Your essential food guide to Sicily

• The must-make recipe from Sicily
• What are the traditional ingredients in Sicily?
• What are the famous dishes from Sicily?
• The best cheeses to try from Sicily
• The best wines to try from Sicily
• The delicious. team’s top food experiences in Sicily

Get to know the food of Sicily

It may be the biggest island in the Mediterranean – slightly bigger than Wales, for context – and depending where you are will influence what’s on the menu. If you’re in the cities of Palermo and Catania, it’s the street food scene that stands out. Bustling markets offer everything from little plates of fried squid and freshly squeezed juice from local blood oranges to fried arancini and more rustic dishes like pani ca’ meusa (a stewed cow’s offal sandwich – not for the faint-hearted!). Out of the cities, you’ll find traditional dishes featuring the amazing local vegetables (caponata being a particular highlight), and you’re never too far from a café or shop serving granita or world-class gelato to help you cool off (Sicily has a pretty robust claim to being the birthplace of gelato, although Florence in Tuscany has an equally legit argument).

All those different invaders and conquerors mean savoury dishes with raisins, a penchant for couscous on the west of the island and lots of stuffed foods. There’s also a real taste for sweet things – something that’s less prevalent further north. The iconic cannoli are the hero, but cassata (a sponge cake layered with ricotta, marzipan and lots of candied fruit) is just as popular.

Our hero recipe from Sicily

Almond granita ‘affogato’ by Alfio Laudani, executive chef at Sotto Cucina & Bar

“This is one of my signature dishes, inspired by my typical summer breakfast when I’m at home in Sicily,” says Alfio. “It’s a traditional almond granita with an espresso coffee foam on top, and it’s served with a brioche on the side in the classic Sicilian way.”

Alfio grew up in the Catania region of Sicily before moving to the UK in the late nineties. Since then, he’s been cooking in hotels and restaurants. He’s now the executive chef of Sotto Cucina & Bar, a Sicilian restaurant in the Hyatt Place London City East hotel in Whitechapel, which offers a contemporary take on the island’s cuisine.

 

Cook Alfio’s almond granita ‘affogato’

 

 

What are the traditional ingredients in Sicily?

• Fish and seafood Unlike Italy’s other main island Sardinia, where meat rules supreme, Sicily makes the most of its incredible shores. Tuna, swordfish, sea bass, squid, octopus and red prawns are some of the highlights, but the surrounding waters are filled with dozens of other aquatic delights.
• Vegetables Tomatoes and aubergines are the stars of Sicily’s vegetable output, but courgettes, summer squash and cardoons (a plant related to globe artichokes) are particularly popular during the summer.
• Pistachios Bronte pistachios are among the best in the world and the ‘green gold’ of Sicily is used with abandon in local dishes, both sweet and savoury. Gelato, cannoli, fish, pesto – if you can put a pistachio in it, the Sicilians have done it.
• Capers Salina and Pantelleria are two much smaller islands that are part of the region of Sicily – and they both produce the finest capers in the world. The salty sea air, harsh sunlight and volcanic soil provide the perfect environment for the capers to grow.
• Citrus Lemons grown in Sicily are highly prized, and nearly 60% of all Italy’s oranges come from the island. They’re juiced, candied for cannoli or cassata and used in savoury dishes. The lemons are famed for being sweeter than usual and with a thinner white pith.
• Chocolate Modica, in Sicily, is home to a style of chocolate making that’s been there since the Spanish owned the island 250 years ago. It’s cold-processed rather than heated, which results in bars which are grainier than you’d normally get, with a particularly aromatic flavour. It’s a real speciality and the only EU-protected chocolate to exist.

What are the famous dishes from Sicily?

