Tishi Toshi, Taormina, Italy – Ricotta cheese and Vegetarian delights

Ahh Taormina, it is good to be back here. A bit nostalgic as our first time here was part of a road trip with the oldies, specifically for Papa G. He had mount Etna on his bucket list for a wee while and it was so cool that he got to see her do her thing!

After our pit stop at Caffe Sicilia and the best granitas and gelato this side of the Sicily,  We were starving by the time we rocked up to Taromina. When we checked into the lovely Villa Schuler, it was late afternoon aka siesta time 😮. I was not impressed because finding a place to eat was going to be a struggle, did I mention we were borderline HANGRY? Nonetheless, the food gods always seem to be looking out for your girl. We rocked up to Tishi Toshi and Signor Sergio immediately said, ‘the kitchen is closed 🥺’ I was over it by this point, and the Sicilian afternoon was doing the most too. But, I did say the food gods be having my back always, Signor Sergio then said ‘ I can only do one dish’

I had the grouper pasta and Neal some potato type dish

My pasta was yummy and exactly what I needed and with a glass of wine, I was a very happy camper. We were then offered dessert – the ricotta cheese. When I tell you this here pudding blew my mind ….

It literally was ricotta cheese, drizzled with chocolate, sprinkle of nuts and seeds

It gave what it was meant to give and more! My goodness it was fantastic!  And that was when we knew we had to come back here before we leave. There is something to be said about Italian / Sicilian cooking, it’s always very simple, always with the freshest of local ingredients and that is what makes it sooo good. Fast forward to today, we are back, not pressed for time and ready to sample what the kitchen had to offer. Phewwwwww! The kitchen served us a vegetarian culinary delight that I didn’t know I needed. We had a selection of dishes, starting with Etna mushroom salad… wooooiiiiii. The mushrooms were picked 24 hours ago and served raw, with splash of olive oil in herbs (Signor Sergio’s special blend) and pecorino cheese – simple!  My goodness it was delicious okay?!

Next was the Tischi Toshi caponata!

It was capers, almond, cacao, honey, anchovies, raisins, nuts,  aubergine, celery.. talk about layers, texture and umami 😮. Fried caciocavallo cheese, think Greek Saganaki, for the Keto folk, I reckon this dish is right up your alley

Stuffed baby aubergines with ragù and cheese! This here dish looked like meatballs.

I must confess, these dishes totally changed my thoughts on what vegetarian dishes are, nay to shabby in my opinion. Just when we thought Signor Sergio could do no more, he offered us cinnamon liquor ( home made)

which according to Neal ‘burns the cockles’ 😀, if anyone knows what cockles means, let your girl know yeah? Not only that, we got to taste the fist figs of the season (which reminded me of guava)

as well as Tiramisu!

Signor Sergio, Grazie! You, sir, are the essence of what being a good host is!

Saluti

Ndidi

Signor Sergio, as Himself