Flavours of Sicily two days

Flavours of Sicily: a two day gastronomic weekend in Sicily
between 3 and 8 participants

Over the time of a weekend, Passage to Sicily proposes to take you into a world of sensorial delights. With our scholars and chefs, delve into Palermo’s vibrant markets and baroque churches, discover traditional foods and wines, and explore the culinary heritage of the island with a hands-on cooking class in an enchanting 19^th century villa.

: A stall at the Capo market

: involtini of sardines with an orange and lemon coulis

: learning to cut filets

: Porticello

: Cheers!

: All senses out!

: Sarde a Beccafico

: Piazza Pretoria, Palermo

: Fresh lemons from Marta Messeri's orchard

: Cannoli scomparsi dor dessert

Itinerary

Day 1 – Guided tour of Palermo’s markets and their churches and lunch in the Capo market.

Day 2 – Cooking class and lunch at the historical Villa Messeri, Porticello

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1

9.30 -12.30: Guided tour of Palermo’s markets and their baroque churches. Indulge in the city’s ‘street food’!

You will discover:

The city’s historic markets, their popular atmosphere and sensuality and the ingredients of Sicilian cuisine.
The most stunning churches of the markets, which are no less rich than the fresh local products displayed on the city’s market stalls. We will visit Santa Maria del Carmine and Casa Professa in Ballaro, and S. Agostino and L’Immacolata Concezione in the Capo: all are sumptuous Baroque churches decorated by some of the most famous Sicilian artists.
Palermo’s famous street food, an authentic and popular cuisine. You will savour such specialties as: Arancine (fried rice balls filled with either meat ragù, béchamel, ham or butter), sfincione (deep pan pizza with fresh tomato sauce, onions, anchovies and cheese), and pane e pannelle (fried chickpea flour pancakes seasoned with lemon juice).

Free afternoon. We will provide you with information on the various places of interest that you may want to visit such as the Cathedral and the Palatine Chapel.

Day 2

10.00-15.30: Cooking class and lunch at Villa Messeri

You will take part in a three hours interactive cooking class in a Villa ‘Liberty’ that is located right by the sea at Porticello, about 25 km from Palermo.

Marta Messeri is one of Palermo’s rising chefs and is mentioned in this year Slow Food Osteria Guide. Both Marta and Chef Daniel Marchese will guide you through the preparation of original Sicilian dishes. Amateurs of seafood will be pleased, for Marta and Daniel live by the sea in Porticello, and use fresh products of the day, which they get directly from fishermen at the port. The menu depends on the fish of the day.

As an example, you may prepare and enjoy the following menu:

Antipasto: Cruidité of red shrimp on fresh salad leaves and citrus fruit
Primi: Tartar of mackerel and fresh tomatoes and tortino of marinated anchovies with fennel and oranges.
Secondi: Maltagliati pasta with sautéed mullet, wild fennel shoots, tenerubi (local green) raisins and toasted almonds – Spaghetti with wild asparagus and artichokes sautéed in white wine.
Dolce: Cannolo scomposto (elaboration on the traditional Sicilian cannoli with ricotta)
All the wines served are Sicilian.

After lunch, you can take a digestive walk in the villa’s enchanting garden, and/or by the sea.

Transport: We will travel to and from Villa Messeri by train, for it is fast (the traffic in and around Palermo is often extremely dense) and ecological. The villa is a 15mn walk from the station, through the village of Porticello.

Return to Palermo at around 16H30. End of the weekend.

This itinerary’s carbon footprint is minimal as the visit to palermo’s markets is done on foot, and Porticello is reached by train.

Price of the weekend per person: € 245.00

The price includes:
-          Guided visits to churches led by an academic
-          Saturday and Sunday lunches
-          A cooking class at Villa Messeri
-          Train fares, organisation and booking costs.

The price of the weekend excludes accomodation, air fare and airport transfers, although we can offer advice on all the latter.

Contact us to book your private group gastronomy tour, we will let you know about our availabilities and answer any questions you may have.