This site, Great Italian Chefs, is worth looking at. It is part of the Great British Chefs website and on this site you will find information about some of the different regions of Italy and regional recipes.
The recipes are ‘great’ and are by professional chefs.
I too have posted many of these recipes on my blog and a passatempo – pass-the-time, a diversion, you could compare their recipes with mine.
Easter (Pasqua) is a significant religious celebration in Sicily, also associated with the arrival of spring.
As a predominantly Catholic country, religious observances in certain regions may extend beyond the Easter weekend. Sicily, in particular, is renowned for its rituals and traditions, with processions and solemn religious ceremonies held throughout the weeks preceding Easter Sunday.
I was in Enna on the Sunday following Easter, which is known as ‘Albis’.
I witnessed the procession, which comprised all-male groups of various ages and sodalities or confraternities from different churches or fellowships. The procession travelled from Piazza Mazzini to the nearby Lombard castle in Enna.
From this point, the priest blessed the fields. The followers in the Procession held Professional Banners paired with statues of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
God The Father could also have been Saint Joseph . The association is understandable, as he is also linked to drought and fava beans (broad beans) and the blessing of crops to prevent famine.
OTHER LINKS AND EASTER RECIPES:
Easter Monday is called Pasquetta (small Easter). Being Spring, this is a popular time to enjoy the countryside and eating food outdoors, perhaps with a picnic or travelling to a nearby country restaurant and dining al fresco in the Spring sunshine (once again to celebrate the season).
Here are links to some of the traditional dishes eaten over Easter in Sicily:
Cassata Siciliana and marzipan (pasta reale) are among the most iconic Easter desserts of Sicily, closely tied to the island’s history, religious traditions and enduring love of elaborate sweets, and at the Food and Culture in Sicily Easter cookery workshop held by La Trobe University, I demonstrated the preparation and explained the layered history of these two classics of the Sicilian pastry tradition.
The workshop took place on 23 March 2013 as part of a broader program exploring Sicilian food, culture and history. Many participants were encountering cassata and traditional Sicilian marzipan for the first time and were pleasantly surprised by the delicate almond flavour and the richness of these historic desserts.
Food, Culture and the Mediterranean World
The session began with a lecture on the History of food and feasting in Sicily, Italy and the wider Mediterranean.
This was presented by Dr Gillian Shepherd, Lecturer in Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Director of the A.D. Trendall Research Centre for Ancient Mediterranean Studies at La Trobe University. Her talk explored literary and archaeological evidence for food production and consumption in the ancient world.
Following the lecture, I conducted a food workshop and cooking demonstration illustrating how the many cultures that ruled Sicily shaped its cuisine over centuries — including the Greek, Roman, Arab, French and Spanish influences that continue to define Sicilian cooking today.
Part of the demonstration to show how Cassata is made.
Cassata Siciliana reflects Sicily’s layered culinary history. The ingredients of ricotta, almonds, sugar, sponge cake and marzipan reveal centuries of influence, from Arab agriculture and Spanish baking to the refined pastry techniques of the French-trained monsù chefs who shaped the cassata we know today. Cassata was an ideal dessert to demonstrate this context. Its origins reflect Sicily’s layered cultural history and it has long been associated with Easter celebrations.
Although traditionally linked to Easter, cassata has also become popular at Christmas and other festive occasions.
Cassata, sliced, shows filling and marzipan layer.
Cassata and the Cultural Layers of Sicily
Cassata is often described as one of Sicily’s most iconic desserts, but it is more than a cake. It reflects Sicily’s long history as a crossroads of Mediterranean cultures, where different peoples — Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Spaniards, French and others — left their marks on the island’s cuisine.
Ancient Roots: Ricotta and the Name Cassata
Some historians trace the name cassata to the Latin caseus, meaning cheese. This connection is plausible given that ricotta, a fresh sheep’s milk cheese, forms the heart of the dessert. In Sicilian dialect the word for cheese is casu, and earlier forms such as caseata may have existed, suggesting a long-standing association between the name and the ricotta filling.
The Arab Legacy: Sugar, Almonds and Citrus
However, the most significant early influence is widely believed to be Arab. The Arabs occupied Sicily for several centuries, beginning with their invasion in 827 AD and consolidating control by 902 AD. During their rule they transformed Sicilian agriculture and introduced crops and ingredients that profoundly shaped the island’s sweets — sugar cane, almonds, citrus fruits and pistachios. They also brought a taste for desserts enriched with nuts, dried fruits and fragrant syrups.
Even the name cassata may have Arabic roots. Some scholars suggest it derives from the Arabic word qas’ah, meaning a deep bowl or basin, possibly the type of container in which early versions of the cake were shaped.
Spanish Influence: The Arrival ofPan di Spagna
Later layers were added during the long period of Spanish rule, which extended across several centuries — through the Angevins, Aragonese, Spanish viceroys and Bourbons — from the late 13th century until the mid-19th century. The sponge cake used in cassata is thought to date from this era. In Italian it is called pan di Spagna (“bread of Spain”), suggesting its Iberian connection.
The Monsù: French Refinement in Sicilian Kitchens
Another important influence came from the French-trained chefs known in Sicily as monsù. From the 18th century onwards, aristocratic households in Sicily employed these highly skilled cooks, whose name derived from the French monsieur. The monsù refined and elaborated many traditional dishes, including elaborate pastries and decorated desserts. Their techniques helped shape the more ornate cassata we recognise today, with carefully layered sponge, ricotta filling, candied fruits and the decorative covering of green marzipan (pasta reale).
