If you have been to Sicily, you know the drill; first the olives, and cheese, and meat, and bread, and jams all come out. More wine. More cheese. More bread. More meats. More wine. And then the courses started coming out…… I can remember the details of this meal like it was yesterday AND if he gave me the recipe of the fresh stuffed sardines, which were unlike anything I have ever eaten… and if I had been able to replicate them, which I have not, I would be sharing that recipe, too. But what I did seem to get out of him was the way he cooks fennel fritters. And that mi amici, is gold.

The fritters came out early on in the meal and they were so good I asked him for another round. I stuck my finger in my cheek and twisted and was filled with joy. They were freshly fried and full of those incredible greens, tender and flavorful. Very simple.

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