Trapani Couscous – A Journey into Sicily’s Mediterranean

Arrival and check-in at the selected property.

The journey begins in front of the sea at San Vito Lo Capo.

We will get to know the town and its relationship with the Mediterranean, introducing couscous as a dish born from the meeting of different cultures.

The first taste

At lunch or dinner we will meet fish couscous for the first time.

We will enter its vocabulary: semolina, mafaradda, couscoussiera, incocciatura, broth, catch. Each word will become a clue to follow during the journey.

Overnight in the San Vito Lo Capo area.

FISHERMEN

Breakfast and departure by private vehicle.

We will reach Macari and the area of Monte Cofano, looking at one of the most representative landscapes of the western coast.

We will continue to Custonaci, entering an area where for centuries land and sea have lived side by side.

Bonagia – The rais and the tonnaroti

We will then go down to Bonagia.

Through the story of the tuna trap we will learn about the role of the rais, the tonnaroti, the nets, the boats and the wait for the fish.

When possible, the experience will be accompanied by the voice of someone tied to local memory. The day will end with a food offering dedicated to the catch and the products of the area. Overnight in the Trapani/Valderice area.

Breakfast and ascent to Erice.

We will enter the village and discover a cuisine that seems far from the sea.

Almond sweets, genovesi pastries and preparations from the convent tradition will help us understand that Trapani’s food culture is born from the meeting of different worlds.

When possible we will visit an artisan workshop.

In the afternoon we will head down to Trapani.

The city between land and Mediterranean

We will get to know the historic centre, the port and the city’s relationship with the sea.

The day may end with a dinner dedicated to traditional Trapani cuisine and the local catch.

Overnight in Trapani.

Breakfast and departure for Marsala.

Today comes the gesture that represents the whole journey.

The mafaradda

We will meet a traditional cook or a chef tied to local cuisine.

In front of us we will find semolina, water and a mafaradda, the traditional terracotta bowl in which semolina is worked.

Everyone will try rolling their own couscous (incocciare).

We will learn how the grains are slowly born from the semolina and we will also follow the preparation of the broth and the catch.

We eat what we have prepared

Lunch will be the result of our work.

From this moment couscous will no longer be just something we have tasted. It will be something we have touched and built with our own hands.

In the afternoon, a visit to the historic centre of Marsala.

Dinner at leisure and overnight in Marsala.

FOOD

Breakfast.

White – Salt

We will reach the Stagnone salt pans.

We will discover the path of sea water through the pans and understand the role of sun, wind and human labour.

Salt will be linked to our journey through a precise theme: the preservation of the catch and of food.

Depending on the season we may take part in an experience dedicated to harvesting or tasting salt.

Gold, amber and ruby – Marsala

In the afternoon we will enter a historic winery.

Tasting and return. At sunset we will go back to the landscape of the Stagnone.

Overnight in Marsala.

Breakfast and transfer to the port. Boarding for Favignana.

We will visit the former Florio Establishment of the Favignana and Formica tuna traps, entering the world of the tuna trap and tuna processing.

Before the dish, there is always someone who goes out to sea

When possible we will meet a fisherman or an operator tied to the island’s seafaring culture. Alternatively, weather permitting, we can take a boat trip along the coasts of Favignana.

Lunch will be dedicated to the local catch and, in the planned set-up, we may find a version of fish couscous again.

Return to the mainland and overnight in the Marsala area.

Breakfast and departure for Mazara del Vallo.

The Kasbah will let us into the heart of a city where the meeting between Sicily and North Africa is visible in the streets, the people and the cuisine.

We will then reach the port.

The sea as work

When possible we will meet a fisherman or someone tied to the Mazara fishing fleet.

We will talk about crews, routes, the catch, the Red Prawn (Gambero Rosso) and days spent far from the coast. We will also visit the Museum of the Dancing Satyr.

Lunch will be dedicated to seafood cuisine and the flavours of the Mediterranean.

Return and overnight in Marsala or Mazara del Vallo depending on the set-up.

Breakfast.

The last day does not need to add a new ingredient. It will serve to put back together the ones we have met.

We may spend it on a final walk in Marsala, at a market, in a food shop or meeting someone who still keeps family recipes and preparations.

The last lunch – What is really inside a couscous?

The fish will remind us of Favignana, Mazara, Trapani and Bonagia. The salt will take us back to the Stagnone. The semolina will take us back to our hands inside the mafaradda. The spices and the broth will remind us that the Mediterranean has never had a single culture.

A territory inside a mafaradda.

At the end, transfer to the agreed destination and end of services.

THE SPIRIT OF THE JOURNEY

This is not a tour built to establish which couscous is the best.

There are different territories, families, fishermen, seasons and ways of telling a tradition. In the end we will know that inside Trapani couscous there is not only semolina, fish and broth. There are the two shores of the Mediterranean, the hands of families, the work of fishermen, the wind of the salt pans, the boats, the ports and a story made of encounters.