This typically rustic Sicilian sauce – it’s just garlic, lemon, oil and oregano – is heaven slathered over grilled vegetables and fish Aeschylus was sitting on a rock, probably thinking or writing, according to his habit. Mistaking the bald and shining head of the poet for a rock on which to break open his prey, an eagle flying overhead dropped a tortoise. According to legend, the tortoise hit the mark, instantly killing the Greek tragedian who, having returned to the south coast of Sicily in 453BC, was seeking refuge in the wheat-bearing land of Gela. The poet Archestratus was also from Gela. Unlike the bald and unfortunate Aeschylus, Archestratus’ demise was not tragic. In fact, quite the opposite. A proud glutton, Archestratus was a 4th-century BC Jay Rayner, roaming the Mediterranean eating and writing humorous didactic poems advising people where to find the best food, notably fish. Fragments of his poems still exist today, incorporated into The Deipnosophists (The Sophists at Dinner), according to writer Mary Taylor Simeti (whose novel, On Persephone’s Island, and books on Sicilian food I highly recommend). The fragments are a blueprint for modern cookbooks, advising us, for example, how to cook tuna: “Slice it and roast it all rightly, sprinkling just a little salt, and buttering it with oil.” Continue reading...
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