Making Giuggiulena (Sicilian Sesame Seed Nougat)
The Sicilians love for all things sweet has ancient roots and in antiquity honey on the island was prized for sweetening local produce. When the Arabs arrived in Sicily in the ninth century they brought sugar cane, crystallized fruit and other delicious goodies such as sugared almonds. They also left much more than sugary traces behind in the form of stunning architecture and flavoursome cuisine. The sugar cane industry flourished in Sicily until the late fifteenth century when, with the discovery of the New World, the sugar plantations moved across the Atlantic. The Sicilian sugar industry responded to foreign competition but survived only until the late seventeenth century. When in Sicily one look in the window of a Sicilian pasticceria will make you forget any thoughts of the so called Mediterranean diet. The sweetness of nuts and sugar seem to waft in the air and lure you inside like a child in a candy shop. Amongst other delicious produce that our fertile volcanic land provid
