Marzamemi / Where I left a piece of heart, at Cialoma

Marzamemi is one of the most beautiful fisherman village of Italy.

We are close to the southeast extreme of the Sicilian triangle, where the horizon is a table painted of a blue rainbow, and sky and sea are carnally tied together for many kilometers.

The sun burns the village as it does with the faces of the fishermen, but the flowers in the main square seem not suffering this warm hug, and maintain their colorful shapes.

Seafood is, obviously, the main character of the story, on the tables of each of the small restaurants of the village.

La Cialoma is one of the most famous with its 'terrace' on the main square (a spectacle in the evening) and one on the back, fully oriented towards the sea (open at lunch time).

The pasta served is all handmade using old grains of Sicily, tick and tasty.

We tried the reginelle pasta with sardines, traditionally served on St. Joseph day and prepared with pine nuts, raisins, wild finocchietto and topped with bread crumbs.

The taste of the other pasta we tried is still in my head, an unforgettable flavor of red prawns and a cream of truffle 'scorzone'.

To complete each dish, a glass of white wine and the smell of the sea.

---

Personally, I think grilling is the best way to cook fish.

It is the most trustworthy and authentic cooking technique: if the fish is not fresh, the fire will unveil it, the smell will be unpleasant and the skin will be difficult to detach from the meat.

On contrary, if the fish is fresh, everything will be perfect: the smell will preserve scent of the sea and the skin will be a thin crunchy addition to the plate.

Red mullet is one of the finest fishes of the Mediterranean Sea. It is usually fried with some flour but at La Cialoma we got them 'simply' grilled and it was absolutely delicious.

Try it to believe it!

Ps. Marzamemi is the home of Campisi, a company nationally known for its fish cuts, fish eggs and dried tomatoes.