Cardamom, cloves, broom and honey – aromatic and heady … Sundried tomatoes, plaits of garlic bulbs, strings of waxy red chilli peppers – hot, dusty and spicy … Caramel, vanilla, apricot and peach – sweet, rich and fruity, resonant of dolce. Cannoli was the dolce most ancient and most associated with Sicily – and with weddings too as it happened. This pastry tube filled with ricotta, honey and candied fruit was considered phallic and was originally served at weddings as a fertility symbol. Canna, meaning ‘cane’ also means the barrel of a gun. The cannoli scorza (the crunchy casing) must be deep fried for one minute in very hot oil – to seal in the sweetness. When they have drained and cooled, fill and sprinkle with icing sugar. Decorate with candied peel. Flavia smiled to herself. It was so rich and heady, almost too much for the palate. But she must include it here. No gaps. There were to be no gaps for Tess. And so, for the rest of the story, thought Flavia. * * * The first time Peter turned up at the Azzurro was less than a year after Lenny and Flavia were married.
