Welcoming the new season
Spring 2023
Dreaming of Sicily
We have travelled quite a bit through Italy and have yet to reach the magical island of Sicily, however, we have always been drawn to the flavors of Sicilian cuisine that have made their way into our meals both at home and abroad. This season we are sharing our favorite discoveries to inspire our next trip…and hopefully yours!
Spring 2023
MIke's Playlist
According to Mike, the only way to prepare a meal or sip a glass of wine is with music playing in the background. So each season he curates a collection of his favorite songs for enjoying your Tavola and Tavola + Vino specialties.
Taggiasca Olives with Citrus
The perfect combination! Although Taggiasca olives are a Tuscan delicacy, the lemon and orange citrus notes are unmistakably Sicilian. Give the jar a good shake to make sure each olive is coated in flavor. Toss these over fennel and orange salads, roasted branzino or chicken, or enjoy as the perfect addition to an aperitivo spread.
Ingredients: Pitted DOP Taggiasca Olives, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Lemon Peel, Orange Peel, Salt
Taralli Cipolla & Uvetta
Sicily is known for agrodolce – the combination of both sour (agro) and sweet (dolce) flavors. Danieli’s Taralli Cipolla e Uvetta are a delicious melding of savory onions and sweet sultanas (dried white grapes). They are rich with the flavor of high-quality extra virgin olive oil and have an outstanding flaky texture. Once you’ve had one, it is hard to resist eating the entire bag of these crunchy, ring-shaped snacks. Taralli are an essential component of an aperitivo in southern Italy. Enjoy with salumi, olives, and other antipasti along with a glass of wine!
Ingredients: Wheat flour, olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, brewer yeast, white wine, sliced onions, raisins, salt.
Tomatos & Capers
The Sicilian climate creates an ideal environment for growing capers, which is why they are so prevalent in Sicilian cuisine. This balanced sweet and acidic tomato sauce is the Belfiore family’s own recipe. Garlic, capers, and olives come together to create a gutsy tomato sauce that pairs beautifully with all pastas.
At the Mirogallo family farm, sun-ripened heirloom tomatoes are picked at the perfect point of ripeness to ensure unequaled color and flavor.
Ingredients: tomato purée, extra virgin olive oil, olives, capers, salt, sugar, basil, garlic
Organic Timilia Busiate
This heirloom wheat busiate pasta has a unique nutty flavor of Timilia, the ancient varietal of durum wheat native to Sicily. Rustichella d’Abruzzo’s heirloom busiate pasta is made with organic timilia flour and Apennine mountain spring water. The pasta is extruded through bronze dies, creating a rough surface ideal for sauces to cling to and a pleasing al dente texture. Traditionally made by rolling strips of pasta dough around a buso (a thick knitting needle), this short, curly shape is a staple in many Sicilian kitchens. Enjoy it with the tomato and caper sauce or honor a Sicilian tradition of Pesto alla Trapanese, made with basil, almonds, garlic, olive oil and fresh tomatoes.
Ingredients: Timilia organic durum semi-wholewheat semolina, water
Pistacchiosa
Pistachios get the luxury treatment in this unbelievably smooth, sweet spread from Il Colle del Gusto. Extra virgin olive oil lends a glossy sheen and velvety texture, but the flavor is all pistachio. The high percentage of Sicilian pistachio paste in this dreamy jarful makes for an intensely nutty flavor and aroma that enchants the second you pop open the lid.
We love to eat this right out of the jar, but you can also enjoy Pistacchiosa spooned over ice cream and spread on toast or bread.
Gold Award Winner sofi Awards Competition 2015
Ingredients: Sicilian pistachios, sugar, extra virgin olive oil, rice flour, sunflower lecithin as emulsifier
Amaretti Alla Mandorla
Almond paste cookies are a Sicilian delicacy that has slowly made its way into pastry cases all over Italy and we are thrilled to include them in this season’s box. These incredible, soft hand-shaped almond cookies from Marabissi are available only twice a year during the Easter and Christmas holidays.
These treats are wonderful with your morning coffee or after dinner with a glass of sweet Italian wine.
Ingredients:
Torrone Siciliano al Cioccolato
Torrone is synonmous with Sicily and visits to Italian family homes. This season, each box has an assortent of Fiasconaro chocolate-covered torrone to share (or not) with your own loved ones. Fiasconaro is a family run business in Sicily started in 1953 by Mario Fiasconaro. Today his three sons are at the head of the company and continue the tradition of making this exceptional torrone. Imported from Castelbuono in Sicily, these soft Sicilian torrone with almonds chocolate-covered flavored with lemon, coffee, orange, milk, white and dark chocolate.
Aperitivo Forks
We could not resist including these bite-sized aperitivo forks in this season’s box because they are a perfect (and stylish!) way to enjoy the citrus taggiasca olives.
Aperitivo, a.k.a happy hour, is a fundamental aspect of Italian life and culture. Unwind and discover delicious snacks and tapas with these bite-sized aperitivo forks while enjoying a refreshing apéritif. Made from the Italian “function first” philosophy, artisans from Umbria, Italy craft these bite-sized forks from Italian olivewood and stainless steel, showcasing the dramatic variations in tone and pattern that make each one of a kind.
This Season’s Vino
Donnafugata Tancredi
TERRE SICILIANE IGT, SICILIA
Donnafugata’s Tancredi is one of Sicily’s most popular red wines, and it’s easy to see why. The 2017 Tancredi is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Nero d’Avola. The wine is creamy and dense with excellent concentration and a smooth style that makes for easy sipping. Donnafugata is a Sicilian wine company was founded in the 1980s by the Rallo family, who have a winemaking history dating back to the 19th Century.