For centuries Sicily has intrigued and enchanted its visitors and inhabitants alike. In the 18th century, Goethe, in his diary, datelined Palermo April 13, 1787, wrote: “Without Sicily, Italy leaves no clear and lasting impression; this place is the key to everything.” Long before this, the fifth century Greek philosopher Empedocles, born in Acragas, present day Agrigento, wrote: “The people of Sicily eat as if they would die tomorrow and build palaces as if they were eternal.”

The people of Sicily eat as if they would die tomorrow and build palaces as if they were eternal

The palaces we see today are as spectacular as those familiar to Empedocles, with their lovely baroque interiors, such as Villa Valguarnera in Bagheria, Villa Spedalotto, Palazzo Gangi, (where The Leopard was filmed) and Palazzo Alliata di Pietratagliata. And the food, well, fans of Andrea Camilleri’s Il commissario Montalbano series on Rai will need little persuading that Sicilian food is among the finest in the world.

Not long ago we made the short journey from Malta to Pozzallo with friends who wanted to show us ‘their’ Sicily. A little like going from Dover to Calais, it is amazing what a difference a stretch of water makes; different food, different customs, different culture. Rather than try to ‘do’ Sicily in a couple of days, they concentrated on taking us to some of their favourite places in that southeastern tip of the island, baroque Sicily, especially Ragusa and Modica, readily accessible by car from Pozzallo.

As we drove through the countryside, I was reminded of north Yorkshire, of all places. It was the dry stone walls, the well-tended farmland, the meadows and grazing herds of cattle. And indeed, Occhipinti dairy was one of our first visits. We were already familiar with their exquisite ricotta which our friends would bring back for us. When we arrived, Giuseppe Occhipinti, third-generation cheesemaker, was just finishing making some fresh caciocavallo after which he showed us round the dairy, including the impressive store of Ragusana DOP, tall 6.5-kilo blocks of cheese. We tasted the 14 months old and 18 months old, both with fabulous deep flavours and almost Grana-like texture. Made from December to May because that is when the meadow herbs are at their richest, each of these cheeses requires 180 litres of milk.

We also tasted his Modicana, made from milk from the eponymous indigenous cattle, the Tumazzo with pepe nero and a 24-month-old Canestrano without pepper, all very fine. When we packed it all into the vehicle, the ricotta was still warm.

Rita Russotto and herbs and spices grown in Scicli.

In the deepest countryside of the Iblean altiplano we dined on our first evening at Ristorante Al Monaco. Chef patron Ignazio Carpenzano and maître d’ Giorgia Iemmolo made sure that we tried all the specialities. We ate incredibly fresh seafood, plate after plate, including sweet raw prawns, before we were served one of the house specialities, a timballo of aubergines, filled with a nicely-sauced pasta, and the aubergines crisp from toasted golden bread crumbs; it was heavenly.

Two huge Pesce San Pietro (John Dory) were simply cooked with potatoes and onions for the main course. By then dessert faded into the mists, although we had amari in the interests of good digestion and a good night’s sleep.

Modica was a must because of the chocolate, made as it used to be made when it was first brought from Spain in the 16th century. Raw chocolate is becoming fashionable, especially among chocolatiers in America, but at Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, just off the main corso, they have never made anything else. They would no more cook chocolate than they would wine, said Pierpaolo Ruta, the sixth generation to be part of the family firm, which was founded in 1853, Sicily’s oldest chocolate maker.

I had first come across raw chocolate in a former monastery in Spain, now a hotel, in whose kitchens the first chocolate was brought from the New World, so I was accustomed to its intense character and unusual texture, and appreciated Pierpaolo’s exhortation: “Deconstruct your chocolate imagination.” And indeed, when tasting Modica chocolate it is important to rid the palate memory of any notion of the standard commercial chocolate we are used to.

At the back of the shop is the kitchen where the chocolate is made from the raw ingredients; they still have the metate, the same type of grinding stone invented by the Aztecs, and used by the family until the 1960s. We tasted another remnant of the Spanish occupation of Sicily, the ’mpanatigghi, an empanada filled with spiced, minced beef and chocolate, the typical sweet savoury combination so often found in Sicilian food.

And finally, the cannoli. A Sicilian pasticeria cannot not make them and here they even pack the cream and the pastry separately for travelling, so you can get them home without the pastry becoming soggy.

