Named for the ancient Siculi King Hyblon, the Hyblaean Mountains (i Monti Iblei), in southeastern Sicily, are characterized by limestone rock formations, sloping mountains, and some of the most picturesque towns on the island. The Baroque villages of Ragusa, Modica, Noto, and Scicli are built into the hillsides, begging visitors to wander up winding roads to take in one exceptional view after another. But the most heavenly tour through this corner of Sicily is a gastronomic one. The local plant and animal life cultivated throughout these volcanic mountains make for some of the most flavorful and unique culinary traditions on the island.
It seems only fitting to start with the most iconic of Sicilian sweets, the cannolo. Pistachio-studded or cocoa-dusted, the fried pastry shell that oozes with fresh ricotta just cannot be replicated off the island. However, the Ragusa region stands apart with a traditional ricotta made from cow’s milk instead of the more ubiquitous sheep’s milk. While many Italians insist that ricotta should be pecora-infused, others relish the mild creaminess of a ricotta ragusana.
The famed golden-hued brick of ragusano PDO cheese is also made from cow’s milk, and more specifically, from the rare Modicana cow breed. Once numbering over 20,000, there are now only a couple thousand of this deep-red-hued bovine left in the local livestock population. Not only does her milk go into making the ragusano cheese, but into the local caciocavallo and provola cheeses as well.
The more understated but equally important Ragusano culinary superstar is the almond. The most famous varieties of these dry fruits hail from the Noto and Avola areas, and go into the creation of classic pasticcini across Sicily. They are used to make everything from marzipan and the ubiquitous, tender, and soft Sicilian cookies studded with pine nuts, pistachios, and candied cherries, to spectacular gelato and granita. Several years ago local pastry maker and owner of Noto’s Caffè Sicilia, Corrado Assenza, shot to attention for his profile on Netflix’s Chef’s Table. His passion for his native land led to his work in promoting the cultivation and preservation of the local almonds. Of course, one should not forgo an opportunity to pick up some almond-based pastry from his cafe, but just for a fair comparison, it’s a good idea to frequent nearby rival Caffè Costanzo for a scoop of their almond gelato as well.
Other fruits of the fertile land appear in the form of the Pachino tomatoes, the Tonda Iblea olive and beans, both the cosaruciaru (dialect for “sweet thing”) and the fava cottoia. While the sweet tomatoes were only introduced to Sicily in the 1980s, they are now a well-known and beloved IGP tomato. Frequently appearing on menus in a variety of dishes, their flavor can best be enjoyed in a simple sugo tossed with pasta. Meanwhile, the Tonda Iblea variety of olive produces a bold and captivating extra-virgin olive oil that leaves the flavor of tomato coating the tongue and enlivens meats, pastas, and soups with its unique taste. Throughout Ragusa, this is the olive oil that will be found on tables. And the two varieties of beans from this area are being promoted by the Slow Food Movement to help preserve the land’s biodiversity. The creamy, white-with-maroon-coloring cosaruciaru hails from Scicli, and needs the younger generation to get involved in its cultivation to continue as a crop in the future. The bean can be used to make a hearty soup, notable for its sweetness. The fava cottoiacomes from neighboring Modica, and while not as popular in kitchens today, it speaks to the history of the land from decades ago, when it fed both field workers and the Modicana cow.
The local produce, cheeses, and meats are then combined to create traditional pastries both savory and sweet throughout the Hyblaean towns. Versions of scacce abound on the island, but the scacce ragusane are folded like a layered pizza, and filled with local flavors like Giarratana onions, tomato sauce, and fresh ragusano cheese. Pastieri ragusani are mini “volcanos,” meat-filled pastry cups typically made during the Easter week in Ragusa, also featuring the ragusano caciocavallo cheese combined with a pork and veal mixture that’s tucked into a pastry shell made with strutto, a type of lard commonly used in southern Italian baking.
Similar to the scacce is the sfuogghiu, or sfoglio ragusano, a Ragusa Christmas Eve preparation that’s also a type of savory puff pastry meat pie stuffed with sausage, cow’s milk ricotta and frittola (a pork product that doesn’t melt off during lard production). This pie is still made today in homes and sold at bakeries, and is frequently served topped with sugar and cinnamon.
During the last Saturday in May, the town of Scicli celebrates its patron saint, Maria Santissima delle Milizie. Local festivities include a reenactment of the Turkish invasion of the Normans, and just as the latter are about to be defeated, the patron saint appears and the Turks retreat in a display of fireworks. The sweetest part of the celebration comes in consuming the testa di turco, a local confection whose turban shape is inspired by the losing party, made of a big beignet that’s sliced in two and typically sandwiched with fresh, sweet ricotta or pastry cream and chocolate chips. As is typical of Sicilian pastry, the dough is made using lard rather than butter, and requires plenty of eggs.
For many, a trip through the region of the Baroque cities is worth it simply for the sights, whether it’s the panoramic vistas from the top of Ragusa Ibla, the limestone churches in Noto, or the dwellings built up and down into Modica’s canyon. But scratch the surface and you’ll find that the culinary traditions of the Hyblaean Mountain communities are just as powerful, beckoning taste buds with the edible riches of the Sicilian land.
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