Pork Fest/ festa del maiale

Daniele has just returned from Bedouhin deserts and has been deprived of pork, wine and women for 3 months. He arrived Sunday, our first stop a rainy Pallazolo Acreide for a Stinco di Maiale:

I have no idea how they make stinco, it must be a slow roasting process, because it is the tenderest sincerest pig leg you will ever taste.

As usual, 'Eros' the owner of our favourite rustic trattoria came up with a delicate-yet smoky-yet stringent stinco to rival that we ate in Bologna, the capital of rustic pork cookery. Only difference it was a third of the price!

Knowing how this pork cut is, and the type of quantity it would come in I opted for the wild boar cutlets

Daniele enjoys his stinco and vino sincero di Pallazzollo Acreide

Even though it would daunt many more rounded in girth and gusto, he makes a valiant attempt to polish off the whole portion.

This morning we checked in to the office, and to the salumeria in Siracuse, where we brought a full array of porky products and God's own cheese 'Pecorino Sardo' (not wishing to blaspheme,I would reiterate that this product must belong to a Sardinian saint, he of ye olde goathearder).

After the salumi and pecorino, D's mum, who on occasion comes into her own in the rustic sicilian kitchen, produced what has to be the finest cannelloni ever made:

Saints preserve us! D's mum's cannelloni......

The row to the left is filled with spinach and ricotta, the row to right pure ricotta (fresh of the mountain yesterday). She then boils down tomato 'stratto with the usual condiments (celery, carrot, onion) and minced veal. In with that goes a healthy dose of Salsicca di P.A (see below), which adds a porky-fennel element to the taste. By gumdrops, you'll never taste the likes of it.