When I was a boy, I remember myself going out in a hurry on the terrace during the days of the dried tomatoes preparation. It was a really hot July... I was used to observe the little massari gathering tomatoes from their land, plunged in a good summer-coloured company of Sicilian cicadas. They were so beautiful and juicy round!

Aunt Lia (in ancient sicilian slang "‘gna Lia"), like many others in the village, was used to get the bed staves standing on the trispi (kind of tripods with staves upon), covered with a white clean bed sheet in which sunlight shone, and they put them outside. After that, tomatoes were cut in a half, dessiccating under the sun. Drying time usually varies according to the presence of the Sun…however here in Sicily we have never been waiting for so long.

Once dried, tomatoes had much less volume and were lined on the back, they were stack up in a jar, layer by layer, dressed with olive oil, salt, basil and red pepper. This jar let the so called‘cchiappe for about one month until these ones had finally been ready to be savoured, at lunches and dinners, for the rest of the year.

Now as before in July I go out on the terrace, I get the staves, a white clean sheet and my tomatos...