Blessed with volcanic soil, surrounded by ocean, and with a rich history, Sicily boasts a magnificent cuisine as a consequence. Photo / 123RF
Blessed with volcanic soil, surrounded by ocean, and with a rich history, Sicily boasts a magnificent cuisine as a consequence. Photo / 123RF
Its abundant seafood, drool-worthy snacks and delicious desserts make the island ideal for foodies, writes Anna King Shahab
Blessed with volcanic soil, surrounded by ocean, and with a rich history of influence by Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Spanish, and more recently Africans, Sicily boasts a magnificent cuisine as a consequence. Here are some dishes not to miss.
Arancine
None of those one-bite-and-done dainty arancini you've been served up as canapes at a fancy cocktail event; Sicilian aracine de riso are rather more robust. As big as a pear and the same shape, the most common filling for the casing of risotto is meat ragu with peas – yes, pea deniers look away, they're proudly on display in Sicilian arancine!
A street-food classic, you'll find them everywhere, including at train stations. The ones at Siracusa Train Station were excellent, the perfect lunch, along with bottles of blood orange soda, for the long train ride to Roma.
Sicilian cuisine is dripping with all sun-soaked vegetables and among them eggplant is king. In this famous pasta from the city of Catania, said to be named for the Bellini opera La Norma, silky fried eggplant and lush tomato sauce are tossed through pasta. It's topped off with basil leaves and salted ricotta.
Caponata
Every city and every restaurant has its own take on caponata – so I suggest ordering it wherever you go; it's certainly a dish I could eat all day every day, anyway. Generally speaking, King eggplant is fried and stewed with tomato and celery, and joined by green olives, capers, pine nuts and a sweet-sour red wine vinegar dressing, and the dish is most often served at room temperature. Variations include the addition of sweet charred peppers, potatoes, sultanas or raisins, and chilli – but no matter what, mopping up the juices with hunks of bread is advisable.
Pane con panelle
In this Palermo favourite, sold from takeaway counters on the city's streets, freshly fried chickpea-flour fritters are sandwiched in a white bun. It might sound, and certainly looks, a little on the beige side (to take this to a further extreme, a crocche twist sees potato croquettes added to the filling) but the piping-hot crispness of the fritter and the dousing with lemon juice before you tuck in are key. If you see a queue of young folk, there's mostly likely pane con panelle to be had.
As an island, Sicily is blessed with a variety of seafood, best appreciated by wandering through a morning market. Photo / Anna King Shahab
Seafood
As an island, Sicily is blessed with a variety of seafood – best appreciated by wandering through a morning market (we visited the daily markets in Palermo and Ortigia and both boasted a colourful array of ocean catch). On menus, there are myriad ways it's showcased. We loved the Ortigian approach with octopus, which sees it braised and sliced, and served in a lukewarm salad with potato.
Spaghetti con sarde brings North African vibes with the sardines joined by raisins, pine nuts, and saffron as well as fennel, and similar flavours combine in sarde a beccafico, where sardines are topped with raisins, pine nuts, and breadcrumbs and rolled up.
Red prawns, caught in deep water way off the fishing port of Mazara de Vallo on Sicily's west coast, have an intense, coral colour and honey-sweet flesh and are often served raw as a starter. They're an expensive treat getting pricier yet, as a dangerous fishing turf war with Libya heats up.
A sweet brioche from a cafe in Sicily. Photo / Anna King Shahab
Granite
At street kiosks, truck stops, and caffes all over the island, granite (sorbets) are a go-to at any time of day – most popularly in lemon and almond flavours, and often enjoyed at breakfast time, with a brioche bun – icecream sandwich ahoy!
For the most incredible granite on the island, we took a detour to arrive at Caffe Sicilia in the beautiful Baroque town of Noto. Fourth-generation proprietor, pastry chef Corrado Assenza's approach was highlighted in an episode of Netflix's Chef's Table – he's a big supporter of hyper-local produce, working to prop up unique traditional crops in danger of disappearing. As well as the classic granite flavours, expect to find granite, gelati and sorbetti in using interesting ingredients and combinations like strawberry and tomato, or bergamot. Go for the iced treats, stay for the impeccably turned-out cakes and pastries – grab a table on the cobbled street outside and watch the well-dressed passers-by.
Cannoli
Saving the best for last, or possibly the most famous, in part thanks to the infamous line in The Godfather when hitman Clemenza quips, upon walking away from a job, "Leave the gun, take the cannoli". These tubular, deep-fried pastries are filled with sweetened ricotta, often spiked with citrus peel. A cannolo a day is just about requisite when travelling in Sicily. These days there's far more variation in garnishes, but maraschino cherry or a twist of orange peel is most traditional.
the Ortigian approach with octopus sees it braised and sliced, and served in a lukewarm salad with potato. Photo / Anna King Shahab
Wine
Sicily produces some fabulous drops, from the heat-loving plummy and peppery Nero D'Avola to whites that range from bone-dry and flinty to fruity, smoky, and almost salty. Go forth and explore!
Ficchi d'India
Sicily adores the prickly pear, or Barbary fig, as ficchi d'India is known in English. It's the fruit from a type of cactus that thrives in the island's volcanic soils. Though it doesn't need much to grow, you'll spot them absolutely everywhere, in crevices between stone walls, on the roadside, by the seaside. Harvesting them is a task fraught with prickles – but the tenacity of the plant itself, and in the gathering of its fruit, is said to be symbolic of the Sicilian character.
The first bloom fruit arrive May-June and second, more prized "bastardoni" in Autumn. In season, market stalls groan with them; buy some to taste fresh, or at any time of year you'll find them in ice creams, baking, jams, and liqueurs. The plethora of pips don't bother the locals. The taste? Subtle, hints of strawberry or apple. Chilled before eating, they make a nice palate refresher after a hearty meal.
CHECKLIST: SICILY
DETAILS For more things to see and do in Sicily, go to visitsicily.info/en
