A colleague from Acireale, Sicily visited me this weekend and brought me a box of “paste di mandorla” from his local pasticceria, O. Condorelli … i.e., marzipan pastries from Sicily from a pastry chef that specializes in making marzipan.

What you see here is only half of what was in this box on Sunday morning. Guilty! It’s been a stressful week for me, and let’s just say, and I’ve been indulging a bit. This stuff is so good and so fresh! Seriously, if you haven’t tried fresh nut-paste pastries–these weren’t just made with fresh almonds, but also fresh pistachios, and I think, chestnuts or hazelnuts… I have a couple of those left to figure that out–you really haven’t tried marzipan.

Marzipan is usually made with almond dust and sugar (and perhaps honey). When you have almonds (mandorle) and pistachios (pistacchi) as good as the ones that are cultivated around Sicily, you really don’t need to add anything else; just your taste buds and closed eyes to delight in the nutty-sweetness and soft texture. Now, if you’ll excuse me…