Years back, before gas was used to cook, the hearth was heated using wood or charcoal, warming up the kitchen and the whole house, a pleasant feeling in the winter but intolerable in the summer, when the scirocco or sirocco beat down on Sicily. The sirocco is a south-east wind that can reach hurricane speed and comes from the Sahara desert. During the summer in Palermo’s open markets, the vegetable stores which sold a large assortment of fresh picked vegetables and legumes started a practice of cooking a few vegetables that housewives would gladly buy to avoid starting the fire. This tradition is alive to present!

In the famous open market, La Vucciria where we did our food shopping, in the summer months is a typical display of cooked vegetables ready to eat, one will find, among others, artichokes and the three main ingredients to make this delicious and exceptional salad: string beans, potatoes, and baked onions. In my family, we called this salad ‘nzalata ra Vucciria or all’antica, old fashion and it was the delightful combination of those three fresh and flavorful ingredients with the addition of a little fresh oregano, olive oil, and vinegar. On the very hot days, when this salad was the only course for the evening meal (il piatto unico) other ingredients were added, typically olives and tomatoes and to supplement some proteins we used to add either canned tuna fish, salted herrings, leftover meat, legumes or chunks of cold cuts and cheeses. My mouth is watering as I remember the smell of oregano and the combination of the olive oil, vinegar and the juice given out by the tomatoes where I dipped fresh bread and enjoyed this hearty salad.