I like a man who is serious about sweets.  Giuseppe Trapani, a 4th generation torrone maker in Sicily, fits the bill.

When he welcomed me into the Torronificio Trapani, he’d already been at work since 4.00 am preparing the first batch of his secret family recipe for torrone.  Since torrone is a traditional sweet in Italy at Christmas time, Giuseppe’s Christmas season begins the first of October, when his torronificio goes into high gear, making 2 batches of torrone a day.  That’s about 70 kilos (155 lbs) of torrone, which seemed like an enormous amount to me, but Giuseppe told me that it had already been reserved for customers.

In the spotless kitchen of the Torronificio Trapani, the air is suffused with the fragrance of honey.   Several people sat at a marble table busily wrapping tiny chocolate-covered torroncini, big pans of toasted almonds were being pulled out of the oven, and a machine held a huge mixing bowl where a combination of honey and egg whites was being heated and stirred, becoming a thick white cream.  I’d stepped into torrone heaven.

I’d already done extensive tasting of almond nougat from some very good artisan torrone makers (forget the commercial ones, which are like eating a sickeningly sweet sponge mixed with sawdust and ersatz flavorings) but when I first tasted Torrone Trapani, it was clearly the best, and I was here to get to the sweet heart of the matter.

Giuseppe explains what makes his torrone so good: high quality ingredients and no skimping on the almonds.  (Of course, there is also the secret to his recipe, which he isn’t revealing.) While some large-scale commercial producers of torrone use as little as 10% of almonds in their product,  Torronificio Trapani uses close to 70%.  The almonds are locally grown, not the cheap imported ones, or the California almonds that Giuseppe pronounced to be “woody and tasteless”.  His  almonds come from the highly prized almond varieties grown near Noto, and they are slowly toasted to a rich golden brown. The honey he uses is also local, and is fragrant of orange blossoms, which contributes to the torrone’s unique taste.

Giuseppe was constantly on the move – in fact he never stood still long enough for me to snap his picture – checking the consistency of the batch in the mixer, making sure the almonds are toasted to perfection then added at just the right temperature, and that each chocolate-covered torroncino is cooled properly before wrapping.  I am beginning to see that the real “secret” in the recipe is Giuseppe’s know-how and constant vigilance, as he strives to make every batch of torrone consistently perfect.

Giuseppe’s Aunt Maria is helping out. She has been making torrone for 30 years, though she admits that she no longer likes to eat it.  Don’t worry, I think, I’ll eat your share.  She remembers when all this work was done by hand – heating the honey and egg white mixture over a coal fire in a big copper pot, and stirring the mixture for several hours.  “Difficilissimo,” she says, sounding tired at the mere thought. Then the pots were scrubbed with ashes and lemon juice, and polished until gleaming with a white cotton cloth.  She shakes her head in wonderment. 

In 1986, Giuseppe asked an engineer to design a machine that would mimic his hand movements as he mixed the honey and egg white mixture, and this helped him increase his production with a larger batch that couldn’t be mixed by hand. Then in 1996, he decided to investigate the use of the machine that he now has on the premises, to see if he could replicate his torrone with a device that both mixed and heated. He traveled to Milan to try out the machine, mixing his batches of torrone and adjusting the temperature and paddle of the machine until he was satisfied that he could make the same excellent caliber of torrone. Only then did he buy the machine, which allowed him to double his production.

There is still a lot of hand work involved in Giuseppe’s torrone business.  When Giuseppe pronounces the torrone in the mixer ready, the staff snaps to attention and works like a well-trained relay team.  One fellow piles the warm nougat mixture on a wooden board on a scale. When the needle hits exactly 7 kilos, he passes the board to a table, where 2 people pat the nougat down into an even layer, then pass it to Giuseppe. He inverts the mixture into a shallow rectangular mold that was previously lined with edible wafer paper, then vigorously works a rolling pin over the torrone mixture until it uniformly fills the mold.  He places the mold on a rack and another person covers it with wafer paper, and lets it rest.  This procedure is repeated nine times.

The cooled nougat is then cut – first with a machine that scores the torrone, then finished by hand with a pizza cutter – which releases an intense aroma of toasted almonds.  Mixed with the sweet fragrance of honey, the air becomes almost edible.

