Notes about Recipes in this book

• Sicilian lasagna bread (Scaccia)

  • alysekstokes on November 13, 2021

    Made this with caciocavallo and it was huge hit. It's filling! A square of this works as a lunch on its own (or with a light salad).

• Sicilian cheese and cauliflower bread 'pie' (Impanata Catanese)

  • Yildiz100 on April 05, 2022

    Doubled the salt in the dough, still not too salty. Dough was very thick compared to a classic impanata, even though I rolled mine out considerably thinner. WAAAAY too much cheese. Definitely serves more than 4 people!

• Fried olives with smoked mozzarella and dried chilli

  • joneshayley on January 01, 2022

    Used jarred pitted olives. Salty creamy savoury snacks. Great for guest snacks

• Fried potatoes, pecorino cream and truffle

  • joneshayley on August 31, 2021

    I roasted rather than fried the potatoes, but don’t think they’ve lost much flavour for that. This is the fanciest cheesy chips you’ll get- absolutely lovely.

• Baked conchiglioni with pumpkin and rosemary

  • Yildiz100 on November 29, 2021

    I made this, omitting the mascarpone from the sauce and reducing the amount of butter in the bechamel (used my normal ratios) and this was still VERY rich. Nice flavors though. Would make this again but continue to tweak the ingredients. I think the squash maybe needs a bit of cheese blended in.

  • Clareefielden on October 28, 2025

    This is a very rich dish but truly delicious. Definitely take the time to make the brown butter as it adds another layer of deliciousness.

• Ricotta, Parmesan and lemon ravioli with wild garlic

  • joneshayley on September 10, 2021

    Rich but light- the lemon garlic butter really lifts this. One of the best uovo I’ve made

• Lemon, Parmesan, chilli and basil linguine

  • Lepa on August 28, 2021

    This dish simple, summery and good.

• Pasta braised with kale, tomato cruda and pecorino

  • lkgrover on July 12, 2022

    Good vegetarian pasta with lots of vegetables.

• Trapani-style cus cus

  • Clareefielden on October 28, 2025

    Definitely include the nut pesto - it takes the dish to another level.

• Pork, orange and mint ragù with fusilli

  • joneshayley on August 27, 2021

    A very rich and unctuous ragu, very unusual. Enjoyed it, but unsure whether I’d make it again.

  • stepharama1 on January 24, 2022

    We loved this! It is very rich (as noted in another comment) but that's what makes it so yummy along with its intriguing blend of flavors. I used whole wheat pasta and the sauce paired wonderfully with it. I used good quality smoked bacon rather than pancetta and used parsley rather than mint since that's what I had in the fridge.

  • Lepa on March 15, 2023

    This was okay but we didn't love it. The effort to result ratio definitely didn't work for me.

• Goat ragù and busiate

  • joneshayley on September 13, 2021

    I made this with lamb mince as goat is impossible to get in my area. I really enjoyed this, deep and savoury. An easy and delicious ragu.

• Burrata on bruschetta with stewed courgettes and fennel with marjoram

  • joneshayley on September 01, 2021

    Amazing recipe- the cold stewed veg alongside the burrata makes for a flavour packed and delicious bite. I loved the complexity of the fennel and herb infused veg, and think that cooling allowed for everything to infuse together that much more. I served as a starter which worked well, but I think this would be fabulous served on mini melba toasts for canapés.

• Aeolian-style summer salad

  • joneshayley on September 15, 2021

    Delicious! The toppings make this!

  • treay on February 10, 2026

    I changed the salad a bit to use up some produce from the fridge. Used small tomatoes and added some avocado. Also I marinated the onions with salt and vinegar (we prefer them this way) and used sherry vinegar instead of saba because I couldn't find any. Our only complain were the fresh oregano leaves. Will leave out next time I make it. Lovely flavours!

• Chilled green beans with toasted almonds, shallots, raisins and orange

  • joneshayley on September 15, 2021

    Great recipe! Would be great at a bbq or summer spread

• Watermelon, chicory and salty pecorino salad

  • mjes on August 23, 2021

    With the watermelon season soon to end, this seemed like the perfect first recipe in the book to try. I find myself of mixed minds - if I saw it on a restaurant menu I would likely order it but I am unlikely to make it again at home. If I were to repeat the recipe, I would make the melon pieces a slightly larger dice so that there was more pure watermelon without the dressing.

