There are many reasons to visit Sicily, but the food just might be the most compelling one. The island’s many waves of occupation under Arab, Norman, and Spanish rule, combined with its fertile land, volcanic soils, and surrounding sea make for a diverse and extremely delicious culinary tradition. We could fill a whole issue with dishes to try here, but for the sake of everybody’s attention span we’ve narrowed it down to our top 20.

Ricotta 

Not all ricottas are created equal, a fact that becomes evident upon your first taste of Sicilian ricotta, best served warm, custardy, and cloud-like, fresh from the cheesemaker’s fuschella. Ricotta can be found in many forms and functions here, from sweet iterations used in desserts like cannoli and cassata, to aged and salted and sprinkled on top of pasta alla Norma. Eat it as often and in as many variations as you can.