Ragusa

The story of the invention of this everyday household name changes depending on how you define it. If you think a pizza is an oven-baked flatbread, its origins lie in the ancient Middle East. If pizza must have toppings, its origins date back to the ancient Romans and Greeks, who baked flatbreads... Read more

Pizzolo is a unique type of pizza that is native to Sicily, topped with a base of olive oil, oregano, pepper, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and salt. If it is made in a savory version, it is then additionally topped with various greens, cheeses, and salami, and if it is made in a sweet version, it ... Read more

These decadent, crispy fried pastry tubes filled with luscious ricotta cheese cream are perhaps one of Sicily's best known desserts outside of Italy. Cannoli are believed to have originated around Palermo during the 9th century, while Sicily was under Arab rule. Legend has it that they were origi... Read more

Scaccia is a unique dish from the Sicilian province of Ragusa that can either be described as a cross between lasagna and calzone pizza or a stuffed flatbread. It's prepared by topping the thinly rolled dough with various ingredients, then folding it over itself so that it resembles a strudel... Read more

Mpanatigghi are small crescent-shaped, thin-crusted cookies filled with a mixture of sugar, chocolate, almonds, lemon peel, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, and one slightly unusual ingredient – ground beef. The name mpanatigghi is probably derived from the Spanish word empanada, ... Read more

Hailing from Sicily, ‘mpanate is a savory pie that has been traditionally prepared in the provinces of Catania, Syracuse, and Ragusa. Made with the same dough as focaccia (an Italian flatbread), the pie typically consists of two dough disks that encase a filling of savory ingredien... Read more

Trippa alla Ragusana is a unique variety of Italian tripe dishes, originating from Sicily. It's made with a combination of tripe and unusual ingredients such as eggplants, walnuts, broth, almonds, cinnamon, sugar, and grated caciocavallo cheese. The tripe are cooked in olive oil with the broth fo... Read more

Just as the name might indicate, Ragusano originates from the provinces of Ragusa as well as the neighboring Siracusa, and it is one of the oldest cheeses produced in Sicily, first mentioned in the early 1500s. This semi-hard cheese is made from whole milk from the free-range grazing ... Read more

Cioccolato di Modica is a traditional chocolate, that is manually ground and cold-processed, which gives it a unique grainy, sandy, crunchy texture and a peculiar aroma. The bitter cocoa paste is worked with sugar, and the flavor of the chocolate is sweet with some bitter notes. When eaten, the c... Read more

Listed as a traditional Italian food product, cipolla di Giarratana is a huge, very sweet variety of onion, grown only in the small Sicilian village of Giarratana, located in the Hyblaean Mountains. Ranging in size from 200 grams to 2 kg, they are often sold with a long stem, so they can... Read more

The cultivation of Carota Novella di Ispica began in the 1950s in Syracuse, but later the production spread to the neighboring province of Ragusa, particularly around the town of Ispica, where this variety of carrots is grown even today. They are obtained by cultivating the Daucus ca... Read more

Frappato is an Italian wine variety that is mostly associated with Sicily—where it is best known for its use in Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG. Although its ancestry has not been determined, Frappato is one of the oldest grape varieties in Sicily that has only recently risen to promine... Read more

Cerasuolo di Vittoria is a Sicilian appellation that is currently the only one with a DOCG status. Located in the south of Sicily, the appellation produces red wines with a blend of Nero d’Avola, which mainly provides weight and body, and Frappato—which contributes to the lig... Read more