• Sicilian lentil and ditalina soup

  • Lepa on June 01, 2022

    This is good but not as good as Marcella's lentil soup with pasta. Maybe using broth instead of water would have done the trick? Overall, a fine soup but not outstanding.

• Grilled garden onions wrapped in guanciale

  • joneshayley on August 29, 2021

    Delightful snack, definitely make the suggested sauce it’s perfectly complementary and makes this dish.

• Baked cod with courgettes, rosemary, Marsala and brown crab

  • Pinkrupee on November 06, 2022

    Really delicious combination, even without the Marsala, which I forgot to put in! Took 25 rather than 20 minutes to cook the cod.

• Whole roast chicken stuffed with wild fennel, lemon leaves, garlic and bay

  • joneshayley on September 20, 2021

    Absolutely lovely! Rick particularly loved the sauce, it’s flavourful and delicious.

• Sicilian pork and fennel sausage with red wine, grapes and honey

  • joneshayley on September 15, 2021

    What a perfect way to cook good quality sausages! The sauce with the grapes and rosemary are outstanding.

• Pork, chilli and marjoram polpette cooked with lemon and lemon leaves

  • stepharama1 on December 02, 2021

    Excellent. I substituted fresh basil for marjoram and used 1/2 small fresh red pepper plus Trader Joe's fermented Calabrian hot pepper since I had no fresh hot pepper. Otherwise I pretty much followed the recipe - using Meyer lemons. I was suspicious that this included no garlic or onion but the recipe was so aromatic and the lemon, basil and parmesan played off each other so well that the alliums were not missed.

• Veal braciole stuffed with 'nduja, raisins and pine nuts

  • joneshayley on September 12, 2021

    Made with pork. This is delicious and delivers sweet spicy salty savoury goodness. Unusual and well balanced . Very very nice. Served with the tomatoes salad from the book rather than the suggested tomato sauce, which paired perfectly and I’d serve them together again .

• Kissing biscuits (Baci panteschi)

  • joneshayley on September 17, 2021

    Really lovely, crispy and light. One for a special occasion as they are so beautiful.

• Strawberry, almond and rosewater cake with mascarpone

  • AllieTaylor on May 20, 2024

    This cake was delicious BUT, for me, the timing was quite out. The recipe says 50 mins…I set the timer for 45 mins but that was too much — I got distracted by an important call (Grr!). It was overbaked and even burnt in places but still very good. My audience was a professional foodie and a former professional pastry chef. Both had seconds and wanted some for breakfast the next day! I made the compote and the mascarpone (well, I didn’t have any mascarpone, so I used Philadelphia with a bit of 36% cream to loosen it up - it was delish!). Where I live, I can’t get local strawberries at the same time as roses, so I didn’t make the candied rose petals for decoration. I would definitely make this again and I recommend it! Watch the time baking…try 40 mins and check!

• Chocolate and ricotta-filled doughnuts (Iris)

  • joneshayley on September 20, 2021

    Awful dough- too wet. The ricotta splits in the donut and the dough just doesn’t cook easily . I fried and baked eventually to get the dough cooked through

• Sicilian lemon cream with stewed mulberries or blackberries

  • Yildiz100 on January 05, 2025

    A little disappointed as this was kind of a waste of mascarpone. Flavor was just like lemon possett but a little grainy. Could have just made possett with heavy cream only and it would have been smoother. Also too sweet as written.

• Pine nut and saffron sauce

  • joneshayley on August 29, 2021

    Absolutely lovely sauce- brilliantly complimentary to the onions suggested in the book

• Fresh egg pasta dough

  • stepharama1 on December 07, 2021

    This dough has an excellent texture and bite. Even though I measured the flour on a kitchen scale, I needed to add an extra egg before the dough would hold together. It then made a firm dough that was a joy to roll on my pasta machine.

• Wrap Your Lips Around This

  I looked at some of [the recipes] in more detail and was put off by niche ingredients or high-faff levels. Then I tried a couple, hit success, and loved the book all over again.

  Full review

• Kavey Eats

  They’re well-written and the Arab-Italian flavour combinations are different enough to capture the imagination whilst still being very accessible in terms of techniques and ingredients.

  Full review