This easy and refreshing dessert comes together in snap and will make everyone happy with its bright orange flavor and toasty crunchy nuts!
The ingredients in the dessert sing of Sicily. I’ve never seen so many gorgeous oranges! Not only are they overflowing the bins at every market and food store, they are hanging on the trees everywhere. Pistachios and Almonds combine for a delicious topping, and both of the nuts are grown all over the island. On our Sicily trip coming up this fall, we are making delicious stops at a pistachio farm in Bronte, the tiny village on Etna’s western slopes that is famed for the best pistachios in the world, see it below:
And then we are off for a visit to a Sicilian Organic Farm, where they cultivate products of the highest quality: wild oranges, Sevillia oranges, lemons and almonds.
I’m using honey for the drizzle over the oranges, if you’ve been following along with me on the Celebrate Sicily week Facebook Live, we’ve talked honey a couple of times, because many of the wineries keep bees and make honey. Below you can see the bee boxes at Elios. Aren’t they beautiful with their bright colors?
A light dessert rocks, especially after a traditional Sicilian meal with both a pasta and a meat, fish or poultry course. Try this one with your family and friends and I think you will be surprised at how an easy dessert like this one will satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth at the end of a big meal!
Sicilian Marsala Oranges
- 1 Cup Raisins, Cherries or Blueberries or mix
- 1 Cup Sweet Marsala, (or Orange Juice)
- 4 – 6 Large Navel Oranges, Peeled and Sliced into Thin Rounds
- 1 Cup Raisins, Cherries or Blueberries or mix
- 1 Cup Sweet Marsala
- ¼ Cup Slivered or Sliced Almonds, Toasted
- ¼ Cup Chopped Pistachios
- ½ Cup Honey
- ¼ Cup Finely Chopped Herbs like Mint, Parsley, Basil, Rosemary or mix + more for garnish
- Pinch of Salt
Step One
Combine the raisins or berries together with the marsala in a ziplock bag. Set aside for at least 1 hour.
Step Two
Warm the honey in a small pan over medium heat, stir in the herbs. Let the herbs wilt and add the pinch of salt. Remove from the heat.
Step Three
Place orange slices on a large platter, overlapping. Top with the plumped raisins or berries, the almonds and pistachios. Drizzle the honey over the platter and serve.
Florio Sweet Marsala
Marsala is classified as fortified, which means that fully fermented wine is fortified with grape spirit (distilled Marsala wine) and sweetened with boiled down grape must. The fame of Marsala wine is due mainly to the British, who had already traded in Port, Madeira and Sherry products. In 1773 they docked in Marsala where they tasted this sweet “nectar”. They were completely mesmerized. This was the beginning of Marsala’s global adventure. Check out the photo above from our visit to the fascinating Florio winery.
Florio wine, which dates from 1833 comes in both dry and sweet varieties and others as well. The What we are sipping today is considered, “fine” quality, the youngest version of marsala. White grapes like Grillo, Inzolia, Cattaratto and Damaschino are typically used to make the wine, ours is made with Grillo. Marsala can be aged up to 10 years, which is hard to find in the U.S. and delicious!
You’ll enjoy flavors of dried fruit, tobacco, brown sugar, caramel and vanilla when you sip sweet Marsala. Use a clear dessert glass so you can see its beautiful color!
The yummy finished sweet treat!
