30 Iconic Dishes + What to Eat in Sicily

Sicilian meals is utterly totally different out of your normal Italian delicacies. If you happen to’re going to be spending time in Sicily, don’t count on to seize a Roman carbonara or a Florentine steak.

As a substitute, think about a delicacies full of recent greens, a lot of seafood, and the smallest quantity of meat. Think about eggplants and pine nuts and swordfish, wild fennel rising on the aspect of the highway, a sprinkling of couscous right here and there, calamari grilled to perfection, liqueurs created from native fruits and herbs. And — I received’t lie — Sicilians tend to get artistic with the organs.

If you happen to’re planning a visit to Sicily, you’re going to wish to attempt EVERYTHING. And whereas I’ve traveled to Sicily a number of instances, on my most up-to-date journey I made an purpose to eat each main Sicilian dish that I may discover. What a scrumptious mission that was.

Let’s check out what to eat in Sicily — and what makes Sicilian meals so particular.

Sicilian Meals Influences and Historical past

First off, you possibly can’t perceive conventional Sicilian meals with out realizing a bit about Sicilian historical past and geography. Italy is a various nation of nation-states that didn’t unify till 1861. Lots of Italy’s 20 areas every really feel like their very own nation — however Sicily feels particularly distinctive.

This island within the Mediterranean has been conquered, invaded, and settled by the Arabs, the Normans, the Vikings, the Spanish, and way more.

Every tradition introduced their very own meals, turning Sicily into a pleasant culinary melting pot. However above all else, Arab culinary traditions took maintain deeply in Sicily, with dishes from caponata to couscous adorning Sicilian menus. Bread comes sprinkled with sesame seeds, and saffron provides perfume and colour to pasta dishes.

Briefly, Sicily is quite a bit nearer to Tunis than Rome — not solely by geography however by tradition and delicacies as effectively.

(And it goes to individuals, too. What a shock I obtained after I obtained my DNA check and the Sicilian aspect of the household was really fairly Center Jap!)

Touring to Sicily? Begin with a Meals Tour

If you happen to’re touring to Sicily and seeking to find out about typical Sicilian meals, I extremely, extremely advocate beginning with a meals tour. It gives you a lot context, introduce you to dishes you’ll love, and make the remainder of your journey a lot simpler.

Streaty is a meals tour firm run by Sicilians! I took their ultimate Sicilian cuisine and wine tour in Palermo, which was completely implausible and one of the simplest ways to begin my journey.

In addition they run a Catania food tour.

Sicilian Appetizers

Caponata

Caponata is among the most recognizable dishes from Sicily, and one that’s incessantly on the desk as an appetizer. This candy and bitter eggplant-based dish consists of a number of greens, cooked individually after which mixed in an agrodolce sauce.

Fried eggplant is a very powerful part of caponata, and it additionally consists of celery, tomatoes, capers, inexperienced olives, and olives, cooked with olive oil, vinegar, and sugar.

Often yow will discover a extra upscale caponata that features octopus (polpo) or swordfish (spade).

Speak to Sicilians they usually’ll let you know that getting ready caponata is a time-consuming endeavor, every vegetable requiring a distinct cooking course of. Many Sicilian cooks prefer to make an enormous batch of it for the season and protect it in jars.

Arancini

Arancini are one other beloved dish from Sicily — stuffed rice balls which are lined with breadcrumbs and deep fried. These are a straightforward and filling snack in Sicily; locals seize them at any time of day, they usually often value round a euro.

Arancini are discovered all through Sicily, however know that there are two distinct varieties.

In Palermo and the west, they’re known as arancin (singular) or arancine (plural) and are spherical.

In Catania and the east, they’re known as arancino (singular) or arancini (plural) and are conical, formed like Mount Etna.

In both of those varieties, the fillings could be al burro (ham and cheese, often Béchamel or mozzarella) or al ragu (tomato and meat sauce, generally with peas), although yow will discover something from pistachios and mortadella to eggplant and ricotta salata.

Arancini are generally served as road meals in Sicily, however yow will discover them in eating places, in rosticcerie, in every single place.

