30 Iconic Dishes + What to Eat in Sicily

Sicilian meals is utterly completely different out of your traditional Italian delicacies. In the event you’re going to be spending time in Sicily, don’t count on to seize a Roman carbonara or a Florentine steak.

As an alternative, think about a delicacies crammed with contemporary greens, a lot of seafood, and the smallest quantity of meat. Think about eggplants and pine nuts and swordfish, wild fennel rising on the facet of the street, a sprinkling of couscous right here and there, calamari grilled to perfection, liqueurs comprised of native fruits and herbs. And — I gained’t lie — Sicilians generally tend to get inventive with the organs.

In the event you’re planning a visit to Sicily, you’re going to need to strive EVERYTHING. And whereas I’ve traveled to Sicily a number of occasions, 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’ll be able to’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. A lot 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 much 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 shade to pasta dishes.

In brief, Sicily is rather a lot nearer to Tunis than Rome — not solely by geography however by tradition and delicacies as properly.

(And it goes to folks, too. What a shock I acquired once I acquired my DNA take a look at and the Sicilian facet of the household was truly fairly Center Japanese!)

Touring to Sicily? Begin with a Meals Tour

In the event you’re touring to Sicily and trying to study typical Sicilian meals, I extremely, extremely advocate beginning with a meals tour. It will provide you with 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 final Sicilian delicacies and wine tour in Palermo, which was completely incredible and one of the simplest ways to start out my journey.

In addition they run a Catania meals tour.

Sicilian Appetizers

Caponata

Caponata is likely one of the most recognizable dishes from Sicily, and one that’s steadily 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 element of caponata, and it additionally consists of celery, tomatoes, capers, inexperienced olives, and olives, cooked with olive oil, vinegar, and sugar.

Sometimes you could find a extra upscale caponata that features octopus (polpo) or swordfish (spade).

Speak to Sicilians and so they’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 can be lined with breadcrumbs and deep fried. These are a straightforward and filling snack in Sicily; locals seize them at any time of day, and so they often value round a euro.

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

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

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

In both of those sorts, the fillings might be al burro (ham and cheese, often Béchamel or mozzarella) or al ragu (tomato and meat sauce, typically with peas), although you could find something from pistachios and mortadella to eggplant and ricotta salata.

Arancini are typically served as road meals in Sicily, however you could find them in eating places, in rosticcerie, in all places.

Parmigiana di Melanzane

Yet one more extremely fashionable 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” truly has nothing to do with parmesan cheese — meals historians imagine it’s associated to the phrase parmiciana, or the wood 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 facet dish. A superb accompaniment to any Sicilian meal!

Zucca in Agrodolce

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

That is referred to as “poor man’s liver,” my Sicilian mates joked. It was created to evoke the looks of candy and bitter liver, a extra fashionable 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

One in every of Sicily’s most unusual meals is bottarga — dried compressed fish roe sac, often comprised of 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 typically see it as an included ingredient in five-star eating places around the globe.)

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

Many Sicilians have sturdy opinions over whether or not bottarga must 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 like!

Caciocavallo all’Argentiera

Caciocavallo cheese is fashionable all through Sicily — and Italy as an entire. However caciocavallo all’argentiera is a dish that you will discover 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 laborious occasions. She made the cheese within the type of rabbit, and the scent was so good, folks 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 listing, however it’s fashionable in Palermo, so I’m sharing it right here. It is a salad made from 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 listing I couldn’t end.)

Insalata Eoliana

And now, a significantly 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, typically referred to 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 you could find al mare variations that embrace tuna or octopus.

This may be served as a facet dish (contorno) or primary dish. It’s powerful to search out exterior the Aeolian Islands, so take pleasure in it when you have it!

Sicilian Avenue Meals

Panelle

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

Panelle might 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 this can be a scrumptious sandwich! And should 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, typically with grated caciocavallo cheese. It is a traditional Sicilian road meals specialty, however it’s typically dressed up in fancier eating places.

This dish is hottest in Palermo, and you could find 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 pal who hates seafood — likelihood is they gained’t discover).

You may see straightforward connections to Italian-American pizza slices. In the event you’ve been to L&P Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn, or lined up for a “grandma slice” after an extended night time out, these are sfincione!

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

These are a terrific dish to maintain you going once you want a chunk however not an entire meal.

Pani câ meusa

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

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 typically served with ricotta or caciocavallo cheese — that is referred to as maritatu, or married in Sicilian, whereas the cheeseless sandwich is schettu (single).

It won’t be your first alternative 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 kind) 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 as if each tradition has its personal model of potato croquettes — and the Sicilians aren’t any exception with their crocchè. This fashionable road meals is obtainable all through Sicily.

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

In Palermo, you’ll be able to 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 might be picked up at a rosticceria within the morning, and so they make a filling and moveable breakfast on this typically breakfast-averse nation.

The surface is fried and crispy, and the within is contemporary and spongy. In Sicily, panzerotti are sometimes al burro, which means crammed with ham and cheese. In the event you get a great panzerotto, you gained’t need anything!

Yow will discover panzerotti throughout Italy, and so they fluctuate fairly a bit regionally. Panzerotti are vastly fashionable in Puglia, however they have an inclination to have a thinner exterior crust and crammed with tomato and mozzarella. In Naples, pizza fritta (fried pizza) is just like Puglian panzerotti, however the time period panzerotti truly refers to potato croquettes. Complicated!

