Minne di Sant’Agata

These traditional sweets, called “Minne di Sant’Agata” (St. Agatha’s Breasts) are typical of the Feast of St. Agatha, patron saint of the city of Catania, but are found throughout the year as a very typical dessert of this Sicilian town. They have an unmistakable appearance – they’re made of an hemispherical shell of shortcrust pastry, which is stuffed with ricotta cheese, chocolate and candied fruit on top. The shape is linked to the martyrdom of Saint Agatha: her breasts were torn off by order of the Roman proconsul Quirino, after he had been rejected by the young Christian virgin.