Torronificio Trapani’s classic torrone bianco is available with almonds, a combination of almonds and pistachios, with hazelnuts, or as individual almond torroncini, covered in dark or white chocolate.  I stocked up on a variety before stepping out into the disappointingly sugar-free air. 

Before I got to my car, I’d already unwrapped a torroncino.  The dark chocolate coating was paper thin, just barely beginning to melt against my anxious fingers. And inside, oh my.  It was packed with crunchy almonds, toasted to perfection, with just the right amount of creamy filling holding it all together in a sweet embrace.  Torrone heaven.

Torrone Trapani can be found in several pastry shops in the area – Pasticceria Di Pasquale in Ragusa and the wonderful Rosy Bar in the Sacro Cuore district of Modica – as well as the larger DiMeglio supermarkets. 

Or go straight to the source:
Torronificio Trapani -Via del Mercato 66

Giarratana (RG) 

Tel 0932 975014

Read similar stories:

Hunt for Wild Asparagus

Almond Milk Recipe

Weeds for Cheese

Two new fixed price lunch menus are now available at Ragusa’s Il Duomo, the first restaurant in Sicily to be awarded two Michelin stars.  Discerning diners can taste the creations of chef Ciccio Sultano by choosing from a 45 euro menu and a 59 euro menu, both of which offer 3-courses featuring an antipasto, main course and dessert, along with several “mini-courses” that allow the diner to get an excellent sampling of  the restaurant’s cuisine. 

The 59-euro menu is truly all-inclusive, as wines are paired with the meal – all you have to do is sit down and eat…and drink.  There are no other charges, a welcome treat in these economic times.

As with all of Sultano’s cooking, the fixed-price menus adhere to using locally-sourced ingredients, a trait I have always liked about Il Duomo.  Certainly there are advantages to being located in Sicily, where there is an enormous variety of fruits and vegetables, artisan cheeses and superb olive oil, as well as exquisitely fresh fish and traditionally farmed meats, whereas a Michelin restaurant in the Dolomites does not have such a food bounty close at hand. 

Once you’ve gotten hooked on Il Duomo’s fixed price lunches, you might take the plunge and splurge at dinner, with the 150 euro fixed price “Sequilla” menu with wine (that I thoroughly  enjoyed with a group of travelers last spring) or celebrate the holidays with a new 12-course festa menu at 170 euro with wines included.   Once again, there are no other charges.   Except for the taxi, when you can’t manage to stagger back to your hotel on foot.

Il Duomo is located in the center of Ragusa Ibla, right near – you guessed it – the Duomo!  It is closed at lunch on Monday, and all day Sunday. You can make reservations through their website.

View our Trip that Dines at Il Duomo

Read Similar Stories:

Almond Harvest in Sicily

A Cooking Class in Sicily

Heirloom Apples from Mt. Etna

I am not generally a morning person.

But one thing that will get me out of bed in a flash is the prospect of a great breakfast.

For the best hotel breakfast with a view in Italy, my vote goes to the Grand Hotel Timeo in Taormina, Sicily. Sitting out on the expansive terrace, below is the sea and the lush gardens of citrus trees and bougainvilla, while the backdrop against the sky is the magnificent Mt Etna volcano, puffing like a steam train.  This is the same magnificent view the ancient Greeks enjoyed from their theatre (which is just behind the hotel).  The breakfast buffet features Sicilian specialties such as granita and brioche - a typical summer breakfast in Sicily – or refreshing almond milk, all fit for a Greek god.  It personally like to start with a plateful of tiny flaky pastries, and sip a cappuccino in the  captivating presence of Mt. Etna.  Join us here on our Splendors of Sicily walking tour.

In northern Italy, the Hotel Rosa Alpina in the town of San Cassiano in the Dolomites is my favorite place for the best classic hotel breakfast in Italy.  The moment you walk into the airy room overlooking the mountains you are enveloped in the yeasty buttery scents that are the essence of breakfast.  The first thing you physically encounter is a table laden with huge variety of homemade bread warm from the oven – I’m always tempted to just pull up a chair right there and do a high carb feast. 

