Sicilian Cuisine

Sicily, a fortunate land, whose location has drawn men, customs, colors and fragrances from all the Mediterranean countries.  A place where the East and the classical world, myths, Islam and Christianity, Africa, and Europe have fused together.

In the dishes our family recipes introduce us, we find the tastes from so many different lands that have contributed to forming this rich kaleidoscope of impetuous and masterful tastes.  Dishes amalgamated by the sun and the sea, which here is of a porcelain blue like that the majolica tiles in the cloisters, and the generosity and creativity of Sicilian cooks.

In the simple dishes, tied to the earth, we find the austerity of the classical period, when important school of cooking had already been formed in Sicily. The names of legendary cooks are mentioned by Plato and in Greek plays.  We owe stockfish and dried cod to the Norman domination.  Arab cooking which established itself here by force, left the combining of strong contrasting tastes, the bitter-sweet, the use of raisins in hot dishes, couscous, orange groves, and a precious gift, the delicious pastry-making: ranging from cannoli to cassata, and from almond paste fruit ice cream.