Parmigiana di Melanzane

One more extremely widespread dish in Sicily is parmigiana di melanzane — eggplant parmigiana. When you see this dish throughout Italy, it originated in eggplant-rich Sicily.

The phrase “parmigiana” really has nothing to do with parmesan cheese — meals historians imagine it’s associated to the phrase parmiciana, or the picket strips that make up Persian blinds, which describes how the dish is reduce and layered.

Eggplant is sliced thinly and layered with tomato sauce and both caciocavallo or mozzarella cheese.

That is often eaten both as an appetizer or a aspect dish. A wonderful accompaniment to any Sicilian meal!

Zucca in Agrodolce

One other widespread appetizer in Sicily is zucca in agrodolce — skinny slices of pumpkin in agrodolce, or candy and bitter sauce.

That is known as “poor man’s liver,” my Sicilian mates joked. It was created to evoke the looks of candy and bitter liver, a extra widespread dish for moneyed Sicilians.

The pumpkin in query is often a Sicilian purple or yellow pumpkin, or comparable squashes, cooked in a easy recipe with sugar, vinegar, olive oil, and mint.

Bottarga

Considered one of Sicily’s most original meals is bottarga — dried compressed fish roe sac, often created from gray mullet or bluefin tuna. It’s principally a slab of dried, salty fish, filled with umami taste.

Bottarga is commonly sliced and served on crostini, or grated and added to dishes, particularly pasta dishes. (You usually see it as an included ingredient in five-star eating places world wide.)

Like many Sicilian dishes, bottarga could be seen in several cultures — from Greece to Sardinia to the Arab world.

Many Sicilians have robust opinions over whether or not bottarga needs to be served with lemon. Some are very a lot in favor of lemon; some are adamantly in opposition to it. Strive each and see what you favor!

Caciocavallo all’Argentiera

Caciocavallo cheese is widespread all through Sicily — and Italy as a complete. However caciocavallo all’argentiera is a dish that you’ll find solely in Sicily — particularly, Palermo!

On this dish, caciocavallo cheese is cooked in a pan with garlic and vinegar till melted and served in a dish topped with oregano and pepper. It’s an herby, vibrant approach to take pleasure in melted cheese (and who doesn’t love melted cheese?).

This dish was reportedly invented by the spouse of a silversmith residing on Through Argentiera who had fallen on onerous instances. She made the cheese within the type of rabbit, and the scent was so good, individuals didn’t understand it wasn’t meat!

Insalata di Musso

I warn you that insalata di musso is arguably the least interesting meals on this record, however it’s widespread in Palermo, so I’m sharing it right here. This can be a salad product of boiled veal cartilage taken from the snout (musso), foot, and jaw.

The boiled cartilage items are cooked in olive oil with carrots, celery, and olives. It’s served at room temperature.

Adventurous eater? Go for it! Not a lot? You’ll be effective skipping this one. (Then once more, I’m an adventurous eater and that is the one meals on this record I couldn’t end.)

Insalata Eoliana

And now, a a lot better Sicilian salad. The Aeolian Islands are well-known for his or her capers, and that is showcased within the insalata eoliana — a hearty salad that fills you up for hours.

Insalata eoliana, generally known as insalata liparota for the island of Lipari, is Sicilian potato salad — a salad of potatoes, tomatoes, capers, and olives, topped with olive oil, lemon, and oregano. Generally yow will discover al mare variations that embrace tuna or octopus.

This may be served as a aspect dish (contorno) or fundamental dish. It’s robust to search out outdoors the Aeolian Islands, so take pleasure in it when you have it!

Sicilian Road Meals

Panelle

In Palermo, generally it looks like each road snack is fried. And some of the well-known is panelle — chickpea fritters made with chickpea flour, salt and pepper, olive oil, and generally lemon juice or herbs. They soften in your mouth.

Panelle could be eaten on their very own, however a well-liked road snack in Palermo is pane panelle — a sandwich with panelle served inside a sesame seed roll. Usually crocchè (potato croquettes coated in bread crumbs and fried) are added to it.

