69th Annual Almond Blossom Festival - Agrigento

Buongiorno a tutti! I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year wherever you are in the world. Here at Sicilian Connections we thoroughly enjoyed the festive period but are very happy  to see the evenings become lighter and the early appearance of the Spring sunshine! This also means that it is again time for the wonderful 'Sagra del Mandorlo in Fiore', or the Almond Blossom Festival of Agrigento.

This year will be the 69th edition of the International Festival and will take place from the 8th February to the 16th March. The annual festival takes place in the majestic Sicilian city of Agrigento and celebrates the first almond blossoms of the season - one of the earliest visible signs that Spring is coming. The city will come alive with colourful folk dancers from around the world exhibiting their traditional costumes and dances for the gathered crowds. Local restaurants and bars in the area serve delicious almond dishes and vibrant processions take place throughout the town.

Enjoy this video taken from an Italian news programme which shows last year's festival highlights -

If you can't make it to the festival why not enjoy some almond and honey cookies, or 'Mastazzoli'. The recipe is on my Christmas blog post - http://sicilianconnections.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/tis-season-of-sicilian-christmas.html.

A presto,

Debra Santangelo

www.sicilianconnections.com

P.S. If you enjoy reading my blog please become a follower by registering at the Google 'Join this site' icon on the right of this blog page. Grazie mille for your support!

Viva Sant' Alfio & Recipe for 'Granita di Mandorla'!



 

Buongiorno a tutti! I hope that you are all well and enjoying this lovely Spring sunshine. Today I want to write about one of my favourite festivals in Sicily which is the 'Festa di Sant'Alfio' in the town of Adrano. This festival will take place on the 26th May 2013 and features a parade of beautiful Sicilian carts being pulled through the streets by intricately adorned horses.



The first parade will take place on the 25th May at 6.30pm and the second will be at 10.30am on the Sunday the 26th May. The horse's riders are all in traditional costume and play Sicilian instruments whch makes for a very festive atmosphere. At 5.15pm on Sunday there will also be a procession of the three Saints - Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino, the three young brothers who were martyred in the nearby town of Lentini in 253 AD.

 

 

Now that Spring is here it is also finally 'granita' time on the island of Sicily! This is one of my favourite Sicilian delicacies and is similar to a sorbet. Here is the recipe for Almond Granita which is my all-time favourite flavour! -

 

Granita di Mandorla

 

600 ml Water

250g Blanched Almonds

125g Caster Sugar

 

1) Put the almonds, sugar and the water in a blender and process until as smooth as possible.

 

2) Pour the resulting almond milk into a large sieve lined with a clean J-cloth or muslin set over a bowl. Leave to drip overnight. Help it along every so often by gripping the cloth and squeezing the liquid through. Squeeze as much liquid as you can from the almonds.

 

3) Pour into a shallow container and freeze, roughly forking the crystals 4 or 5 times during the freezing process. Serve.

 

  

 

 

When you have made your Granita di Mandorla, you can watch this video of last year's Sant'Alfio celebrations in Adrano while you enjoy it. Now you can truly feel that you are in the midst of the Sicilian springtime! -

 



 

Amici, if you enjoy reading my blog please become a follower by registering at the Google 'Join this site' icon at the top right of the page. Grazie mille for your support!!

 

A presto!

 

Debra Santangelo

www.sicilianconnections.com

 

 

 



Almond Blossom Festival - Agrigento

Buongiorno a tutti! As the evenings start to turn lighter and we head into February, many of us start to look forward to the onset of Spring. The winter snow was fun and Christmas was enchanting as always, but I, for one, am certainly ready for the first rays of Spring sunshine to make their appearance.

On that note, I would like to talk about one of my favourite events in Sicily - La Sagra del Mandorlo in Fiore or 'the Almond Blossom Festival'. This annual event takes place in the majestic city of Agrigento and celebrates the first almond blossoms of the season - one of the earliest visible signs that Spring is coming.

The main city of Agrigento lies on a plateau overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on the southern coast of Sicily. It is the site of the ancient city of Akragas which dates back to around 580 BC and was described by the poet Pyndar as ''the most beautiful of mortal cities''. A great number of visitors come to the area to view some of the best-preserved Ancient Greek temples outside of Greece itself, which are situated in the 'Valle dei Templi' (Valley of the Temples) to the south of the city. This is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

From the 1st until the 10th February, the city comes alive with colourful folk dancers from across the world exhibiting their traditional costumes and dances for the gathered crowds. Local restaurants and bars in the area serve delicious almond dishes and vibrant processions take place throughout the town.

Enjoy this wonderful video which shows the festival's highlights from last year -

If you can't make it to the festival then why not enjoy some almond and honey cookies or 'Mastazzoli'. The recipe is at on my Christmas blog post - http://sicilianconnections.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/tis-season-of-sicilian-christmas.html.

A presto,

Debra Santangelo
www.sicilianconnections.com

P.S. If you enjoy reading my blog please become a follower by registering at the Google 'Join this site' icon on the right of the blog page. Grazie mille for your support!!