just talks about how it is,
like, so perfectly situated,
like Italy itself, but actually,
it is the first place
that everybody went to.
[ship horn blowing]
[jazz music playing]
[Stanley] This made its capital, Palermo,
one of the most conquered cities on Earth.
[jazz music continues playing]
While the towns in the east
look and feel Italian,
in contrast, the capital in the west,
has a more layered identity.
Greeks, North Africans, and the Spanish
all made it their home away from home.
And to this day,
the city is a vibrant mosaic
of disparate cultures and ways of living.
So, this is the cathedral of Palermo.
It is a perfect example
of how all these different cultures,
uh, formed the city in a--
a single piece of architecture.
You have Norman, Byzantine, and Arabic,
because this was a mosque.
It's just one of the most
incredible pieces of
architecture
not only in Sicily,
but in the world, I think.
It's a surprisingly harmonious
blend of historical influences.
Something not only found
in the city's architecture,
but also in its cuisine.
♪♪
[Stanley] This is the Capo,
a maze-like food market
in an ancient part of Palermo.
Cultures from all over the Mediterranean
have convened here, sharing ingredients
recipes, and bartering in this market
for over 1,000 years.
- Can I please have 100 grams of these?
- Yes.
Thank you very much.
[Stanley] Local historian
Chiara D'Agostino
is guiding me through
the stalls to sample something
the city has become famous for,
street food.
I'm getting quite hungry,
-so we might as well--
-[Stanley] Yeah, I'm starving.
You know I'm-- please, I'm always hungry.
-Hello.
-Buongiorno.
- Good morning.
- Welcome.
[Stanley] Dainotti's has a reputation
for some of the best snacks in the market.
What's the names of these ones?
These ones, in Palermitano,
are called "cazzilli".
[Stanley] Called what?
- "Cazzilli".
- "Cazzilli"?
It's Palermitano, yes.
-Si.
-Yeah.
The "cazzilli".
-What does it mean?
-You know what it means.
Oh, does it? Okay, alright, okay.
Little penises.
[Stanley] But the pinnacle
of Sicilian street food
is a very special, humble ball of rice.
-We can have arancina.
-Arancino.
-Yeah? Arancina?
-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
"Arancin-A."
"Arancina", my bad.
"Arancin-a"!
It's very important, in Palermo,
the arancina is female.
-Yes.
-And we care about that.
-Yes.
-In Catania
and east of Sicily, it's male.
-It's male.
-Arancino.
-Why?
-They are different.
Are they different?
Our "arancina" is Arabic.
[Chiara] Yes.
Whereas in Catania it was
brought by the Spanish.
The Aragonese.
They're two completely different recipes.
-Yes, it's true.
-Ah.
Our one is Arabic, a lot of influences.
-It's got saffron in the rice.
-Right, right.
[Chiara] While the one in the east,
in Sicily, is white rice.
-[Stanley] Oh, it is? Okay.
-[Chiara] Yes.
And the fillings as well are different.
[Stanley] Uh, so what's a filling here?
With butter, with meat,
and with meat and mozzarella.
[Stanley] I think I'll have the carne.
-[man] It's beautiful.
-[Chiara] Yes.
-[Stanley] It is beautiful.
-[Chiara] Round. Perfect.
Just one of my favorite things
in the world, yes.
Yes, and also, I-- I wanna try
one of the little penises.
-[laughing] Yes, okay.
-Yeah.
My grandmother used to make these.
-Mm!
-Yes, but she didn't call them
"little penises."
Well, that's exclusive for Palermo.
I want to go look at those spices.
You have all of these different spices.
You have turmeric, you have chili powder,
paprika, you have curry.
[Chiara] And we've been using
them in food for ages, so.
-[Stanley] Oh!
-Even the arancina,
-you can see how yellow the rice is.
-The amount of saffron.
Yes, that's because it's rich in saffron.
-Yeah.
-And of course, it's all made
to look like an orange, right?
That's why arancina.
Did you see this?
Look, that is gorgeous and delicious.