But then I spy a fellow in a chef’s hat  ready to cook eggs to order, and I watch as he drops a big lump of butter into a sizzling copper pan.  The eggs have dark orange yolks and wow, they really taste of eggs.

All the Rosa Alpina’s breakfast ingredients are top notch and much is locally sourced – sweet butter from high alpine farms, jams thick with tart berries, huge bowls of creamy yogurt, fresh squeezed juices, perfectly ripe fruit, paper-thin slices of smoky speck, and hunks of local cheeses.  There’s a selection of cereal for the fiber-fiends, hot chocolate for the decadent, and good coffee made just the way you want.

The serving staff is friendly without being intrusive, and after your first breakfast, will remember your preferences the next day.  “Will you be having your regular cappuccino (or herb tea or espresso doppio?)”  the waitress will ask, as if you’ve been having breakfast there for years.  Tablecloths are pristine linen and seats have comfy cushions, inviting a long leisurely breakfast.    It’s a great way to start the day before a beautiful hike on our Wildflowers in the Dolomites walking tour.

Yesterday, I went to see a friend in Noto, about 40 minutes from my house near Modica, and ignored the obvious route on a map, turning instead onto a back road, where I saw  a total of 2 cars in 20 kilometers (one of which was parked. ) 

Fueled by Caffè Sicilia’s good coffee and a hunk of creamy strawberry cake, I took a different road on my return, one which is full of twists and turns and lovely landscapes. Not once along the way did I encounter a sign for Modica.  

If I had taken the main road signed to Modica, I would have encountered this:

Admittedly, on the back roads that I am fond of, there is occasionally a traffic jam.  It looks like this:

And there are other hazards.  Beware of  wildflowers trying to push their way through your open car window:

For those in a hurry, these minor roads can actually get you to your destination just as quickly as the main roads, but the countryside is so lovely that you are compelled to at least slow down, if not come to a complete stop to admire it. 

Right now is the beginning of haying season, and the countryside is cloaked in myriad shades of green with beautiful patterns carved into the landscape.

If you see a road sign like this, you’d be forgiven for being confused. Or pissed off.  Once you’ve lived in Sicily for a while, you hardly notice these things; you just turn left towards Palazzolo Acreide.  Don’t worry – if you are driving in Sicily, you’ll probably never get to this sign, which is located on a beautiful minor road that is blissfully free of traffic.  Instead,  you’ll be arguing with your spouse about finding parking a space.  Or worse yet, having a lousy lunch.

I am occasionally stopped by wild-eyed tourists, desperate to find their hotel in a maze of streets that are narrower than their rental car.  Or having seen a sign for their destination, have foolishly followed it, only to become hopelessly lost.  Sound like a vacation?  Not to me. 

It took me years to find many of the routes I now take for granted, and every season offers a different color and texture to the landscape, along with something good to eat. These are the things I want visitors to appreciate when they come to Sicily, so if you are in my neighborhood, let me show you around.  You’ll enjoy a relaxing time, and insider sites not found in every guidebook.  You can learn to cook, or take walks in the countryside or the Mt Etna volcano- whatever you do, you’ll be assured of a great lunch.  And a parking spot.

Italian Connection offers small group scheduled departures in Sicily, with walking tours, cooking classes, and visits to archeological sites.  If these dates don’t fit your travel plans, call us to book a private custom tour with everything your little heart desires.  1-800-462-7911.

The 88th edition of the Arena of Verona’s Opera Festival is subtitled ‘Franco Zeffirelli and the Arena,” as the 2010 season is dedicated to this great Italian director.  Known for his spectacular stage sets (and at times criticized for being over the top and flamboyant at all costs) Franco Zeffirelli has the honor of directing the entire opera season in Verona, and has designed all of the stage sets. 

The schedule for the summer 2010 opera season in the outdoor arena of Verona includes Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida and Il Trovatore, Georges Bizet’s Carmen, and Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and Turandot  – this last is a newly designed stage set for the Verona opera. The opera season in Verona runs from June 18 to August 29th, 2010.

I love an evening in this 2000-year old amphitheatre as an opera singer’s voice floats on a summer breeze, and I recommend springing for the best seats, particularly if you want to get a good view of Zeffirelli’s spectacular set.nIf you go for a cheap seat, you can also rent a seat cushion, as the stone “seat” seems to get infinitely harder as the evening progresses. 

