Eat Like a Sicilian: 15 Delicious Recipes from This Beautiful Italian Island

Sheep's milk ricotta is one of the defining tastes of Sicily. In its fresh form as a soft creamy cheese, it can a shine in savory and sweet preparations alike. Served on toasted bread with a drizzle of honey, like this, is as simply satisfying as it gets.

Ricotta salata is the pressed and salted version of ricotta. It can be shaved, grated, or crumbled. Here it adds an edge to this salad of another essential Sicilian ingredient: brilliant blood oranges.

Tuna has long been one of the mainstays of Sicilian coastal communities, and out of necessity a method was developed for preserving portions of the large fish. You can poach it gently in olive oil—the result is luscious and filling to use as a topping for bruschetta or salad.

When it's really hot, this salad is what a Sicilian might eat to cool down. It uses just a few ingredients, including ricotta salata, which makes the sweetness of watermelon sing.

Eggplants have long been a favorite ingredient in Sicilian cooking, most famously in pasta alla Norma. The eggplant is often fried in lots of olive oil until golden and soft, but this version uses less oil and the steam from cooking to soften the eggplant. Traditionally the pasta is seasoned with salty ricotta salata, but this lighter version is finished with fresh ricotta, which makes a creamy sauce when stirred in.

Breadcrumbs are used all over Sicily as an economical way of stretching ingredients and adding texture. Here, a simple pasta dish uses onions for sweetness and anchovies as a savory backbone, finished with crunchy crumbs sprinkled on at the last minute.

Pasta can take on the layered, agrodolce—or sweet and sour flavors of the eggplant relish known as caponata, too, as it does with this delectable spaghetti dish.

Though they vacated almost 900 years ago, the Arabs left a strong mark on the cuisine of Sicily. Couscous is part of their legacy.

In Sicily, couscous is most often served with a rich, savory seafood stew, similar to this New World cioppino.

Cooling ices and granitas are said to have originated on the island of Sicily. This palate-cleansing version is served in tiny citrus cups, though espresso cups would do just as well.

Zesty Meyer lemon meets creamy gelato in a refreshing Sicilian-style treat.

This is a pared-down version of cassata, consisting of layers of simple cake and a rich filling. It veers from the traditional cassata in other ways, featuring brandied cherries and syrup in place of candied fruits and skipping the marzipan altogether.

A pretty Sicilian cookie with a classic filling of dried fruits and spices, buccellati are a winter staple.

Go ahead and get out your fryer; you'll make everyone happy by making traditional cannoli.

Take a cue from Martha, who pulls out all the stops in true Sicilian style, with this decadent, icebox-cake cannoli rendition.