Sicilian Cassata is a traditional Sicilian cake, made with sweetened ricotta cheese (traditionally of sheep), sponge cake, marzipan, candied fruit and icing sugar. In spite of the apparent simplicity of the recipe, there are many local variations. Especially the appearance can vary from a thin decoration, with icing and a bit ‘of candied orange peel, to a rich decoration, with colored beads and half a dozen of different candied fruits. According to the local variations, there may be additional ingredients, such as pistachios, pine nuts, chocolate, cinnamon, maraschino or orange blossom water.

Trapani pasta with pesto (pasta cull’agghia, in Sicilian dialect) is a typical dish of Trapani, extended in the province. It is considered as a Sicilian traditional food product. It’s a not cooked salsa. The main ingredients are basil, tomatoes, almonds (of Avola). Busiata is the most traditional kind of Pasta used for this recipe. It is a fresh pasta, like macaroni twisted with a branch of Buso. Another old used pasta are gnoccoli, long about 15 cm and half wide, “hollow” by hand with ten fingers. But you can also use bucatini or linguine. Other ingredients of the classical recipe are: garlic (typically red garlic of Nubia), extra virgin olive oil (the intense one, DOP Valli Trapanesi or Valle del Belice), almonds of Avola, Sicilian pecorino PDO cheese, basil and black pepper.

For four people

Cannoli are one of the most best-known specialties of Sicilian pastry. In origin they were prepared during the Carnival; over time their preparation hasn’t been occasional, but now it develops all over the national territory, quickly becoming a popular example of Italian confectionery in the world.

Ingredients for about 8 cannoli

The typical Trapani pizza, or however the one known only in the areas of western Sicily, is the “rianata”. Its name is derived from abundant quantity of marjoram (called “Ariano” in our dialect). This pizza, thick form, is sold in bakeries and pizzerias.

Ingredients

Arancini (or rice balls), pride of Sicilian cuisine, are small timbales of rise, suitable to be consumed as a snack or as an appetizer, main course or as a main dish too. In Sicily you will find them anywhere and at any time, always warm and fragrant in many chip shops: from city to city their shape and size often change, assuming oval, pear-shaped or round features, depending on the filling, which is often varied. You can find rice balls with meat sauce, ham, cheese, ricotta and spinach … and so on!

In Sicily, especially in Trapani and in the surrounding areas as Favignana, San Vito Lo Capo, the “Cous cous” ( “Cuscusu” in Sicilian dialect), is used almost daily. The semolina is mixed ( “incocciata” ) and then steamed in a special perforated glazed earthenware pot. But the sauce, in contrast to the Maghreb, is “Ghiotta”, a mix of seafood soup (red scorpion, black scorpion fish, grouper, vopa, gurnard, luvaro, Anguilla of Trapani Salinas, with some shrimp or escape). The original version of the Couscous requires, in addition to the big grain semolina, some special tools, including the “mafaradda” ( a special container of clay coated curved walls, with a flat bottom, in which the grains of semolina are mixed) and the cuscusiera, or the “pignata di cuscusu”, (which is a kind of painted clay pot with many holes).

Ingredients

Pasta with sardines ( Pasta chi sardi , in Sicilian dialect) is a typical dish of Sicilian cuisine and it is considered a seasonal dish: you can prepare it from March to September, that’s to say, in the only time of the year in which the sardines are fresh to the market and you can collect wild fennel in the fields. There are many variations. One of the most important is the Pasta with Trappitara sardines, a recipe jealously

Ingredients for 4 people

Potatoes Sfinci are a sweet preparation, typically Sicilian. In particular, in the province of Trapani, these tasty treats are served with the cooked must. A formidable couple that offers unique sensations for the palate.

Ingredients