This mixed culinary and cultural heritage
has given rise to a particularly
Sicilian flavor combination
called agrodolce, sweet and sour.
It's the backbone of one dish
everybody here has a passion
and a recipe for, caponata.
And Chiara has brought me
to her family home
to cook me hers.
-Okay.
-You are a good cutter.
-Babe! Come on!
-[laughing]
No, I love this dish.
My mother makes it on--
-Caponata? Oh!
-Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
[Stanley] They're little
chunks, aren't they?
-Everything is a little chunk.
-Yes. Everything is in chunks.
You need to feel the texture,
it's not a sauce.
It's sort of the Italian ratatouille,
or is that--
-Sort of. I would say
-Not-- maybe not quite.
it's the Arabic ratatouille.
[Stanley] Right. And in here?
[Chiara] Here, we got olives,
and also we got some capers,
which are the only native
ingredient to Sicily.
Everything else was-- came from
Everything else comes either
from the Greeks or the Arabs.
[Stanley] Okay, so now,
we're gonna put it all together.
[Chiara] First, we need
to fry the aubergines.
[Stanley] You're practically
deep-frying it,
-in a way.
-[Chiara] Yes, we are. Sort of.
'Cause if you do a shallow fry
Explain it, 'cause it's
a very important thing.
Yeah, exactly. [laughing]
I'm obsessed with this whole thing,
which I didn't really understand
until a few years ago.
Yes, so if you don't want things
to be soaked in oil
-and be too oily
-Yeah, yeah.
you need to put more oil
into the frying pan.
-Yes, yeah.
-Exactly.
It's the opposite of what you think.
-Exactly the opposite.
-Yes.
[gentle music playing]
It's something that you make on a--
-on a Sunday afternoon.
-Yeah.
-When you've got the time.
-Yeah.
-You got nothing else going on.
-Yeah.
-[Chiara] Patience.
-Yeah.
Everything in Sicily
requires patience. We are--
Even Sicily itself
requires patience, yeah.
Sicily itself requires a lot of patience.
[Stanley chuckles]
[Stanley] With the eggplant fried,
the onions, celery,
tomatoes, and olives
are cooked in a separate pan.
[sizzling]
You know, when the Greeks came to Sicily,
they found out the native Sicilians
were pretty much the same as now.
We still had this
pretty laid-back attitude.
We love to eat, we love to rest.
And they were absolutely outraged by it.
-Really?
-They were like, "Oh, my God,
"these people don't want to do anything,
they just want to lay back and eat."
-[exhales sharply, laughs]
-Yes. [laughing]
Okay, so we turn the flame off.
[Stanley] Yes, okay.
And we need to make the agrodolce.
Two and a little bit
-of red wine vinegar.
-Okay. Right.
Sugar.
-[Stanley] And then?
-That's it. You mix it.
[Stanley] Mm-hmm.
[glass clinking]
[Chiara] And you can start to smell it.
-[Stanley] Yeah.
-The smell of agrodolce
-is the smell of Palermo.
-[Stanley] Yeah.
And we can take
-our freshly-made caponata
-Mm-hmm?
and just pour it in with
all the oil and all the juices.
[Stanley] Mm. Mm.
And now, we need to get it ready to sit.
-To sit?
-Yes. You can't eat it hot.
Have you ever eaten it hot?
[sighs] No.
No, but you're obviously upset
even by that question.
-Yes.
-Yes, I'm so sorry.
It's okay, it's just unthinkable.
[Stanley] Yesterday's batch
of caponata is ready to eat.
-And then
-Okay.
-Just enjoy.
-Cheers.
-Cheers.
-Cheers.
-Mm.
-Mm.
-That's really good.
-That is so nice. [chuckles]
-It's so delicious.
-Mm-hmm.
-Sweet and sour.
-Mm.
It's like Sicily.
Sicily is a sweet and sour place.
It's the most beautiful island ever.
Palermo is the most beautiful city,
on Earth, for me, personally.
-Palermo? Yeah.
-Yes.
But then, it's such
a tough place to live in.
