A delicious panino, but the pistachio pesto fails to make its mark...
Rating: 7/10
In any list of the best spots in Catania, you will find FUD - Bottega Sicula, famous for the high quality and careful selection of its ingredients. Browsing the menu, characterized by English names written "phonetically," your eye is drawn to the pistachio panino "Uonderful." The ingredients are: donkey mortadella from Chiaramonte Gulfi (RG), provola from the Madonie, and FUD pistachio pesto, all inside homemade seeded bread.
Did you notice anything strange? The pesto doesn't mention "Bronte DOP," so the doubt arises that it might not be made with local products, unlike what is specified for the mortadella and provola. Setting this aside, let's move on to the tasting!
Taking a bite of the panino, you will notice: the goodness of the bread, the intense flavor of the generous, thinly sliced mortadella, and the binding taste of the provola. And the pistachio pesto? Unfortunately, the latter basically only contributes an oily taste; in fact, only in the spots where it is particularly concentrated will you be able to sense a very slight pistachio flavor.
It must be acknowledged that FUD is generous with the amount of pesto in the panino, but unfortunately, it's not just quantity that counts. I am always very surprised to see how many places, FUD included, use pistachio pesto just as it is, like any other pesto, when anyone who has ever made even a simple "pasta al pistacchio" knows well that if you don't sauté it in a pan with some cream or Philadelphia, the pistachio flavor won't be released. Furthermore, some oil should be removed to prevent it from overpowering everything else.
Ultimately, it is a delicious panino, but one that could easily do without the pistachio pesto. Considering, however, that at times you can perceive it a little, the rating reaches 3 pistachios, but it absolutely cannot go any higher.
Editor's note: FUD is so highly regarded by the people of Catania (myself included) that I involved several tasters before writing this review and giving such a "significant" verdict.
