What to eat in Sicily: the best 15 traditional dishes

From granita to cassata, from pasta with sardines to Messina focaccia. What to eat in Sicily: the best 15 typical dishes.

The Sicilyit is a land of taste, an island where cooking is not a mere pleasure in the kitchen but a real culture that has very distant roots and which is handed down from grandmother to granddaughter like a treasure to be preserved.

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WHAT TO EAT IN SICILY

It starts from a basic rule: in Sicily, food represents the cornerstone on which families, friendships and relationships are founded. That's why, wherever you go in the sunny Trinacria, you will always find tables set for weddings, smells of "fried mulinciane" from the first light of dawn, red and white wines ready to cheerfully accompany every exquisite dish.

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If you are wondering what are the typical traditional dishes and the things you absolutely must eat in Sicily, here I come to your aid and leave you the list of the best 15 dishes... rigorously selected by a true Sicilian like me!

Bread and Panelle (Palermo)

It is the must ofPalermo, the street food that every tourist is obliged to taste. These are chickpea fritters (round or rectangular) which are served in the middle of the Mafalde (typical sandwiches with sesame seeds on the surface).

Focaccia from Messina

It is one of the specialties along the Strait. TOMessina, the focaccia is served in very different flavors but the "traditional focaccia" has very specific ingredients: anchovies, tomatoes, escarole and tuma (typical cheese).

Sicilian granita

Be wary of Italian imitations, such as grattachecche and so on. The real granita is only Sicilian. Difficult to choose a better city than the others in which to taste this delicacy, but I can certainly recommend the "half with cream" to Messina(coffee and cream granita), fruity granitas aTaormina, that of mulberries in Marina di Ragusa and that ofPDO pistachio from Bronte. 

Chocolate (Modica)

It certainly needs no introduction and, among the things to eat in Sicily, it certainly deserves a place of honour. The chocolate ofModicait is produced exactly in Modica, the baroque pearl of the province of Ragusa. Absolutely to try the variants with orange, cinnamon and lemon.

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Pignolata (Messina)

A typical “black and white” dessert, the pignolata looks like small pine cones covered in white (lemon) and black (chocolate) icing. A curiosity? TOGalatians Mamertine, a small town on the Nebrodi, still maintains the tradition of pignolata glazed with honey.

Cassata (Palermo)

Cassata is oneof the most loved sweets of the Sicilian tradition, whose origins are rooted in the city ofPalermo. It is a cake whose exterior is characterized by a very sweet icing of sugar with a typical green color while the interior is based on ricotta with chocolate chips. As for the granita, also for the cassata beware of any imitation.

Couscous (San Vito Lo Capo)

Light and typical dish of Western Sicily, thecous couscomes directly from African culture.San Vito Lo Capo, a jewel of Trapani, hosts the International Cous Cous Festival every year.

Arancini and Pidoni (Messina)

Together with the focaccia, arancini and pidoni complete the typical Messina Saturday night meal with friends and relatives. Thearancinithey are breaded and fried rice “cones” (about 10 cm high) and stuffed with meat sauce, peas and caciocavallo. THEpylons, on the other hand, are crescent-shaped loaves that can be fried or baked. The traditional ones contain escarole, tuma and anchovies.

Cannoli

Cannoli are another confectionery must of the Trinacria for which the saying is valid: "beware of imitations". The cannoli wafer is characterized by a fried dough whose dimensions can vary from time to time, even if there are mainly two categories:razor clamswhich reach a maximum of 6 cm and icannoliproperly so-called which can even reach 15-20 cm. The filling is typically based on sheep's milk ricotta although there is a "black" version with chocolate.

Curiosity! For the Sicilians the cannolo, par excellence, is only the ricotta one.

Cunzato bread (Aeolian)

Among the things to eat inAeolian Islandsof Sicily stands out the cunzato bread, a typical traditional dish. The bread (sesame or durum wheat loaf) is "cunzato" (seasoned) with tuna, mozzarella, tomato, basil, capers, oil. There are also variations with anchovies, onions and chili peppers.

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Parmigiana (Sicily)

Parmigiana is one of the most popular Sicilian dishes made with fried aubergines au gratin in the oven. The dish is characterized by layers of tomato puree, aubergines, cheese (usually Sicilian pecorino), with the inevitable smell of fresh basil.

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Zibibbo from Pantelleria

Typical DOC sweet wine, Zibibbo (whose name derives from the Arabic and means "raisins") is produced on the island of Pantelleria, in the province of Trapani. His agricultural practice of cultivation has been declaredUNESCO heritage.

Malvasia from Lipari

Even the Malvasia delleLipariis a DOC sweet wine. Produced exclusively inAeolian Islands, it is ideal to accompany desserts. In Messina it is customary to drink it with 'nuddi and piparelli (traditional dry biscuits).

Pasta alla Norma (Catania)

Pasta alla norma is a typical first course of Sicilian culture based on tomatoes, aubergines and basil. When served, it is always accompanied by grated ricotta salata.

Pasta with sardines (Palermo)

Pasta with sardines is also a typical first course of Sicilian culture, in particular of the western area (Palermoand neighboring areas). The main ingredients are sardines, tomato and fennel.