Granita

Ahhhh... Granita!

Similar to a sorbet, but slushier and grainy; accompanied by a Sicilian brioche, it's the perfect summer breakfast.

You can get granita all over Italy, but only in Sicily do they serve it with brioche. Sicilian brioche is slightly different from French brioche; not quite as sweet, nor as buttery so it's lighter and fluffy with an open texture, similar to bread.

Here, it's de rigueur to dunk. Regardless of the flavour of the granita (and there are many, coffee, lemon and strawberry being the most common, but you can often find chocolate, almond and blackberry reasonably easily), it's infinitely improved by being carried to the mouth dripping, gloriously, from the soft, absorbent brioche.

Coffee and chocolate granite (the plural of granita) can be served topped with thick, freshly whipped cream and it's an exquisite combination.

Today we tried a place at the top of the Corso in Ispica, which had been recommended by Simona's Mum. By the time we arrived, the breakfast rush had already finished and there was no coffee granita left, so I took the opportunity to try the chocolate version. It was dark and rich, tasted strongly of cocoa and was neither too sweet nor too bitter. The cream complimented the robust, powerful cocoa flavour beautifully and the brioche was excellent.

This sort of breakfast doesn't break the bank, though: for two granite, both with cream, two brioche and two coffees (espresso, of course) we paid €7.20. Espresso here is usually about €0.70, so a granita with cream and brioche probably came to €2.90 per person. To put that in perspective, that's £2.45* or $3.90*

*According to the exchange rates at the time of writing.