White Almond Sicily

  When at home in Sicily it is always such a temptation to eat out in restaurants and trattorias all the time but I do really enjoy cooking in my Sicilian kitchen.  The kitchen is the beating heart of every Sicilian home.  In Autumn in Sicily we cook and eat hearty and cosy  dishes in our Sicilian kitchen like  caponata  (a tomato, pepper and aubergine sweet and sour stew),  zucca agrodolce  (sweet and sour pumpkin), pasta dishes with the cream of chestnuts or walnuts, pasta with pistachio pesto and speck, or a meaty Ragù sauce. Dishes using mushrooms from Mount Etna, purple cabbage with garlic and parmesan, fennel dishes, pollo cacciatore (a country chicken stew), chickpea and rosemary soup and lentil soup plus lots of barbecued meats like involtini (meat rolls with various stuffing, coated in breadcrumbs), pork and salisiccia (sicilian sausage) and fish like tuna and swordfish. One of my favourite cosy autumnal and wintery  dishes to ma...

Autumn, or as my lovely followers across the pond in the United States call it “Fall”, is harvest time, in Sicily this means there are many food festivals with some honouring the islands nut produce such as pistachios, chestnuts, walnuts and hazelnuts.  Every year in September into October the  Sagra della Noce  (Festival of Walnuts) takes place in Motta Camastra, a small hilltop town in the stunning Alcantara Valley not far from our town Giardini Naxos. This town is renowned for its walnut trees and is known as "the village of walnuts". During the festival, on stands on the streets of the town, we can taste all things nutty, like sweets, liqueurs, creams, walnut oil and of course buy big bags full of what I think are the best walnuts in the world. Sicily is also home to the world’s most famous variety of pistachio, the pistachio  Verde di Bronte  (Green Pistachio of Bronte). Centred around the town of Bronte, which sits under the shadows of Mount Etna, the pist...

Taormina has always been renowned as a destination for British visitors ever since the 18th Century with many leaving a legacy of history and romance giving the town a quintessential British touch. From the Grand Tour to poets, writers, movie stars and pop idols you can find evidence of the British Isles everywhere.  In the 18th century British aristocracy would embark on what was known as 'The Grand Tour' visiting all of continental Europe enjoying the culture and embarking on purchasing fine works of art and antiques. Taormina was an obligatory stop on The Grand Tour and has played host to foreign visitors ever since. Being the last stop on the tour many decided to stay and make Taormina their home. Visitors chose Taormina for its peaceful location and beautiful landscapes with many drawing inspiration for paintings, poems and novels. They enjoyed Taormina’s glamourous way of life, with afternoon teas and soirees in beautiful villas and lus...