[Stanley]
Palermo is a genuine melting pot.
A chaotic hub of exchange.
Sometimes challenging,
but always exciting.
Sicilians seem to thrive
on these contradictions,
which might explain why they're
so open to new influences.
[seabirds calling]
[intriguing music playing]
[Stanley] The quiet
seaside towns of western Sicily
feel a world away from
the island's hectic capital,
in more ways than one.
[dog barking]
Hello. I'm in Mazara
which has the largest Tunisian population
in Sicily.
And you can tell by these buildings
and by the way they're decorated that--
that I'm not lying to you.
♪♪
On Sicily's southwestern edge,
Mazara del Vallo is closer
to Tunis than it is to Rome.
[lighthearted music playing]
That proximity has led to
a centuries-long exchange of people
between here and North Africa.
The latest wave brought
thousands of Tunisians,
lured by a fishing boom in the 1970s.
They bolstered numbers
in the local fishing fleet,
which is now the largest in Italy.
[Sofia Giacalone] Stanley, ciao.
Ciao.
[Sofia] Oh, my God, thanks for coming.
[Stanley] Thank you for having me.
Sofia Giacalone
runs her family's almost
100-year-old fishing company.
-This is Salem Othmane.
-Stanley. Nice to meet you.
[Stanley] And Salem Othmane
has spent decades
working on trawlers
based out of the port here.
It's perfectly positioned
to access rich fishing grounds,
where a highly prized
and lucrative delicacy,
the Mediterranean red prawn, can be found.
So, this net goes
700 meters deep in the sea.
In this depth, the water is so pure.
[Stanley] Sofia's boats are on
their two-month-long biological pause.
Wow.
It allows the shrimp to reproduce
and the fishermen
time for rest and repairs.
Let's show him the next bit.
-Whoa, it's ti-- it's tight.
-It's very tiny.
-And this is--
-[Sofia] Take care.
And this is the kitchen where
- You are the chef?
- You're the cook.
I am the chef.
He is the chef.
[Sofia] He's the chef.
Here is where people eat?
Here is where people eat.
Where do they eat? Here?
How many people?
Seven people in total.
Seven people are on board of this vessel,
so everyone has his own task.
So, for example, Salem is the chef.
He needs to provide the food to everyone.
Because the catch
of the Mediterranean red prawn
lasts from 30 to 45 days.
So, for 30 days
- So, for 30 days
- 30 days.
at sea?
It's hard Salem, right?
In bad weather, good weather,
always at sea.
-[Sofia chuckles]
-Yeah, yeah.
[Stanley] They say
that dedication is worth it.
Mazara red prawns are prized
for their delicate taste.
-[Sofia] Stanley.
-[Stanley] Si?
Take it. It is delicious, isn't it Salem?
- Too good.
- Too good.
[all] Salute, salute.
[Stanley] We're eating them
in their purest form, raw,
which is the best way to enjoy
the depth of their flavor.
-This is very good
-Mm. And so sweet.
How long have you
I've been working
for almost 25 years for
- 25 years?
- Yes.
I came here at 17 years old.
And in Tunis there was no work,
but it wasn't
No, there was work, but
less earnings than here.
Years pass,
and now I have been here
in Italy for 45 years.
Yeah.
Is your wife from Tunisia?
- Is your wife from Tunisia?
- Yes.
But my children were born here in Sicily.
They were both born here in Mazara.
And your son
he doesn't do this job?
-[Stanley] No, no.
-[Sofia] No.
In the beginning he wanted
to do his father's job.
I suggested not to, because
You said, "no"?
Yes, because his father's job is hard.
And I don't want my son to do the same
And I don't want my son to do the same
- A better life.
his father's life,
I wanted him to have a better life.
Yeah.
This is the purpose of life, no?
Like you-- you want
to give the opportunities
to your children,
like to-- to live a better life.
The truth is, I've been happy here.
And always here in Sicily,
I haven't moved to Sardinia or anywhere.
I've always been
-[Stanley] Yeah.
