Olive Nation Blog

Etna - fire and ice

Posted by Chiara in Recipes & Travel, Jul 26 2008

We visited the stunning Etna National Park, and went as far up as we could, since the smoke was getting to be very noticeable and the rangers had left warnings in the middle of the road. We slowly came down the mountain watching the sun disappear behind it. As it got darker, what had appeared as a smoky trail was now clearly a stream of hot red lava.

We stopped in a very small town at the base of the vulcano. The main square looked like a terrace, and all of the residents had brought folding chairs and were sitting there, watching the eruption. Something so hot required a frozen refreshment, so we each an had an enormous Sicilian brioche filled with local gelato. I cannot remember which part of the evening was more impressive–watching the vulcano or biting into the ice-cream. They were both pink. And did I mention they are both Sicilian?

The recipe could not be easier.
Sicilian ice-cream sandwiches: cut your favorite brioche in half and stuff with gelato.
Amit loves the pistachio chocolate combination, but I prefer peaches and custard, and my dad swears by chocolate and whipped cream. Danin is still deciding: strawberry and apricot?