The city of Verona is also a short train ride from Bolzano, the gateway to the Dolomites.  Combine summer opera in the beautiful Roman amphitheatre in Verona with walking in the Dolomites, and enjoy a spectacular setting for both opera and hiking.  You’ll love the opera in Verona, but you’ll want to escape the summer heat of the city, and the Dolomites is the perfect place to escape to, for wildflowers walks and cool summer evenings.

Details:
You can view schedules and  book opera tickets on-line at the opera of Verona website. 

Book your hotel in Verona early- opera season is high season. 
I recommend the 4-star Hotel Accademia or the 3-star Hotel Torcolo, both within a short walk of the Arena of Verona.

In Bolzano, stay at the historic Hotel Laurin in the town center, a short walk from the rail station and the archeology museum with the 5000-year old Ice Man.

See Special Offers for hiking and walking tours in the Dolomites.

Located between the towns of Montepulciano and Pienza in southern Tuscany, the Podere Dionora is a luxurious 6-room boutique hotel set in the midst of 100 acres of peaceful countryside with outstanding views.  It offers the services of a top luxury hotel with the warmth and intimacy of a private Tuscan villa.  The rooms offer a combination of classic Tuscan design with fine linens and  luxurious  bathrooms while the extensive gardens feature a stunning new pool with views stretching across the Val d’Orcia.  Perhaps the best part of the Podere Dionora is the warm welcoming service that makes any stay extraordinary.  I have personally stayed at the Podere Dionora on many occasions, and from the moment I walked in the front door, it felt as welcoming as a second home, while fulfilling that heady desire to experience living in a luxurious fully-staffed Tuscan villa.   If only it were forever!

Italian Connection has been a loyal partner of Podere Dionora since it first opened 12 years ago, and we stay here on our Tuscany Hilltowns walking tour.  We are now able to offer exclusive savings and complimentary perks to independent travelers:

• 20% off regular room rates, any time, with no minimum stay.
• Complimentary bottle of Dionora’s Rosso DOC wine
• Free room upgrade upon arrival (based on availability)

Special Italian Connection rates at the Dionora can only be booked directly through the hotel.   When inquiring about availability on their website,  under “Requests” please specify the discount code “IC20-Anita” to receive 20% off the Dionora’s rack rates. 

Podere Dionora has long been a favorite on our Tuscany Hilltowns tour as well as for private groups of family & friends, who rent all the rooms for the wonderful experience of staying in a fully-staffed villa in one of the most beautiful parts of Tuscany with spectacular walking.   Podere Dionora is the kind of place that invites you to leave your worries behind. You can just kick back and relax at the gorgeous pool, or hire a private guide and driver for a day exploring the beautiful Tuscan hill towns, or wine tasting at nearby wineries.  The Dionora is in a strategic position for visiting many towns in Tuscany and Umbria, and dining in excellent restaurants with authentic Tuscan cuisine. We can organize a private tour for 2 or more people, with the Podere Dionora as your base. Call 780-438-5712 to discuss your tour.

I made the much touted Lemon Cake from the book, and found it to be light, delicate and moist.  The unusual step of pouring a kind of “lemonade” (lemon juice, sugar and water) mixture over the cake at several intervals, allowing it to absorb slowly into the cake, made this recipe unique.  Here is my version of Mamma Agata’s Lemon Cake Recipe.

The premise behind the Mamma Agata cookbook is that cooking should be simple, and done with passion. Most of the recipes are quite simple, relying on quality ingredients rather than innovation, which is the key to Italian home-cooking.  Like most southern Italian cuisine there is a reliance on fresh tomatoes, eggplant, fresh herbs, lemons and plenty of good extra-virgin oil.

Equally important are tips on technique – dubbed Mamma Agata’s “secrets” – that make a difference in the taste of a dish or final result.  These “secrets” also give one the sense that Mamma Agata is looking over your shoulder as you are cooking, making sure that you are doing things right.