-He liked Sicily, and, um
the only place is here,
in Mazara del Vallo.
And I'm happy.
Yeah.
[seabirds calling]
[Stanley] Along with their skills,
Tunisians brought ideas and ingredients
that influenced the cuisine here.
A little further up the coast,
the synthesis
of Arab and Italian tastes
is celebrated in a famous dish,
and that dish is going to be lunch.
[waves crashing]
[lounge music playing]
[Stanley] The Sicilian city
of Trapani is on a headland
that juts out into the sea,
forming a natural harbor.
Historically one of
the most important ports
in the Mediterranean,
it's likely the first place
couscous arrived into Italy.
I'm going into this little trattoria here,
uh, to meet a woman
who's of Tunisian descent,
but who makes a version of couscous
that is the Trapanesi version,
even though she grew up
eating one that her mother made
that was the Tunisian version.
Does that make any sense?
Anyway, I'm going in.
You'll-- you'll see.
Confusing or not, Trapani seafood couscous
is a dish people now travel
from far and wide to try.
Hajer Aissi, who runs
this traditional trattoria,
makes one of the finest in town.
-Hello. Hello.
-Hello.
Good morning.
Stanley, buongiorno.
Good morning.
[Stanley laughing]
[Stanley] Hajer came to Sicily
from Tunisia at the age of six.
Why did your parents come here?
My parents my dad came first.
Yeah?
He was supposed to stay
a short time, just for work.
He was a carpenter in Tunisia.
Instead, six months to a year
turned into 35 years.
[Stanley] Si?
We've been here 35 years.
-Wow. Wow.
-Si, si, si.
[Stanley] Here, the couscous
is hand-rolled.
It's a lengthy process that involves
gradually adding water to semolina.
What do we do now?
We season it with cinnamon,
onion
and parsley.
Are all these things
in the Tunisian recipe?
No, this is the Trapani recipe.
They had to personalize it, I'd say.
[Stanley] Ah.
- Now it is Sicilian.
- Yes.
[Stanley] The couscous is sealed
using a basic dough
made of flour and water,
then steamed in a couscousier.
Beautiful.
What's next?
The next step is the soup.
Zuppa. [speaking Italian]
The seafood broth which brings it to life,
is also cooked from scratch,
using the freshest fish from local boats.
This fish. Can you see the fish?
Can you see it? You can speak to me.
-[cameraman] I can see the fish.
-Okay. [chuckles]
So, these beautiful little fish,
everything's fresh today.
These beautiful little fish
are gonna go in, they're gonna
get ground up, and they're gonna
go into the broth.
And then, these bigger fish
are pieces that get cut up later.
I get very excited about fresh fish.
But I want to eat just this.
Right? With some bread.
[both laughing]
Then we'll put in
the first part of the fish.
- The "poor" fish.
- "Poor fish"?
Si.
[Stanley] The larger, pricier fish
are then cooked whole in the broth.
Now we moisten the couscous.
And we leave it to sit for two hours.
Otherwise, it swells up in the stomach.
[Stanley laughing]
[Stanley] Ooh. Very exciting.
So, what do we do now?
So, now we start.
Si.
We put the broth over it little by little.
Si.
And then slowly,
depending on how much broth you want,
you can add more,
and the couscous is ready.
[Stanley] Mm.
Delicious.
Thank you.
And that
- How do you say - "cinnamon"?
- Cinnamon, yes.
It's very subtle.
It's delicate.
Yeah, delicato, si.
Now, in Trapani, what's it like
between Tunisians and Sicilians?
- They're the same.
- The same?
The culture is the same.
At least, I've always considered
it to be the same.
Their customs, flavors too, aromas
Sicily resembles North Africa a lot.
- They don't live separately?
- No.
The religion is different,
the culture too.
But over the years, little by little,
a cultural maturity has
happened, you could say.
They see the person
They see beyond, they see the person.
- The person, not the idea.
- Not the context, exactly.
Because really, there is no difference.
-Grazie. Thank you.
-Prego.
