If you happen to be in Palermo do not miss out on the chance of immersing yourself in the color, smells and sounds of the local food markets. It's all about street food and for non Sicilians, even Italians, they are places where a truly unique fusion of culinary influences over many centuries can be experienced.

To enjoy it best, leave your diet regime at home and allow yourself to be carried where your taste buds take you.

Firstly, try sfincione which is  focaccia bread fried with onions. Then there is 'stigghiola'  which requires a bit of braveness as it is a quite strong flavor dish. It's a sausage cooked with barbecue and made with liver of lamb, provola cheese, onions, boiled eggs, entrails of lamb, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper. People who had it confirm that's delicious!

Known for its elaborate masks and allegorical floats, the Carnival of Acireale, province of Catania, in Sicily is considered to be one of the most beautiful celebrations in Italy this time of year.

In a process requiring time and patience as well as talent, local artisans create floats made out of paper-mache or flowers, a local tradition dating all the way back to the 1600s. Displays often depict the satirical masks of celebrities and competition is fierce as prizes are awarded to the best floats in each category.

This classic Sicilian cheese is known as a 'caciocavallo'. It is delicate, soft, sweet and a pale yellow colour if eaten young. A maturing period longer than six months gives the cheese a spicier flavour and a harder crust.

The 'stagionato' cheese is usually grated at the meal table. But many eat the slices cooked in olive oil, salt and pepper having been given a covering of whipped egg. Its called 'cascavaddu frittu cu l'uva'.

Ragusano DOP cheese is in fact made from, and only from, the full fat or 'intero' milk of the Modicana breed. They are reared in the Ragusa hinterland and the town of Modica in particular. The meat from the breed can also be found in numerous pasta dishes.

There are two Ragusas to visit. One is new and called 'superiore', the other is the old baroque heart of the city and called 'inferiore'. Confusingly, Ragusa 'inferiore' is built on the hill and is the medieval and renaissance quarter.

The old town is called Ibla and contains fantastic ecclesiastical buildings such as the 18th century Church of San Giorgio Nuovo (1739-1775) and the Church of S.Maria delle Scale which, as the name suggests, requires a climb of 242 steps to get into it. The church we see today was rebuilt in 1693. Ibla was originally just a Byzantine castle owned by a local count and was called Hybla.

The province of Ragusa is the most southernly in all Italy. Surpisingly, further south than many parts of Tunisia. It is a land of hills and stone walls which slope gradually to the Mediterranean sea and fanned by African breezes.

This pistachio pie recipe is taken from an email we received from the very excellent website Mare in Italy.

This biscuits recipe has been kindly provided by Hotel Villa Enrica in Lipari, Eolian Island.

This Christmas salad from Sicily includes capers, chicory, lemons and green olives, but herrings and orange slices make ideal ingredient alternatives.

Follow it up with such dishes as chicken broth, pasta with sardines, bacon with capon and classic festive sweets as almond 'mustazzoli'  or mostaccioli and apple torrone with hazelnuts and pistacchio nuts.

This easy and quick recipe comes from The Eolian Islands and exactly from Lipari where the capers are the typical local product. This is a cold dish which means that in the summer you can put it on the fridge and eat it later. An alternaive is to make a 'pesto' of capers with a spaghetti pasta, or maybe you can use a short pasta such as penne, which is normally more practical if you are having a buffet party or taking lunch on the beach

Sicilian dessert from Messina

Mediterranean cous cous dish with fish from San Vito Lo Capo

ingredients

For the pasta: semola di grano duro per cous cous Kg 1, Acqua lt 0,300 circa, Cipolle rosse di Salemi 1, media, Aglio di Nubia 3/4 spicchi, Olio extravergine di oliva 100 gr.circa, Prezzemolo, una manciata appena tagliuzzato, Mandorle imbiondite e tritate gr.80, Sale, pepe, peperoncino q.b.