It feels a bit like carbs on carbs on carbs, however it is a scrumptious sandwich! And when you’re a vegetarian or vegan in Palermo, that is one among your most strong lunch choices.

Sfincione

A sfincione is a Sicilian-style pizza slice — sq., topped with tomato sauce, generally with grated caciocavallo cheese. This can be a traditional Sicilian road meals specialty, however it’s usually dressed up in fancier eating places.

This dish is hottest in Palermo, and yow will discover variations with or with out cheese, in addition to variations topped with onions or anchovies. Usually anchovies are a part of the sauce (although don’t inform your buddy who hates seafood — likelihood is they received’t discover).

You may see simple connections to Italian-American pizza slices. If you happen to’ve been to L&P Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn, or lined up for a “grandma slice” after a protracted evening out, these are sfincione!

I even confirmed an image of Rhode Island-style pizza slices to my Sicilian mates, they usually all agreed — “That’s sfincione!”

These are an ideal dish to maintain you going whenever you want a chew however not a complete meal.

Pani câ meusa

And now some of the intimidating Sicilian streets meals on the planet! Pani câ meusa is a sandwich made with veal spleen and lung. Sure, severely.

Pani câ meusa is a well-liked road meals dish in Palermo; good luck discovering it elsewhere in Sicily. The spleen and lungs are boiled, then fried in lard and served on a tender roll with sesame seeds on prime. It’s generally served with ricotta or caciocavallo cheese — that is known as maritatu, or married in Sicilian, whereas the cheeseless sandwich is schettu (single).

It may not be your first selection for a meal in Sicily — however know that this sandwich exemplifies how nothing ever goes to waste on this a part of Italy.

Stigghiola

And one other considerably intimidating specialty from Palermo — stigghiola! Stigghiole (plural type) are lamb or veal intestines seasoned and wrapped round a spring onion or leek, then grilled and reduce into bite-size items.

In Palermo they name it mangia e bevi, or eat and drink. Yow will discover these scorching on the grill in Palermo’s markets.

Crocchè

It looks like each tradition has its personal model of potato croquettes — and the Sicilians aren’t any exception with their crocchè. This widespread road meals is obtainable all through Sicily.

Crocchè are created from mashed potatoes and eggs generally with grated caciocavallo cheese, then lined in breadcrumbs and fried. Mint provides a brilliant addition to them.

In Palermo, you possibly can have the crocchè added to a pane e panelle sandwich — deliciously carby!

Panzerotti

A panzerotto, in essence, is just like a calzone — a deliciously fried piece of dough with a filling within the middle. Sicilian panzerotti could be picked up at a rosticceria within the morning, they usually make a filling and transportable breakfast on this usually breakfast-averse nation.

The surface is fried and crispy, and the within is recent and spongy. In Sicily, panzerotti are sometimes al burro, which means full of ham and cheese. If you happen to get panzerotto, you received’t need anything!

Yow will discover panzerotti throughout Italy, they usually range fairly a bit regionally. Panzerotti are massively widespread in Puglia, however they have a tendency to have a thinner outdoors crust and full of tomato and mozzarella. In Naples, pizza fritta (fried pizza) is just like Puglian panzerotti, however the time period panzerotti really refers to potato croquettes. Complicated!

Pane Cunzatu

Pane cunzatu (additionally known as pane cunzato) is a dish initially from the Aeolian Islands — a flatbread topped with olive oil and any sort of toppings you possibly can think about. Some widespread toppings are greens like capers, tomatoes, olives, artichokes, or sun-dried tomatoes; cheeses like mozzarella or ricotta salata, and/or fish like anchovies or tuna.

Pane cunzatu is the final word low-cost meal within the Aeolian Islands — as a result of they’re often large and simple to separate between two individuals! (Some come smaller, although, particularly in nicer eating places. Test earlier than you order.) And since all the things is balanced on a large piece of agency bread, it’s good to watch out to maintain the elements from rolling off!

Unusually, everytime you discover pane cunzatu outdoors the Aeolian Islands, it’s in sandwich type — the toppings between two items of bread. A lot simpler to eat!