After the chocolate, cannoli and ’mpanatigghi, do not miss Gelateria degli Angeli, at no. 119 Corso Umberto 1 – all you could wish for in an ice cream parlour.

A detour into the province of Siracusa took us to Palazzolo Acreide, a wonderfully preserved small baroque city, and a Unesco World Heritage site, where we dined at Ristorante Valentino. Knowing our friends, and learning of my interest in all things culinary, chef Gaetano wanted us to taste as many of his dishes as possible, so he included some of the items he often puts on his function menus, for which he is renowned, and for which he has won awards (www.valentinocatering.it).

Marinated mackerel on onion jam; raw scampi with prickly pear and calamint jelly; cuttlefish in almond milk, with a wonderful grainy texture of the home-made almond milk; anchovies with bitter orange and herbs – we realised by this stage that we were experiencing very confident cooking. A ‘lollipop’ of a single scampo wrapped in lardo was served just warmed through; a spiral of scatola was served with a black olive croccante. This was really astonishingly good food, and further mouthfuls followed: a sardine stuffed with wild fennel; raw prawns with the blue roe, pistachio sauce and pea crisps, possibly the best dish so far in this gastronomic tour de force. Caponata with mozzarella was cooked in thin, fine pastry which we ate slowly as the risotto was prepared – a classic seafood risotto, intense flavours, lovely seafood and a delicate seasoning of parsley and bay leaf, a winning combination.

The main course, in a pool of extra virgin olive oil, with a purée of peas, was a piece of dentici, with a stuffing of breadcrumbs, orange and dentici flesh. Sorbetto siciliano was a little dish of pasta with rizzi (sea urchins), an unusual palate cleanser.

By then we were almost delirious with pleasure and the desserts passed in something of a blur although we do remember the cannoli. The wine served throughout the meal, suggested by brother Vincenzo who runs front of house, was Milazzo, a metodo classico from Agrigento, another illustration of the excellent sparkling wines being made in Sicily.

We finally returned to Montalbano country, Scicli, after a morning spent at Gli Aromi, the herb garden and nursery owned by the Russino family and run by Enrico Russino. Herbs culinary, medicinal and decorative are there to be enjoyed, but also to be purchased for your own herb garden. It is a magical place and well worth a visit.

And there I had the pleasure of meeting Enrico’s partner, Rita Russotto and watching her prepare food for a party to be held that evening. We discovered a mutual friend in that New York-born Rita had worked with Lidia Bastianich, founder of Felidia, New York’s finest Italian restaurant.

Giuseppe Occhipinti in his impressive store of Ragusana cheese.

As she chopped and stirred, she told me about the new restaurant she was about to open in Scicli, Satra. (www.ristorantesatra.it)

And she gave me a copy of Sicilia in Cucina which she co-authored; fabulous and accessible recipes which make me long to try her cooking. Now the restaurant is open and thriving, but the nearest we came to it was sitting in the piazza in Scicli, contemplating the scenes which so often appear in Il commissario Montalbano.

Rita Russotto’s fabulous and accessible recipes make me long to try her cooking

It did not surprise me at all to learn recently that our friends have persuaded Rita to come and cook in their restaurant in Gozo. For one night only, December 7, she will be at Ta’ Frenċ Restaurant cooking with Mario Schembri. If you are quick, you might be able to get a table, in which case you will enjoy a seven-course menu which includes macco di fave con quenelle di ricotta, fiori di zucca, finocchietto selvatico e fritturina di calamari (fava beans with ricotta quenelle, zucchini blossoms, wild fennel and fried baby calamari), tagiatelle con fave di cacao, lenticchia minor e scampi (tagliatelle with cocoa beans, lentils and langoustine), filetto di triglia con basilica tutto pesto, cipolla in agrodolce, granella di mandorle e capperi (red mullet with perennial basil, sweet and sour onions, pine nuts and capers), agnello con purée di topinambur, senape verde e caramellato pastinaca (lamb with mashed Jerusalem artichoke, green mustard and caramelised parsnip), and bianco mangiare di mandorla e gelsomino con fico candido, granella di mandorle tostate e gelato di fichi d’India (almond and jasmine pudding with candied fig, grain almond and prickly pear ice cream).

Wine, cigars and cognac are also included, not to mention delicious morsels to top and tail the dinner.

Just rereading all this, I’m going to have to go and read a Montalbano. Or cook a Sicilian lunch.