Convent Traditions: Nuns and the Art of Sicilian Sweets
The refinement of these sweets also owes much to the nuns of Sicilian convents, who played an important role in preserving and elaborating the island’s pastry traditions. Within convent kitchens, sweets made with ricotta, sugar and almonds were carefully prepared for religious feasts, especially Easter. Over time, these cloistered communities perfected decorative techniques using marzipan (pasta reale) and candied fruits, contributing to the elaborate appearance and symbolic richness that cassata and other Sicilian festive desserts display today.
Like Sicily itself, cassata is not the creation of a single culture, but a dessert shaped by many hands over time.
**The photos of the mosaics are from Piazza Armerina that i visited in one of my many trips to Sicily. the mosaics are extensive in the renowned Villa Romana Del Casale, built in the mid-4th century ad as a hunting lodge. the villa boasts some of the best-preserved and extensive examples of Roman mosaics, covering approximately 3,500 square metres.
HOW Marzipan is made
Almonds and Marzipan in Sicily
Sicily produces large quantities of almonds, and almond meal is used extensively in traditional sweets and pastries.
The island is especially famous for marzipan fruit, colourful almond confections shaped to resemble fruits and vegetables. Sicilian pastry cooks have long been highly regarded throughout Italy for their skill in making these elaborate sweets.
Marzipan is also known as pasta reale, meaning “royal paste”.
Marzipan when made in the traditional method is made by cooking a strong syrup of sugar and water and then adding freshly ground almonds. The mixture is kneaded till smooth (like bread dough) and then shaped.
This is the original, traditional recipe for making Marzipan:
Over the years I have been making marzipan and adapting a recipe from Bitter Almonds, Recollections and Recipes from a Sicilian girlhood.
Maria Grammatico has a very famous pastry shop in Erice in Sicily and her recipes have been recorded by Mary Taylor Simeti.
In a food processor, grind the almonds with about 2 tablespoons of the sugar until very fine, almost powdery.
In a food processor or in an electric mixer, combine the nuts, the rest of the sugar, the water, vanilla, and the almond extract.
Process or mix until the paste is very smooth. Remove to a marble slab or other cold work surface dusted with confectioners’ sugar and knead briefly by hand.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Marzipan will keep almost indefinitely in the refrigerator.
A VERY EASY WAY TO MAKE MARZIPAN
Ingredients
2 cups ground almonds
1½ cups pure icing sugar
½ cup caster sugar
water as needed
I like the combination of icing sugar and caster sugar, as the caster sugar adds a slight crunch that complements the ground almonds.
When using fresh almonds, I prefer their natural flavour and usually omit vanilla, almond extract or Amaretto.
Method
I mix the sugars and almond meal with my fingers and gradually add water.
It is important to add the water slowly, because a mixture that is too wet will require more almonds and sugar to correct.
I knead the mixture much like bread dough, adding a little more water if necessary until the marzipan becomes smooth and pliable.
This is a simple decoration of one of the many Cassate I have made, which shows the marzipan coating.
Cassata on This Blog
This is not the first time I have written about cassata, marzipan or Easter desserts on this blog. There are several other posts exploring these themes and their place in Sicilian food traditions.
La Trobe in the City is designed for anyone with an interest in history, literature and / or ancient cultures.
Click on the link bellow for full details of the Lecture Series.
FOOD AND CULTURE IN SICILY: EASTER COOKERY WORKSHOP
This is one of the workshops offered as part of the lecture series.
Details of the workshop:
Saturday 23 March, 11.00am–3.00pm
Institute for Advanced Study, La Trobe University
Melbourne campus (Bundoora)
Presented by Gillian Shepherd and Marisa Raniolo Wilkins
Cost: $115 (full), $105 (discount)
Registration census date: Friday 15 March
This session will commence with a lecture on the history of food and feasting in Sicily, Italy and the Mediterranean.
Gillian Shepherd will focus on the literary and archaeological evidence for food production and consumption in the ancient world.
This will be accompanied by a food workshop.
Agrigento
Yesterday I visited La Trobe University at Bundoora to check out the venue and finalise the recipes for a demonstration/cooking class I am giving as part of the university’s lecture series on the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean.
The food that I’ll be talking about and cooking for the class reflects the ways Sicilian cuisine has been influenced by the dominant cultures of the Mediterranean from ancient times to the modern day, which includes Greek, Roman, Arabic, French and Spanish cultures.
Some of the recipes will be from my book Sicilian Seafood Cooking.
Since my cooking demonstration is planned for the weekend before Easter, it was natural to select some foods that would be prepared in Sicily at Easter, which is one of the most significant times of the year for Sicilians. Whether they were ruled by Greeks or Romans, Arabs or Spaniards, Easter in Sicily marks the start of Spring and a time of celebration.
It should be a very interesting session and I hope to see you there.
Marisa
About Gillian Shepherd:
Dr Gillian Shepherd is Lecturer in AncientMediterranean Studies and Director of the A.D. Trendall Research Centre for Ancient Mediterranean Studies at La Trobe University.
Gillian studied Classics and Fine Arts at theUniversity of Melbourne before going on to complete a PhD in Classical Archaeology at Trinity College, Cambridge, followed bya research fellowship at St Hugh’s College,Oxford.
Until her recent return to Australia to take up her position at La!Trobe University, Gillian was Lecturer in Classical Archaeology at the University of Birmingham, UK.
Her research interests are the ancient Greek colonisation of Sicily and Italy, burial customs,and the archaeology and art of Greece and Magna Graecia.
Like Sicily itself, cassata is not the creation of a single culture, but a dessert shaped by many hands over time.