Sicilian Pastas

Pasta alla Norma

If you happen to’re on the lookout for a primary Sicilian pasta dish, one that’s on most menus, check out pasta alla Norma. Pasta is served with tomato sauce, fried eggplant, basil, and topped with grated ricotta salata cheese.

Word that ricotta salata, or salted ricotta, could be very totally different from the everyday easy ricotta cheese you may decide up on the grocery retailer. Ricotta salata has been pressed, salted, and aged, and is crumbly and really salty.

Yow will discover pasta alla Norma wherever in Sicily, however it originated in Catania and stays a supply of satisfaction within the metropolis. The dish is known as for Catanian composer Vicenzo Bellini, who composed the opera La Norma.

Pasta con le Sarde

Maybe Sicily’s most well-known (or notorious?) pasta is pasta con le sarde, or pasta with sardines. This pasta dish originated in Palermo, and needs to be eaten in Palermo, although you possibly can generally discover it in different elements of the island as of late.

The sauce is a mixture of sardines and anchovies with onions, wild fennel, raisins, pine nuts, and saffron, topped with bread crumbs for texture. The standard pasta to make use of is bucatini, although yow will discover it with numerous kinds of pasta.

Raisins and sardines in a pasta — collectively? I do know, it sounds a bit nuts. However belief me — this is among the most well-known Sicilian pasta dishes for good cause, and is a wonderful mix of Italian, Arab, and pan-Mediterranean cuisines.

Wild fennel has an intense taste and is definitely present in Italy, however could be robust to search out elsewhere. You need to use common fennel fronds, bulbs, and seeds when you can’t discover wild fennel the place you reside.

Pasta alla Lido (Pasta Pesce Spada)

One other widespread Sicilian pasta is pasta alla Lido, generally known as Pasta Pesce Spada. This pasta has a supply of tomato, eggplant, small items of swordfish, and mint leaves.

The pasta is often casarecce — a flat rectangular pasta form that curls into itself, a bit like a protracted maccheroni however not fairly a tube.

This can be a implausible Sicilian pasta, utilizing traditional Sicilian elements that you simply discover virtually in every single place — and the mint leaves simply add a beautiful brightness to the dish.

Busiate Alla Trapanese

Busiate is a sort of pasta that appears a bit like an old-school phone wire — lengthy and spiraled. It initially comes from Trapani province, the westernmost a part of Sicily, and is shaped by twisting the pasta round an area grass, ampelodesmos.

Pesto alla trapanese is a bit totally different from the pesto you’re used to up in Genoa — this pesto is created from almonds, grated pecorino cheese, tomatoes, basil, and garlic. Often it’s known as pesto alla siciliana.

That is one other glorious vegetarian pasta dish in Sicily. The almonds actually give it a heft!

Pasta Coi Ricci

Pasta coi ricci, generally known as pasta ai ricci di mare, is pasta with sea urchin — an costly however oh so scrumptious native specialty in Sicily! If you happen to’re utilizing recent sea urchins pulled from the ocean that morning, it’s a bit time-consuming to take away the edible flesh. However you’ll be rewarded with a deep, advanced taste.

Sea urchin is a winter delicacy in Sicily. The season often runs from November via April.

This pasta is often easy — simply sea urchin cooked with olive oil, garlic, and salt. However sometimes you’ll discover pastas that throw different seafood into the dish, just like the shrimp that discovered their manner into our dish above!

Couscous alla Trapanese

Probably the greatest methods to see the affect of North Africa in Sicilian delicacies is to move to Trapani province. Right here, couscous usually accompanies dishes as an alternative of pasta!

However that’s the place the cuisines diverge. Whereas Moroccan couscous is often served with meat, couscous alla trapanese is served with fish or seafood of any sort. It’s seen as a primo piatto right here, or a primary course, on par with pasta. Flavors like saffron can up the depth.

And when you can’t get sufficient of Sicilian couscous, Cous Cous Fest takes place within the city of San Vito Lo Capo every September!

