Break out of the Pumpkin Spice Rut

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Pumpkin Fritters Fra Diavolo

My Grandmother, “Little Nonnie” Maria Giambrone was a true Sicilian–from Castel Termini, a little village in the Sicani Mountains. She emigrated to East Haven, Connecticut sometime around 1910. She stood a whole 4 feet ten inches tall. When she arrived in the U.S. she married my big brute of a grandfather, Antonino Orlando. He was from another remote mountain village, Prizzi. I am not positive, but I believe it may have been an arranged marriage. Prizzi and Castel Termini are about 40 KM apart, but traveling that mountainous terrain back in the early 1900’s must have been quite a challenge. Go, donkey, go! Little Nonnie birthed nine kids, seven boys snd two girls. She feed them through the depression and WW II, having her last child, my uncle Bobby in 1936 when she was 46 years old.

Raising such a large family of mostly burley men drove Little Nonnie to use her Sicilian instincts. She was magically resourceful in the kitchen. Even when I was a kid I was lucky enough to have enjoyed some of her Piatti Poveri. Ok, so the raccoon cacciatore and eel stew were both was pretty scary, but her mystery soups, thrice cooked casseroles and of course her fried veggies were kids dream food. 

Yep, she loved to fry vegetables. My grandfather and my uncles truck farmed on leased properties and there was also a large garden at Nonnie’s house, so there was always an abundance of fresh veggies in summer and fall. Nothing was every wasted. Nonna would batter or breadcrumb and fry just about anything from the garden, including the trim and stuff too ugly for market, and fry it up for us grandkids. In October, when we cut our jack-o-lanterns, the noses, eyes, mouths and other dismembered sections of removed from the pumpkins were deftly encrusted in lightly seasoned breadcrumbs, kissed by the hot oil until golden, and served hot, dusted with Pecorino cheese and a bowl of zesty tomato sauce for dipping. Yes, pumpkin is one of my favorite veggies to fry alla Nonna! This recipe for fried pumpkin certainly derives from the Zucca Fritta that you will encounter in fall in Sicily and Southern Italy.