[Stanley] Centuries of exchange
between two seemingly different cultures
has enriched Sicilian cuisine
with new dishes
that no matter what one's heritage,
all can agree are delicious,
whether they are made
from the bounty of the sea
or from where I'm headed next,
the mountains.
[Stanley] Up in the rugged north,
the Nebrodi mountains are pig country.
They're home to the Sicilian suino nero
or black pig.
An ancient native breed.
They've been here since 700 BC.
It has survived for so long
because it adapts to everything.
[pig grunting]
[Stanley] This is a very unusual pig farm.
It's a world away from the concrete sprawl
of industrialized agriculture,
which unfortunately is more
common in Italy nowadays.
I'm here with farmer Franco Borello.
They eat what they
come across in the woods.
Grasses, roots, acorns,
chestnuts, hazelnuts too.
When they don't find much around,
they come looking for me.
[both laughing]
Let's give them some barley.
[Stanley] The Nebrodi
are descended from wild boar.
They're so civilized, in a line.
Over time, they've been
replaced by larger breeds
that yield more meat and make more profit.
But, before, they were almost extinct.
- But, before, they were almost extinct.
-They were almost extinct because
these were the pigs found in the area,
and all families, here in the
countryside, raised these black pigs.
But then, slowly,
as the countryside was abandoned,
these pigs disappeared.
In the '50s, they were almost gone.
Back then people wanted
lean meat, pink meat.
They wanted a good yield.
They didn't consider
the quality of the meat.
This one has a lot of fat
and now we know it's good for you.
It's a good fat.
With Omega-3.
Eating the fat of these pigs is
like eating extra virgin olive oil.
Yeah. [laughing]
Let's send them out into the woods.
- They aren't coming?
- They aren't coming.
To make them come over,
I'll give them a little something.
[Stanley] Well, the pigs
were supposed to go out,
but the feed got spilled,
and now they won't leave.
I love that. It's funny.
The pigs clearly just do
their own thing here.
But Franco does intervene
at one time in their lives
right at the start.
These igloo-like structures, called Zimma,
have been used to shelter
birthing pigs for centuries.
In here is where the piglets are born.
Do you know what this little step is for?
No.
In the first week, it stops
the piglets from getting out.
Because we're in the woods,
there are falcons that could
get them in those first days.
After a week, they're bigger,
so birds of prey can't get them.
It's not damp.
It's a perfect habitat.
Wow.
Do you want to go in?
-No, it's okay.
-No, bene.
[both laughing]
[Stanley] But the family farm
also boasts a family restaurant,
which, though remote, pulls in diners
from all over the island.
Talented young chef Alessandro Maniaci
runs the kitchen.
[knocking]
Hello?
Good morning.
- Hi.
- Hi.
[Stanley] The home cooking touch
comes from Franco's mother Anna.
Hi.
Good morning.
[Stanley] At 87, she still cooks dishes
for the restaurant daily.
When was this made?
This is very fresh,
it was made two days ago.
It's different from the pork
we eat every day.
[Alessandro] Si, si.
-The meat is so dark.
-Yes.
That's really because of the pigs' diet.
They are free range.
They're free.
-Si. And then, what's this?
-Gelatina.
This is the head of the pig.
[Stanley] Mm-hmm?
-And like all the
The parts which are considered
the scraps of the pig.
This represent our philosophy.
-Yeah.
-Don't throw away nothing.
-Yeah.
-From nose to tail.
-Nose to tail.
-Yes.
-Nose to tail, yeah.
-Nose to tail.
-This is the international
-Yes.
-gesture for nose to tail.
-Nose to tail, nose to tail.
We're making fried sausage
with eggs and broccoli.
Broccoli? And it's your broccoli?
Yes, from our farm. We grew it.
Tell him the origins of the dish, Grandma.
Where does it come from?
When priests used to
go to the countryside
to bless the houses.
They don't do it anymore.
You know, there's no time.
Even priests don't have the time.
Si. Si.
So, this lady wanted to give
the priest something.
She said, "What shall I give you?