Sicilian Seafood

In Sicily, it’s all about seafood — whenever you’re on the coast, it’s usually onerous to discover a fundamental dish that isn’t seafood! (If not, it’s often veal — the rooster of Italy.) And often which means what’s recent and native, served merely.

Sicilian menus usually function sardines (sarde), anchovies (alici), tuna (tonno), swordfish (pesce spade), octopus (polpo) and squid (calamari).

Past that, there are Sicilian seafood dishes that it is best to maintain a watch out for. Right here they’re:

Gambero Rosso di Mazara

Sicilians love shrimp (or prawns, as you Brits name them) — however there’s one sort of shrimp that’s particularly lauded all through Sicily. The gambero rosso di Mazara, or the purple shrimp from the city of Mazara del Vallo in Trapani province. They’re additionally known as ammaru russu in Sicilian.

Mazara del Vallo is among the largest fishing ports in Sicily, and these shrimp are fished all through the ocean southwest of the island, the closest half to Tunisia.

The shrimp have a novel candy taste and are served uncooked. You may take pleasure in them on their very own or blended into one other dish — I had an exquisite pasta with pistachio pesto, burrata, and purple shrimp at Ngonia Bay lodge in Milazzo.

Involtini di Pesce Spade

You may need heard of eggplant involtini — little rolled up eggplant, served as an appetizer — however have you ever heard of swordfish involtini? Involtini di pesce spade are swordfish rolls, served as a secondo piatto (second course).

Skinny filets of swordfish are wrapped round seasoned breadcrumbs, generally with raisins and pine nuts, and baked.

This dish is a superb instance of Sicilians stretching their proteins far — a small quantity of swordfish can feed a big household when ready this manner.

Sarde a bettafico is an analogous dish made with butterflied sardines wrapped across the breadcrumbs combination.

Sicilian Desserts and Candy Treats

Actually, I believe one of many highlights of visiting Sicily is the desserts. I believe Sicily has the most effective desserts in all of Italy!

You’ve little doubt heard of cannoli, and you could have tried a granita or two, however Sicilian desserts get rather more intense than that.

My advice? Each afternoon, cease for a espresso and a deal with to fulfill your candy tooth. One of many good issues about Sicilian bakeries is that they usually make every dessert in mini sizes as effectively. Good for sampling!

Cannoli

Of all Sicilian desserts, what’s extra well-known than a cannoli? Or cannolo, really. Within the Italian language, cannolo is singular and cannoli is plural. Mainland Italy calls them cannoli siciliani.

You realize this one — it’s a fried pastry shell formed like a tube, known as a scorza, and full of ricotta. (Ideally, the shells needs to be empty till you get them organized after which full of ricotta, although not each place follows this step.)

In Sicily, cannoli are sometimes topped with candied oranges or cherries, full of chocolate chips, or dusted with chopped pistachios. Some shells are made with marsala wine.

And so they come in several sizes — have a mini cannolo accompanying your caffe macchiato after lunch, or seize a full-sized one that would double as a homicide weapon.

Cassata

And now for the second most well-known Italian dessert: cassata! Cassata is made with layers of sponge cake moistened with liqueur, ricotta, and candied fruit. Past that, there’s fairly a little bit of variation in cassata, which originated in Palermo however yow will discover all through the island.

Cassata siciliana is the well-known brilliant inexperienced cassata, often with a lot of candied fruit or geometric designs or a cherry on prime. It’s wrapped in marzipan and has vivid almond and pistachio flavors.

Cassata al forno is extra just like a ricotta pie, with a shortcrust pastry wrapped round ricotta, sponge cake, and generally chocolate. This model is extra widespread in Catania and generally known as cassata Catanese.

And naturally, there are the minne di vergine, or virgins’ breasts (!) — a model of cassata served for the pageant of Sant Agata in Catania (although I did discover some in Palermo, too). This one is white and topped with a cherry, after all.

Torta Setteveli

If you happen to’re having fun with the desserts in Palermo however craving one thing a bit extra chocolatey, you’ll wish to take a look at the torta setteveli — a wealthy cake product of layers of chocolate and hazelnuts. The title means seven-veil cake in Italian, and it takes the type of seven layers.

