Tetra-pak Tomato Goodness

I did the classic Headwound (HW) thing last night; I got some great products to try but then came home from work starving, used them quickly then devoured them without taking any snaps. My friends call me a HW as I am forgetful; I did once receive a real headwound (20 stitches worth!) so the name is fitting and I have to admit, I am forgetful!

Hungry and craving something other than falafel (I have overdosed on this lately) I rushed home, pulled out the tomato passata that I was given by the lovely people at RH Amar and quickly chopped up some onions and garlic, browned them lightly in extra virgin olive oil, threw in some of the sauce and loaded it with oregano and basil, added a dash of salt and pepper and added a few chilli flakes for a bit of a spicy note –the final touch was one tiny teaspoon of sugar which made it complete.

The lovely red stuff comes straight from Italy and is apparently the number one selling brand there, which can’t be a bad thing! Need to ask my aunty’s what they use.


I threw the final sauce over some spaghetti for the J-Lo & I to eat. Baby Jacob watched and screamed as we ate; poor kid only gets to eat unsalted mushy stuff and we washed it down with some organic Italian juices I bought at the BBC Good Food Show the past weekend, a yummy prickly pear juice.


I only realised I didn’t take pic when we were putting all of the dishes away but thought I would take a snap of the carton which is going in the fridge for us to have more sauce this weekend. Instead of our spaghetti feast you get a pic of the romantic spaghetti eating moment from the Disney doggy movie Lady & the Tramp – awwwh puppy dog romance.


Thx again to the Cirio peeps. Will try and take pics this weekend when Uncle Duncan comes for dinner.

Fichi d'IndiaFreshly picked, peeled and eaten right on the Puzzo farm. Prickly pears, opuntia or as the Sicilians call them fichi d'India are delicious. You must peel them carefully otherwise you get the spini (spines) from the cactus plant in your skin and it is painful (I got one stuck somehow). I ate about 4 of these in a row and thought that was my limit although I haven't had one since that sunny day and now wish I'd had more. I think they will be around at Christmas so looking forward to some imported ones. I also like the red ones as I like the way they stain your fingers and lips.

The best way to eat them is as is - freshly peeled - when they are chilled they give a fresh sensation to your mouth, along with all of the seeds. A must try.

Fico d'India

Some yummy prickly pears we had this past weekend. They were probably shipped in from Sicily so are a little faded and not as tasty as they would be if they came fresh from the plant-but still great.

They are a Sicilian favorite and are always around at parties and special occasions. The taste is very sweet depending on how ripe they are but many people find them hard to eat due to their texture and the difficulty to peel them without getting very fine needles in your fingers.

Their insides are not fleshly like a peach but are harder and full of seeds which need to be massaged around the mouth and swallowed whole. As a child, I would spit out each one (which took ages) but now I can savor the seeds and texture as part of the whole experience.

It is hard to explain the food experience - it is very unique, my only suggestion is to get one, be very careful peeling it and try it for yourself.

In Sicily they are called fico d’India or fichi d’India – depending on who is saying it, in which dialect and in which region of Sicily. Yes, it is that diverse from town to town.

In scientific terms Wikipedia tells us that prickly pears, also called Opuntia is a genus in the cactus family Cactaceae.

They have two kinds of spines; large, smooth, fixed spines and small, hairlike spines called glochids that easily penetrate skin and detach from the plant.

A true Sicilian can cut these without getting any needles in them. There are different ways to slice and dice these to avoid the needles but it is mostly done the way your father or grandfather cut it. Some people use dishwashing gloves, newspaper, brown paper bags and more… but they are usually laughed at.

Another interesting tidbit:
Charles Darwin was the first to note that these cacti have thigmotactic anthers. This means that as its anthers are touched they curl over, depositing their pollen. This movement can be seen by gently poking the anthers of an open Opuntia flower. Am going to try this next time I am in Sicily.