Some eggs from our hens?
Or would you rather some
sausage from our pig?"
And the priest said, "Mmm.
I like both fried sausage AND eggs."
[both laughing]
And that's the priest's morsel.
-[Stanley] Yeah.
-[both laughing]
[Stanley] Everything cooked and served
is sourced from the farm itself
or the local area.
Oh, my God, the smell of it though.
-[gentle music playing]
-[birdsong]
Franco's daughter Anna Laura
and son Giuseppe
are also involved in running the business.
-[Stanley] Thank you.
-[Giuseppe] You're welcome.
[speaking Italian]
Thank you, Grandma.
-Grazie.
-Thank you, thank you.
[laughter]
So
I love it, but I would like to
try that one.
- Grandma's dish.
- This is a dream.
[Alessandro] Si.
[Stanley] That is just so beautiful.
I have to taste it.
That's delicious.
Eggs.
The sausage, the broccolini.
[Grandma chuckles]
Perfect, I will make this
as soon as I come back home.
You can bring it in England. Yes.
You have not tried prosciutto yet.
[Stanley] Oh, si.
Thank you.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God, that fat.
-The fat is so smooth.
-It's so interesting.
Well, I'm never leaving. Si, grazie.
[light chatter and laughter]
-Grazie.
-[laughter continues]
Big farms,
is it difficult to fight them?
Big companies are absorbing
almost everything.
Si.
Almost everything.
It is a pity.
Traditions get lost,
the land is abandoned.
To safeguard the land,
we need small companies.
Export?
No.
Export
I am not that interested in exporting.
I could export, I have many,
many requests.
However, I would need
to increase production.
It would become a farming system
of intensive production.
And this is not good.
We raise the right number of animals
for the land
that we have available.
Yeah. Well, thank you.
Thank you for everything.
-[family speaking Italian]
-[Stanley] Really.
-Thank you.
-[glasses clinking]
Thank you so much.
Grandma.
[both speaking Italian, laughing]
This was
marvelous.
[laughter and chatter]
[Stanley] The refusal
of the Borello family
to compromise their agricultural practices
and bring food as good
as this to the table
makes them a very rare breed themselves
in a quickly changing world.
My final stop is an equally idyllic place,
that is facing yet
another man-made threat.
It seems that the Greeks were here.
[gentle music playing]
This is the Valley of the Temples,
five square miles of ancient
Greek archaeological treasures
close to the southern coast of the island.
Alongside the ruins is a huge garden,
known as Kolymbethra.
It's a horticultural treasure chest.
[Federica Salvo] Here, we got
1,500 plants you know?
This is the perfect example
of a Mediterranean garden.
[Stanley] Federica Salvo is its director.
[Federica]
We got 16 different kind of oranges.
Along the walls,
you can see prickly pears.
-[Stanley] Yeah.
-They grow everywhere.
We got, of course,
olive trees, carob, and almond.
[Stanley]
This valley wasn't always so fertile.
When the Greeks arrived, it was barren.
But not for long.
Kolymbethra is a Greek word
which means, uh, "holy pool."
The idea of the Greeks
was to convert this quarry
into a huge artificial, uh, water basin.
2,500 years ago,
there were 18 aqueducts
dug into the stone
which were pouring water
inside this huge water basin.
[Stanley] The water coming in here
-Yes.
-you still have
-the original structures?
-Absolutely.
Thanks to this,
we can irrigate our garden.
That's why it's so lush and green.
[Stanley] Kolymbethra is like a paradise,
but it's under threat from climate change.
The hottest temperature
ever recorded in Europe
was right here in Sicily,
a scorching 120 degrees Fahrenheit,
which is a concern for Federica
and her colleagues.
Ciao.
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
Stanley.
Rino Frenda is keeping a close eye
on the almond trees.
[Federica] Ciao.
Are you trimming the dry ends?
Every year we do
what we call pruning,
which is used to give
a shape to the plant,
and to let it grow better.
For instance, this bit here,
which I am yet to prune,
but as you can see, there's a dry part
that needs to be removed,
because plants, unlike us,
cannot go to the barber.