Pane Cunzatu

Pane cunzatu (additionally referred to as pane cunzato) is a dish initially from the Aeolian Islands — a flatbread topped with olive oil and any type of toppings you’ll be able to think about. Some fashionable 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 last word low cost meal within the Aeolian Islands — as a result of they’re often large and straightforward to separate between two folks! (Some come smaller, although, particularly in nicer eating places. Test earlier than you order.) And since every part is balanced on a large piece of agency bread, you must watch out to maintain the substances from rolling off!

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

Sicilian Pastas

Pasta alla Norma

In the event you’re in search of 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.

Notice that ricotta salata, or salted ricotta, may be very completely different from the everyday clean ricotta cheese you would possibly choose 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 pleasure within the metropolis. The dish is called 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 must be eaten in Palermo, although you’ll be able to typically discover it in different elements of the island today.

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 normal pasta to make use of is bucatini, although you could find it with varied forms of pasta.

Raisins and sardines in a pasta — collectively? I do know, it sounds a bit nuts. However belief me — this is likely one of 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 might be powerful to search out elsewhere. You need to use common fennel fronds, bulbs, and seeds should you can’t discover wild fennel the place you reside.

Pasta alla Lido (Pasta Pesce Spada)

One other fashionable Sicilian pasta is pasta alla Lido, typically referred to 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 an extended maccheroni however not fairly a tube.

It is a incredible Sicilian pasta, utilizing traditional Sicilian substances that you simply discover virtually in all places — and the mint leaves simply add a stunning brightness to the dish.

Busiate Alla Trapanese

Busiate is a type 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 fashioned by twisting the pasta round a neighborhood grass, ampelodesmos.

Pesto alla trapanese is a bit completely different from the pesto you’re used to up in Genoa — this pesto is comprised of almonds, grated pecorino cheese, tomatoes, basil, and garlic. Sometimes it’s referred to 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, typically referred to as pasta ai ricci di mare, is pasta with sea urchin — an costly however oh so scrumptious native specialty in Sicily! In the event you’re utilizing contemporary 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 by means of 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 approach into our dish above!

Couscous alla Trapanese

Top-of-the-line methods to see the affect of North Africa in Sicilian delicacies is to move to Trapani province. Right here, couscous typically accompanies dishes as a substitute 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 variety. 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 should 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 — once you’re on the coast, it’s typically laborious to discover a primary dish that isn’t seafood! (If not, it’s often veal — the rooster of Italy.) And often meaning what’s contemporary and native, served merely.

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

Past that, there are Sicilian seafood dishes that you must hold an eye fixed out for. Right here they’re:

Gambero Rosso di Mazara

Sicilians love shrimp (or prawns, as you Brits name them) — however there’s one type 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 referred to as ammaru russu in Sicilian.

Mazara del Vallo is likely one of 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 combined into one other dish — I had a beautiful pasta with pistachio pesto, burrata, and purple shrimp at Ngonia Bay lodge in Milazzo.

Involtini di Pesce Spade

You might 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, typically 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 the same dish made with butterflied sardines wrapped across the breadcrumbs combination.

Sicilian Desserts and Candy Treats

Truthfully, I feel one of many highlights of visiting Sicily is the desserts. I feel Sicily has the perfect desserts in all of Italy!

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

My suggestion? 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 typically make every dessert in mini sizes as properly. Excellent for sampling!

Cannoli

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

You already know this one — it’s a fried pastry shell formed like a tube, referred to as a scorza, and crammed with ricotta. (Ideally, the shells must be empty till you organize them after which crammed with ricotta, although not each place follows this step.)

In Sicily, cannoli are sometimes topped with candied oranges or cherries, crammed with 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 you could find 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 typically chocolate. This model is extra widespread in Catania and typically referred to as cassata Catanese.

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

Torta Setteveli

In the event you’re having fun with the desserts in Palermo however craving one thing a bit extra chocolatey, you’ll need to take a look at the torta setteveli — a wealthy cake made from layers of chocolate and hazelnuts. The identify 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. (In the event you’re a baker and in search of a problem, this requires a whole lot of completely different steps! No surprise it was a technical problem on The Nice British Bake-Off.)

It is a fashionable birthday cake in Palermo — however you’re welcome to have it simply to have a good time being in Sicily!

Granita con Brioche

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

Granita is just like slush — it’s a clean 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 number 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 Japanese Sicily and chunkier in Western Sicily.

You can too get it topped with crema, both served as whipped cream or liquid cream, should 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 once they do have it? Usually in a brioche con gelato! That is the last 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 typically 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 typically see baskets of brightly coloured sweets painted to seem like vegatables and fruits. 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 standard dessert served on All Soul’s Day. Whereas it originated in Palermo, you could find it year-round all through Sicily.

What to Drink in Sicily

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

Sicilian Wines

Italians are justifiably pleased 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 selections that you simply’ll see on menus all through the island. Malvasia is a well-liked white wine from the Aeolian Islands price attempting.

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 should you’re not conversant in their varietals. (I typically 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’ll be able to at all times ask for the vino della casa (home wine) or ask your server for a suggestion. Or choose a bottle at random should you’re feeling adventurous! Wine might 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 comprised of 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!