Inspire Me is a selection designed for anyone who wants to discover different products from Sicilian gastronomy and find new ideas to bring to the table. Renda’s selection brings together pasta, pestos, pulses, sauces, spreads and aromatic ingredients, from busiate with Trapanese pesto to Ustica lentils, pistachio specialities, pasta with sardines sauce and Pantelleria oregano. A varied range of products chosen to reveal different sides of Sicilian cuisine through simple recipes, traditional ingredients and Mediterranean pairings.
Inspire Me: buy Sicilian specialities online and discover new ideas for the kitchen
Sicilian gastronomy includes pasta, pulses, pestos, preserves, aromatic ingredients and sweet preparations that originate from very different parts of the island. Inspire Me brings together specialities that do not belong to a single category, but can become the starting point for a first course, a finishing ingredient or simply a new flavour to discover.
The selection ideally travels through different areas of Sicily, from Trapani and Pantelleria to Ustica. Each product reveals a different expression of the island, allowing traditional recipes, ingredients from rural cuisine and more indulgent specialities to sit side by side.
Sicilian specialities selected for you
Alicos busiate are one of the pasta shapes most closely associated with Trapani’s culinary tradition. Their characteristic twisted shape holds pestos and sauces particularly well, making them especially suitable for Trapanese pesto, Mediterranean sauces and seafood preparations. They are an ideal base for creating a Sicilian first course with just a few ingredients.
Alicos Trapanese pesto recalls one of the signature recipes of the Trapani area, while Alicos pistachio pesto offers a creamier and richer alternative. Two sauces with very different characters, making it possible to move from a strongly regional first course to a more delicate and contemporary preparation.
Fratelli Contorno pasta with sardines sauce offers a practical way to approach one of the best-known dishes in Sicilian cuisine. Fratelli Contorno double concentrated tomato paste can instead be used as a base for sauces, ragù and many Mediterranean recipes. The two products serve very different purposes, with one centred around a specific recipe and the other offering greater versatility.
Pagliuzzo Ustica lentils represent the simpler, rural side of the selection. They can be used in soups, stews, salads and complete dishes together with vegetables, grains and aromatic ingredients. They reflect a Sicily connected with the land and pulses, different from but complementary to the island’s maritime tradition.
Kazzen Pantelleria oregano is an aromatic ingredient suitable for tomatoes, bruschetta, vegetables, meat, fish and focaccia. Only a small amount is needed to give a dish character, adding one of the most immediately recognisable aromas of Mediterranean cuisine.
The category is completed by Alicos pistachio spread and Melauro chickpea and cocoa spread, two products designed for breakfast, desserts and more indulgent moments. The sweet side deliberately broadens the variety of the selection, offering alternatives to savoury specialities while maintaining a connection with Sicilian ingredients and producers.
Ideas for Sicilian first courses
Busiate and Trapanese pesto form one of the most immediate pairings in the category. The pasta can also be used with pistachio pesto, pasta with sardines sauce or a sauce prepared with concentrated tomato paste. The same pasta can therefore be used to create very different recipes, while maintaining a common connection with Sicilian cuisine.
Just a few additional ingredients can be enough to complete the dish. Oregano, extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes, capers or other Mediterranean ingredients can accompany the sauces without making the recipe unnecessarily complex. Simplicity helps keep the main flavours clearly recognisable and makes these specialities easy to use in everyday cooking.
From rural cooking to sweet preparations
Ustica lentils can become the main ingredient in a soup or be served cold with vegetables and aromatic ingredients. They are suited to simple and versatile preparations, where the flavour of the pulse can remain at the centre without the need for elaborate seasoning.
Pistachio spread and chickpea and cocoa spread instead move the selection towards breakfast and desserts. They can be spread on bread or used for fillings and homemade preparations. Two very different spreads expand the possibilities within the category, moving from savoury tradition to more indulgent moments.
Trapani, Pantelleria and Ustica: different territories of Sicily
An important part of the selection comes from western Sicily. Busiate and Trapanese pesto recall Trapani, oregano leads directly to Pantelleria, while the lentils tell the story of Ustica’s small-scale agriculture. Different territories come together within the same category, showing just how varied the island’s gastronomy can be.
Inspire Me is therefore not built around a single ingredient or recipe. It is a selection designed to reveal different sides of Sicilian cuisine, allowing customers to choose a different product each time and turn it into a first course, an accompaniment, a simple preparation or a sweet treat.