Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Joel Valvasori-Pereza, chef-co-owner, Lulu La Delizia, PerthI was born in Catania, in Sicily, and
migrated to Australia when I was
seven. I had a quick trip this year for
Slow Fish, a sustainable seafood
festival in Genoa, then went to Sicily
for two weeks. I’d forgotten how
much I missed seeing Mount Etna.
Now when I travel to Catania I’m
always looking out for her.
The thing I love to do when I first
arrive is visit the produce market and
the fish market, which is probably
one of the best in Italy. I love the
thought of living and shopping day
to day. On my last visit a fish jumped
from one end of the market to the
other, and the pipis and other
shellfish are still alive. We don’t see
that in Australia. You’ll also find
lots of offal, live snails, and obscure
vegetables sold by the person whogrew them. It’s a great atmosphere:
noisy, busy and quite theatrical.
Some of Sicily’s best restaurants
are here, too. They’re not necessarily
high-end, but have good honest food.
Seafood is the specialty of the area.
Also seek out arancini, spaghetti alla
Norma, cannoli, gelato – the list goes
on. If you’re game, another food
that’s a must is horse. Lots of little
restaurants in the backstreets have
barbecues on the footpath. They’ll
grill a piece of horse meat for you,
place it in a roll, and away you go.
In Australia, I hold onto home
by spending time with family. Having
a meal, making salami, pickling, or
our tomato sauce day – these things
are what we did in Catania, and we
continue these traditions. They
bring people together.My family hails from the Pordenone
province of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in the
north-east of Italy. They’re great people
with great spirit. Time moves so fast – it’s
now been 10 years since I was there last.
Something that always sticks in my
mind are the prosciutto bars of the beautiful hilltop town of
San Daniele. I was there in the late afternoon in the middle
of winter, looking out over vineyards, with the sun starting
to dip behind the misty fields. The hilly streets have several
old-school bars that specialise in the town’s most famous
export: the soft and sweet prosciutto San Daniele DOP. You
can buy plates of prosciutto crudo and also speck wrapped
around thick grissini, and pay per stick.
Another dish that sticks in my mind is boiled muset
sausage (similar to cotecchino) served with braised fermented
turnips and horseradish. The name refers to the traditional
use of snout, head meat and skin. It’s simmered in water for
hours to render down the collagen, which creates a very
sticky and unctuous texture.
The area where my family lives is on the main plain near
the Tagliamento river. It’s a grape-growing area so there are
vineyards for as far as the eye can see, and the Friulane Alps
provide the backdrop.
Finding a taste of Friuli in Australia is a rarity. I went to
Beppi’s in Sydney once and the little back cellar room was
probably the closest I’ve come. ●Rosa Mitchell, chef-co-owner, Rosa’s Canteen, Melbourne“The fish market in
Catania is probably oneof the best in Italy. On my
last visit a fish jumped
from one end of the
market to the other.”Catania
GOURMET TRAVELLER 91