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Another snack food available from street vendors are these small squares of fried batter made from chickpea flour and a sprinkling of parsley, then topped with salt and lemon juice.

The amazing variety of pasta dishes makes use of all the bounty Sicily has to offer. A typical Palermitan dish is pasta con le sarde (with sardines, fennel, pine nuts, raisins and anchovies). The pasta itself, made with local durum wheat, is firm and full of flavour.

Maria Grammatico spent many years in the orphanage inside Erice’s cloistered San Carlo monastery, learning the nuns’ centuries-old recipes for their dolci , the sale of which provided their keep. The sweets are the opposite of monastic life: colourful and luxurious – try sospiri (sighs), cuore (hearts) and cuscinetti (little pillows).

The oldest pastry shop in Trapani, run by three generations of the Colicchia family. Their summertime speciality is granita served with an aniseed biscuit; in winter you’ll find the best cannoli in Sicily.

Since 1880 the Russo family has been producing Catanese pastries using the finest of local ingredients, including pistachios, almonds, oranges and honey.

The Caviezel family came to Catania from Switzerland in 1914 to make Swiss pastries. Now their recipes have been Sicilianized, although French buttercream still features in their pastries.

At his estate near Sambuca di Sicilia, Diego Planeta and family plant both indigenous and international grapes – taste La Segreta Rosso (Nero d’Avola with Merlot and Syrah).

This gateway to the city was erected in 1535 as a triumphal arch to commemorate Charles V’s victory in Tunis.

Preserved tuna was a staple food for centuries on ships sailing the Mediterranean, and tuna as well as anchovies and sardines are still big business. At Sciacca, anchovies and sardines are processed by hand and packed under salt or olive oil for export all over the world.

The estate near Valledolmo has been in the Tasca d’Almerita family since 1830. Alongside traditional Sicilian wines Regaleali also bottles international varieties. Their reds, based on Nero d’Avola, include Regaleali Rosso and the Rosso del Conte; whites primarily of Inzolia and their own VarietàTasca, include Villa Tasca and Nozze d’Oro.