So we have to come here instead.
I also don't go to the barber.
- You're lucky.
- I used to, many years ago.
Not anymore.
Why are there no flowers,
at the moment, on this tree?
Because, of course, there have
been changes in temperature and climate,
which have confused the plants,
and so they don't flower uniformly.
[Stanley] It's not just
the trees that are confused,
the native black bees are struggling too.
[Federica] Of course,
the bees are attracted
by the scent of-- of a flower,
-or-- or a plant in general.
-Mm-hmm.
[Federica] With warmer springs
or earlier springs,
the scent comes out earlier.
-Earlier.
-So, the bees emerge earlier.
-Yes.
-But sometimes,
there is not enough food for them.
-Ah.
-And they die,
so entire families are disappearing.
[Stanley] You're starting to
plant different kinds of trees,
aren't you, different kinds of fruit?
Actually, some companies in Sicily
have already embarked on this journey,
towards growing tropical fruits.
Some passion fruit, some avocado.
some tried with banana plants,
but these are still preliminary steps.
- It's an experimental phase.
- Yes, it's in the experimental phase.
Si. Si.
[Stanley] Hopefully, these
experiments will work out.
After all, Sicilians are past masters
at making the best of things
and many of them are on the table today.
[light acoustic guitar music playing]
There's no kitchen here, but no matter.
Alessandro and Giuseppe have come down
from the mountains to cook al fresco.
They're making three different dishes
with some of the island's
extraordinary produce.
-Hello.
-Wow.
-Hello.
-How are you?
This is simply a pasta with sardines.
Grazie.
[glasses clinking]
Pine nuts, raisins, saffron, tomato paste
and, at the end, raw anchovies.
So good.
These
- Flavors.
- Flavors,
they are
truly Sicilian?
Flavors, colors all of it.
We have a lot of examples of dishes,
which are typical of Sicily,
whose ingredients are mostly
not from the region,
but in which the Sicilian genius
was to put them all together in one dish.
Put it all together.
-Si.
-Si.
-So, we're genius, guys.
-[Stanley] Good?
-Yes, genius.
-We didn't know that.
You are geniuses.
[laughing] They are.
[upbeat music playing]
What are we eating here?
Black pig's ribs.
[Stanley] The ribs are finished
with an agrodolce sauce,
made with honey from those
all-important black bees.
-[Stanley] Chef.
-[Federica] Mm.
You're spoiling us.
Wow.
[Stanley] Thank you.
[Alessandro] Can we eat with our hands?
Whatever you want to do.
Wow.
Oh, my God, that's so good!
-Mm.
-[Stanley] That pork.
Very good.
My compliments to those
who raised the pig.
Because working in agriculture
is not easy, especially in Sicily.
But in the morning, when I find
myself surrounded by the almond trees,
I love it. Amongst the dew,
and the smell of flowers,
you walk to an almond tree
that just blossomed,
you smell it - it's like going
into space, trust me.
Let me tell you,
I'm saying this with my heart.
It's true.
-[Federica] Wow!
-Oh!
Oh, look how beautiful.
What fruits did you use?
The custard is made of blood oranges.
On top we have mangos,
papaya,
passion fruit,
and a bit of avocado too,
which is also a fruit.
-[Federica] Mm.
-[Stanley] That's delicious.
-Amazing.
-[Stanley] That's amazing.
For me, this is the future.
We already have tradition,
and innovation can be brought by us,
the new generations.
We can give Sicily what it's missing,
a bit of innovation and a bit of vision,
for the future.
Si.
Shall we?
[Federica chuckles]
-Cheers.
-[glasses clinking]
Thank you, chefs. Thank you, thank you.
Thank you, you've been so kind.
[gentle music playing]
[Stanley] Sicily is an island
like no other
as rich and varied as the many cultures
which have shaped its past and present.
Its ability to absorb so many influences,
yet remain distinctly itself,
is perhaps the key
to its delicious difference.
[inspiring music playing]