The cake consists of two layers of chocolate cake, two layers of hazelnut cream, and one layer every of chocolate mousse, hazelnut crunch, and a shiny mirror glaze on prime. (If you happen to’re a baker and on the lookout for a problem, this requires numerous totally different steps! No surprise it was a technical problem on The Nice British Bake-Off.)

This can be a widespread birthday cake in Palermo — however you’re welcome to have it simply to have fun being in Sicily!

Granita con Brioche

If you go to Italy, you’re used to seeing gelato spots on each block. If you get to Sicily, you could be questioning why there are so few of them! Positive, gelato exists, however granita is the chilly candy deal with of selection in Sicily.

Granita is just like slush — it’s a easy semi-frozen dessert. And in Sicily, granita con brioche is granita served with a brioche — a scrumptious breakfast on a scorching day! Sure, that is breakfast!

In Sicily, a few of the hottest granita flavors are mandorla (almond), limone (lemon), pistacchio (pistachio), fragola (strawberry), caffe (espresso, black with sugar), mandarino (mandarin) and gelso (mulberry). The feel tends to be smoother in Jap Sicily and chunkier in Western Sicily.

You may as well get it topped with crema, both served as whipped cream or liquid cream, when you’d like. I’m nonetheless dreaming of the caffe granita with cream I had in Salina within the Aeolian Islands.

Brioche con Gelato

So how is gelato served in Sicily after they do have it? Usually in a brioche con gelato! That is the final word ice cream sandwich — scoops or a slab of gelato are put between two halves of a candy brioche.

And sure — like granita con brioche, brioche con gelato is eaten for breakfast in Sicily. The gelato melts into the buttery bun and makes a fabulously indulgent begin to your day.

And generally the ice cream vendor will even give you cream to placed on prime of the gelato. As a result of this dish wasn’t decadent sufficient!

Frutta Martorana

In Sicilian bakeries and cafes, you’ll usually see baskets of brightly coloured sweets painted to appear like fruit and veggies. These are frutta martorana — conventional marzipan sweets that originated in Palermo.

They’re softer than you assume, and so splendidly almondy.

Frutta martorana is a conventional dessert served on All Soul’s Day. Whereas it originated in Palermo, yow will discover it year-round all through Sicily.

What to Drink in Sicily

Like most Italians, Sicilians are likely to drink wine, water, and low with nice enthusiasm.

Sicilian Wines

Italians are justifiably happy with their indigenous grape varietals. In Sicily, the native wine that you simply’ve in all probability heard of is Nero d’Avola — a deep, full-bodied purple wine from southeast Sicily.

As for whites, Grillo and Carracante are two strong Sicilian white wine decisions that you simply’ll see on menus all through the island. Malvasia is a well-liked white wine from the Aeolian Islands value making an attempt.

Sicily additionally makes glorious candy wines. Marsala is a candy wine from southwest Sicily that you simply’ll see round.

It may be a bit overwhelming selecting an Italian wine when you’re not conversant in their varietals. (I usually say that one of many largest errors vacationers make in Italy is continually ordering Chianti as a result of it’s the one Italian varietal they’ve heard of.)

To get round this, you possibly can all the time ask for the vino della casa (home wine) or ask your server for a advice. Or decide a bottle at random when you’re feeling adventurous! Wine could be fairly low-cost in Sicily.

Sicilian Digestivi

A digestivo is a liqueur consumed on the finish of your meal to assist digestion. Does it work? Who is aware of, however it’s the traditional approach to finish your meal in Sicily!

The preferred Sicilian digestivo is Amaro. Amaro is a bittersweet liqueur created from herbs, roots, spices, citrus peels, impartial alcohol or wine, and sugar syrup. It comes served neat — sip away!

If you wish to go extra fruity than bitter, Sicilians additionally make their very own limoncello, arancello, and different fruity digestives.

Extra on Sicily:

Cool Locations in Southern Italy:

Cool Locations in Northern Italy:

Planning a Journey to Italy:

What’s your favourite Sicilian meals? Share away!