Sicilian Cooking Class in Taormina

While dining at a restaurant in Taormina where my friend Tony is a waiter, I casually mention my interest in taking some Italian cooking classes. I was in luck. Unbeknownst to me, the restaurant where he works, Osteria Santa Domenica, offers a Sicilian cooking class. And as of June 2019, the restaurant has changed it’s name from Red & White Hostaria to Osteria Santa Domenica.

Disclosure: This post includes an affiliate link, and if you click on it and buy something, I’ll possibly make a small commission. For more information, please read the sections about Disclosure and our Privacy Policy. 

Sicilian Food Staples

Sicily’s cuisine is often considered to come from, “God’s Kitchen.” It’s a very healthy cuisine based on fresh fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, artichokes, eggplant, beans, olive oils, onions, capers and more. These are often served along side the many fresh fish caught off the coastal waters, including tuna, swordfish, sea bream, sea bass, sardines and others.

Rice is also commonly used and I admit I love, “Arancini,” which are rice balls mixed with meat, peas, tomato sauce, and mozzarella, in any combination, that are breaded and then deep fried. Heavenly! Sicily is also know for their wide varieties of wines, and don’t get me started on the desserts! All I knew is I wanted to give it a try.

The owner, Gian Luca, is a social butterfly. He flitters by each table, introducing himself and his restaurant, which is open a bit over a year. He’s worked under numerous chefs in the past 10 years, and this is his first endeavour. Actually, the Red & White Hostaria started as a wine bar. Gian Luca is a trained sommelier, and the Hostaria originally offered a hefty menu of wines by the glass, Sicilian sausages, cheeses, olives and other nibbles. Little by little, he bought all the necessary equipment to open a full-blown kitchen. And now it’s the Osteria Santa Domenica!

Prep area in the kitchen

Gian Luca was speaking to the adjacent table, when he mentions he offers Sicilian cooking classes. The patron at the table pipes up with, ‘Oh, I’d loooove to do a Sicilian cooking class.’ And I, not being shy to acknowledge I’m eavesdropping, say, ‘I would, too.’

I was very impressed with the menu as it’s organic, and you can see the kitchen from outside. While the  menu is quite substantial, they always have 3-4 specials of the day based on what is fresh. So, we arrange to meet in a few days time, and I am happy to get some of my ‘to-do’ list organized.

Osteria Santa Domenica Taormina Sicily Location

Map Data ©2019 Google

How we started the day

I arrive at 9:30 and wait for the other couple in the class. In the meantime, Gian Luca brings me a traditional Sicilian Brioche with chocolate granita – think gelato, because that’s what it is. We share some conversation over the Granita and cappuccino, and wait even more. By now it’s 10:30 and the other couple appears to have bailed. On one hand it is sad because Gian Luca spent time arranging this; on the other, I have a private cooking class. We decide to wait no longer and head to the local market in Taormina to buy ingredients.

The village market in Taormina is close to the restaurant, but the trip takes a long time. Not that it takes long to get there, but because Gian Luca knows everyone! We have to stop and chit chat with everyone along the way.

Taormina is a lovely little town, very popular with tourists in high season. This means you’ll be waiting in lines, which can affect the type of experience you will have. Read my article about Things to do in Taormina Sicily to best plan your time there.

We wander the market sniffing fruit and basil, and ‘feeling-up’ eggplants. There are various cuts of meat to consider, and I learn how to pick the freshest fish. Then, we pick up some special flour for the macaroni. Gian Luca puts only three ingredients in whatever sauce he makes. Otherwise the flavors compete.

He creates the menu of the day with what is fresh, and even he doesn’t know what he’ll make until he scours the market. A fruit vendor hands me a juicy peach, which I gobble down, and the florist wraps up a rose for me. It now appears everyone knows me, too! With five shopping bags filled, we head back to the restaurant.

At the restaurant, I meet Davide, the head chef, and Claudio, the sous. Actually, it’s great the other couple didn’t show because the kitchen is quite small. When I arrive, I find a personalized apron with my name, the name of the restaurant, and a proper chef’s hat. I’m ready to go.

I now need to mimic Davide. We start by pouring a cup of flour onto the prep area, add a bit of salt, create a hole in the center and pour 1/4 cup of warm water along with a couple of twirls of olive oil. Then we start to fold it all together. I struggle with my mini ‘Mt Etna’ and water spreads uncontrollably all over the table. Never mind. I get the hang of it. I get the pasta into a firm, not-dry, not-sticky ball, and cover it with plastic. That’s done for now.

We then prepare the eggplant for the parmigiana, and whip up a traditional Sicilian sauce called, ‘Norma,’ which is also the name of a famous Bellini opera. First up, I cut the eggplant. The head and tail come off first, then I skim the four sides making it square, leaving some of the purple skin on. For the Parmigiana, I cut 1/4″ slices and Claudio quickly puts these into a boiling bath of semolina and olive oils to soften up.

Frying Eggplant for the Parmigiana

Then I cut eggplant for the Norma sauce into large cubes. These go into an already-hot skillet of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, and it sautés. Once soft, I add some fresh tomato sauce that Davide made earlier. Voila – Sauce is ready for the pasta. That’s what I love about Italian cooking – easy to prepare, and the fresh ingredients make all the difference.

My time in the kitchen is done and I retire to a shady table outside in full view of what’s going on in the kitchen. I start off with a Brut sparkling wine while waiting for the Parmigiana to bake. My little masterpiece arrives and it is really flavourful. The eggplant has a texture of pasta when baked, and can have the same heavy feel after eating it. I need to pace myself as there’s more to come. Then another white wine arrives, an Anemos from Etna, that is paired with my Eggplant Parmigiana.

If I ate maybe a quarter, I was doing well… Then another glass of wine came out to go with the Pasta Norma macaroni. A Grillo, which is a typical Sicilian wine. Claudio cooks our sexy little macaronis and mixes it with the Norma sauce and tops it with scamorza cheese and fresh basil – what a delicious mix of flavors.