Issue 07 | Trapani, Sicilia
Fall is always an exciting yet exhausting month, so take a break for a quick Dive!
Welcome back to the Italy Deep Dive, the narrative newsletter by La Panza Piena, and thank you for tagging along! The Italy Deep Dive is only possible with the support of its readers. If you like what you read, feel free to share it with a friend (or two), and if you want to support me, you can subscribe for €5 / month or €50 / year. Thank you to everyone who has already subscribed, you have been incredibly motivating!
September always feels like the beginning of a new year to me, so I’d like to welcome you back to the Italy Deep Dive with a trip down Italy’s boot, across the stretto di Messina and to Trapani, a rugged yet beautiful city filled with influences from Ancient Rome, the Byzantine empire and Arab rules. It is historically one of Italy’s most important ports, and its two biggest trades - salt and tuna - are perfect examples of goods which have been historically traded throughout Italy and beyond.
Let’s Dive
Like many Sicilian coastal towns that face West, Trapani is known for its tuna transformation industry (which goes hand-in-hand with the fishing trade). Large bluefin tunas are caught just miles from the city’s shores, in the Mediterranean sea, and one of the most exquisite parts of the fish are the eggs, from which the “caviar of the Mediterranean” is produced—also known as bottarga.
Most of you are probably familiar with bottarga di muggine, the orange-ish cured fish eggs which are commonly grated over pasta or flaked onto salads in most Italian coastal regions and abroad. Tuna bottarga is quite different from the more popular version, differentiating primarily in flavour (which is stronger) and consistency (crumblier), and can be found primarily in the towns of Favignana, Marzamemi and Trapani.
The tradition of curing and drying fish eggs has ancient roots dating back at least 3000 years, to when Phoenecians settled across Sicily and its smaller islands. The word itself derives from the arabic buttarikh, literally translating to salted fish eggs. Bottarga di tonno is obtained by extracting intact ovarian sacks from female bluefin tuna once it has been fished, towards the end of summer. Once removed, the sacks are washed, salted, pressed and left to cure in dry and airy rooms, for one to three months. Bottarga di tonno is traditionally sliced thinly and served with a drop of extra virgin olive oil on a bruschetta or crumbled onto pasta dishes.
Another Sicilian tuna-based delicacy - not for the faint of heart - is the male version of bottarga, known as lattume, which consists in milt (male reproductive glands), and is eaten fresh - deep fried - or salted and cured. Most people nowadays turn up their nose to these types of foods, yet I believe it to be a testament to how deep-rooted the concept of zero waste was in ancient cultures.