The cookbook is based on recipes from Mamma Agata’s cooking class on the Amalfi Coast, but it is also the story of a family’s passion for their land and home.  Yes, it does happen to be in a fabulous spot on the chic Amalfi Coast, but it is also a home that has been in the family for generations and is still strongly rooted in tradition. In flipping through the full-color pages of  Mamma Agata’s cookbook, it is hard not to succumb to the enthusiasm of the author Chiara Lima (Mamma Agata’s daughter).  She is the type of person that writes an e-mail with sentences ending in 10 exclamation points, behavior that I find annoying in other people, but that is somehow endearing and genuine when it comes to Chiara.

Negatives:  The story of Mamma Agata and her experience as a young girl cooking for famous people was interesting, but got to be tiresome when repeated throughout the book, and some of the posed pictures with children and their very clean Mamma Agata aprons were just a tad too precious.   There are also a number of typos in the book and some recipes would benefit from being more concise.

Still, all in all the book is an obvious labor of love, and the color photos evoke the warmth and sunshine of the Amalfi Coast.  This made the book expensive to produce, resulting in a price tag of 35 euro (about $50 USD).  www.mammaagata.com

Traditionally Italians escape from the city on Sundays, going to a relative’s home, or a country restaurant for a leisurely Sunday lunch with their family. Here in Sicily, the casual atmosphere of an agriturismo – a farm restaurant – means the whole family is welcome, so when no one is up to the task of cooking all day for a big family, this is a popular alternative to a family home. 

I have found that most of the agriturismi in the Ragusa area of Sicily serve essentially the same thing, with the mainstays being focacce, ricotta-stuffed ravioli, and grilled sausages. Unfortunately, just because something is “homemade” and comes from a farm does not make it good. Often the pasta is thick and heavy, the edges of the ravioli not fully cooked, and the dining room cold and damp in winter.  Perhaps worst of all, big bottles of Coke adorn the tables in an attempt to keep the kids quiet (along with a special kids menu that often includes french fries!)  So much for tradition.  And we wonder why many southern Italian kids are decidedly pudgy. 

One agriturismo that deserves high marks for the quality of their food is the Case Passamonte, below the town of Chiaramonte and near the road to Comiso in the province of Ragusa Sicily.  And rather than Coke, bottles of the house Nero d’Avola wine adorn the tables.  While the wine is young and a bit rough, it seems to pair well with the rustic food.    A small wood stove provided some heat in the high-ceilinged room – the body heat of the other 100 guests would provide the rest.

Like most agriturismi, the food is served to the entire dining room at once – no point in coming early, as they don’t start serving until everyone is seated.  And there is far too much food for a normal person (i.e. non-Sicilian) to consume, but the quality is excellent and the price low.  We paid just 19 euro per person for our gargantuan meal with house wine.

There were 2 large rooms packed with families when we arrived – most tables had 8-14 people – and we were the only table of two, feeling like a pair of lonely orphans but glad that the screaming babies were not ours. A connecting room held the huge old millstone from what was once an olive press, and the cobblestone floor was slippery with the oil of the last hundred years, and as the lunch progressed, became a favorite place for kids to run around in a frantic dangerous game of tag.  No one seemed to mind any of this, not even the waiters carrying massive trays of food, who skillfully dodged the wild kids.  They’d obviously done this before.  

The antipasto had a nice variety and the cook a deft touch with the focaccia. In the Ragusa area, some focacce are made of dough rolled paper thin, then topped with a filling before being rolled or folded and baked. Others are made like a turnover, with a thicker bread-like crust and a vegetable filling.  The Case Passamonte proved to be particularly adept in making the thin variety, as the dough was perfectly crisp. All the fillings were also excellent – simple ricotta and parsley or fava beans, and potato with a sun-dried tomato relish called capuliata.  The rest of the antipasto plate was filled with spiced green olives, 2 types of soft cheeses, pickled eggplant, and tiny arancini, the savory rice balls that are a Sicilian specialty.   This might constitute lunch in many people’s book, but we had just begun.

