Custonaci is a culinary experience between sea and countryside, accompanied by quality olive oil and excellent local wine. In the local cuisine, fish couscous takes centre stage, but Custonaci’s seafood tradition is a realm of sea bass, bream, and tuna, served in succulent roasts, enticing dishes, and perfectly fried specialities. Among the area’s delicacies, “pane cunzato” and fine-quality local meats dazzle: they are true gastronomic stars that embody this land’s passion. Rustic country cooking offers the flavours of ricotta-filled cassatelle in broth, roasted kid and lamb infused with the aromas of bay leaves and rosemary. Desserts such as sfincie, ricotta cassatelle, and pignolata delight the palate at the end of a meal or during festive occasions.
These are small, soft doughnuts made with flour and potatoes, fried in oil and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Fluffy and airy like tiny sponges (from which their name is said to come), sfincie are traditional Christmas sweets, featuring typical Sicilian flavours such as anise, zibibbo grapes, and citrus fruits in the dough.
Ricotta cassatelle are typical of inland Sicily, where sheep’s milk cheese production is widespread. They are small, crescent-shaped pastry parcels enclosing a filling of fresh sheep ricotta mixed with sugar and chocolate chips. The cassatelle are then fried and dusted with powdered sugar. However, cassatelle can also be enjoyed as a savoury dish: in this version, the filling consists of plain ricotta with a little salt, and the stuffed crescents are cooked in a meat broth.
In a land of olive groves like Custonaci, extra virgin olive oil is the key ingredient in all recipes and also the protagonist of the table, best enjoyed simply with a piece of bread. The excellence of the area’s olive oil production lies in the native olive varieties cultivated here: Cerasuola and Nocellara del Belice are the most widely grown. Due to its organoleptic properties, its golden-green colour, and spicy flavour, Custonaci’s extra virgin olive oil is recognized as a PDO excellence under the Valli Trapanesi denomination.
Busiate are the typical pasta shape from the province of Trapani, made from durum wheat semolina and characterized by their twisted, long fusilli-like form. Their name originates from the ancient method of pasta-making. To give Busiate their distinctive shape, strips of pasta were twisted around a branch of “buso,” a local plant, dried out and used as a kitchen tool. The curls of Busiate can be paired with meat, fish, or vegetarian sauces, but they remain unmatched in their traditional pairing with Trapanese Pesto.
Pesto Trapanese is a traditional local recipe, perfect to enjoy on warm crostini or as a pasta sauce. It is characterised by a strong garlic presence, which gives it its name in the local dialect. The ingredients of Pesto Trapanese are all Sicilian gastronomic excellences: basil mixed with almonds, tomatoes, Red Garlic of Nubia, and extra virgin olive oil. It is a vegan pesto suitable for all palates that appreciate strong and fresh flavours.
The origin of this dish dates back to the Arab domination of Sicily during medieval times. Over the centuries, the legacy of Maghreb peoples blended with the ingredients of Sicily’s sea and land: bluefish soup replaced meat and vegetables, creating a magical connection between distant lands at the table. In the lengthy preparation of fish couscous, semolina grains are moistened and “clumped together” in the typical container called mafaradda, using slow, circular finger movements. The semolina is then steamed with bay leaves, cinnamon, and other herbs. After cooking, the semolina is fluffed and drenched in fish broth, giving it a unique and flavoursome taste of the sea.
Pignolata is a traditional dessert with origins dating back to the Arab era. It consists of small balls of fried dough, golden and crisp, arranged into a pyramid shape and coated with warm honey and colourful sprinkles. Pignolata is a typical treat during Carnival but is also prepared for other celebrations or special occasions. Its humble origins have made it a convivial dessert, perfect for sharing with family or friends. Today, it is prepared both at home and in pastry shops, maintaining its authenticity and delicious appeal.
Pane cunzato (which literally translated from Sicilian means “seasoned bread”) originated as “poor man’s bread,” prepared by farmers with few ingredients but intense flavour. The base is a loaf of homemade bread, often wood-fired, which is opened and enriched with extra virgin olive oil, fresh tomatoes, oregano, anchovies, and cheese, typically pecorino or tuma. Pane cunzato is particularly widespread in Custonaci, a land of fine olive oil, and in the province of Trapani, where it is one of the most beloved specialties among tourists and locals as it is easy to prepare and carry to the beach on summer days. Still today, pane cunzato is served in bakeries and traditional eateries.
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