Next came a couple of pasta dishes – thin, roughly cut malfatti pasta strips with bits of sausage, broccoli & walnuts, and hand-shaped cavatelli dressed with sweet tomato conserve and sharp salted ricotta – followed by a rice dish flavored with wild fennel.  After that session of carbo-loading, there were thin slices of roast pork with almonds and mustard greens and another meat that I can’t recall because we both refused it, weakly waving our white napkins in a sign of surrender.  Although we had sworn we could eat no more, about 20 minutes later, when the warm ricotta fritters arrived, we forced ourselves to try them, and ended up eating them all and licking our finger of the sugary cinnamon coating. 

We skipped out on the lethal concoctions of limoncello and nocino (made from alcohol and walnuts) ostensibly served as a “digestive,” yet still nearly tripped over the cobblestones on our way to the coffee bar.  Fortified by strong espresso, we staggered out into the winter sunshine 4 hours after our arrival, full of the delights of Sunday lunch in Sicily.

Note: Many agriturismi also offer rooms.  In Sicily this accommodation is often very basic, bordering on grim.  I would recommend that you eat but not sleep at Case Passamonte.  Stay in Ragusa and drive to Case Passamonte for Sunday lunch.

Agriturismo Case Passamonte
Contrada Cavapiana
Chiaramonte Gulfi, Ragusa

From Ragusa, take the SS 514 main road towards Catania. Exit at Chiaramonte Gulfi, turn right and follow frequent signs for Case Passamonte. The last section is on a bumpy dirt road-don’t bring the Ferrari.
Reservations are necessary as Sunday lunch is normally a sell out. 
Tel: 0932 925 256 or cell 339 2923186

Walkers, hikers, foodies, and art & culture buffs tell about their walking, culinary or cultural tour with Italian Connection – from the Dolomites to Tuscany to Sicily and everywhere in between.

Traditional food in a light airy dining room at very reasonable prices has quickly made Cucina a popular dining place in Palermo. Open just a few months, the restaurant’s menu changes daily and is recited at your table or posted outside on a blackboard. Tables are set with paper napkins, a basket of bread and straw-covered flasks brimming with the house red wine, a Nero d’Avola.

As the friendly owner told us about the day’s menu, a welcome antipasto was plunked down on our table. We munched this tomato salad with bits of tuna, celery, and cipolotto, drank a little wine, then sopped up the good olive oil left in the dish, and at last felt fortified to make our menu decisions.

Emanuele, who loves any kind of greens, chose escarole soup to start, and I chose a pasta dish made with anchovies that is typical of Palermo. I had eaten a mediocre version of this dish the night before in another restaurant, and I was anxious to erase that disappointing memory. A huge portion of steaming bucatini arrived, and one forkful erased my bad memories. The dish was a perfect balance of flavors and textures: the sharp saltiness of anchovies did not overpower the dish and was offset by the sweetness of raisins and a touch of concentrated tomato, while the smooth texture was interrupted by crunchy pine nuts and toasted breadcrumbs. Being a generous person, especially when I have too much to eat in front of me, I offered to switch dishes with Emanuele when I was half-way through the pasta. He’d been looking longingly at my pasta over his escarole soup and immediately agreed. The escarole soup was, well, full of escarole, and had an aromatic flavor I traced to fresh bay leaves, but it wasn’t as complex as my pasta. I ate it anyway.

For our second courses, I ordered a simply grilled fresh tuna (May and June are when tuna is local) with a side dish of sautéed seasonal greens, which was, surprise, more escarole! The tuna slice was thin, but tender and moist. It was lightly dressed with oil, lemon and parsley, and I ate every bite. Emanuele had grilled fresh calamari, and judging from the minuscule sample he gave me, they were sweet and tender. A side dish of patate al forno, were perfectly prepared, brown and crispy on the outside with just a slightly oily coating, soft inside, and spiced with black pepper and rosemary. He reluctantly shared, but kept the plate of potatoes on his side of the table. By the time we finished, the dining room was packed with Palermitani, and there was a line outside the door.

Though we were tempted by some enormous cannoli being served to a table near us, we decided to temporarily skip dessert, opting for a stroll and a gelato. We paid our extremely reasonable bill of 40 euro, pleased to have discovered a great new restaurant in Palermo.

Details: Cucina is located at Via Principe di Villafranca 54, (between via Agrigento and via Catania) and reservations are recommended. Tel: 091 626 8416. Closed Sunday.