• Arancini An icon of Sicilian street food, these balls of rice are filled (most commonly with ragù and cheese, but many variations exist), breadcrumbed and deep-fried. They can be spherical or teardrop-shaped, eaten as is as you walk or served in a tomato sauce in restaurants.
• Pasta alla norma Sicily’s most well-known pasta dish is a simple one; fried pieces of aubergine in a tomato sauce with basil and ricotta salata (salted ricotta) grated on top, usually with rigatoni or another thick tubular pasta. It’s named after the opera Norma, written by Vicenzo Bellini, who came from Catania (the Sicilian city the dish originated in). .
• Pasta con le sarde A dish that perfectly encapsulates the North African influence on the island’s cuisine, pasta con le sarde is a mixture of onions, sardines, anchovies and toasted breadcrumbs, flavoured with wild fennel, pine nuts, raisins and saffron. Try our tuna version.
• Sfincione You can of course find Neapolitan-style pizza in Sicily (just like the rest of the world), but in true Sicilian style, they have their own alternative. Thicker, fluffier and topped with a cooked tomato, onion and anchovy sauce, it’s sprinkled with breadcrumbs and caciocavallo cheese before being baked and sliced into big thick slabs. Try making your own sfincione!
• Caponata The ultimate hot-weather dish, caponata is a sort of vegetable stew served at room temperature. It contains fried aubergines, celery, olives, capers, pine nuts and sometimes raisins, with a little tomato sauce to bind and plenty of olive oil. It’s one of those dishes that vary from village to village (and even family to family), but it’s always tasty.
• Cannoli These little sweet delights really do have it all. Crunchy deep-fried pastry shells; creamy ricotta piped through the centre and nuts, chocolate or candied fruits sprinkled on the edges for added flavour. They’re produced all over the world, but a freshly made cannolo from a Sicilian bakery is unbeatable.
• Granita It’s always hot in Sicily, particularly in the cities, so it makes sense that breakfast is an icy affair. Granita sits somewhere between a sorbet and a slushie – tiny shards of flavoured ice (often with lemon, pistachio or almond, but there are dozens of varieties) that are pleasingly crunchy. Served with an espresso and a warm, sweet brioche bun, there are few better ways to start the day.

 

The best cheeses to try from Sicily

Ricotta is the big cheese in Sicily, both fresh and creamy or aged and salted (to create ricotta salata, which is firm enough to grate over dishes like parmesan). But the local pecorino siciliano is highly regarded too (and one of the oldest cheeses in Europe, possibly being mentioned back in Homer’s Odyssey). Ragusano is one of the more unique cheeses – made in a similar way to mozzarella, but pressed into blocks and aged for a more pronounced flavour and firm texture.

The best wines to try from Sicily

Sicily produces a lot of incredible wine, a lot of which stays on the island. Nero d’avola, nerello mascalese and etna rosso are among the most well-known reds, with grillo and carricante leading the pack of whites. There’s also marsala, the famous fortified wine of the island, and some amazing sparkling wines that are well worth seeking out.

Browse wine editor Susy Atkins’ pick of the nine best Italian wines to buy right now.

 

The delicious. team’s top food experiences in Sicily

Tom Shingler, Head of food
“Spending a lunchtime at a restaurant called Taverna Dei Canti in Palermo, sweltering in the heat yet thoroughly enjoying a hearty tomato and aubergine pasta bake; multiple glasses of cold white wine certainly helped.”

Thea Everett, Deputy digital editor
“In Syracuse, I will never forget learning the art of the sandwich from Caseificio Borderi, where honey, radicchio, cured meats and cheese are brought together with sensational results. The Italian American sub clearly has its roots here.”

Mia Rodriguez, Editorial assistant
“À Putia, a short drive from busy Taormina, is a really lovely wine bar and restaurant. Despite the glorious sea views, the dishes served here are surprisingly reasonable. The fresh crudo (raw fish) served with local salts (hello Etna!), is a must-try, but the squid ink linguine with salted ricotta and almonds was insanely good. The relaxed atmosphere and excellent food will have me returning time and time again. Be sure to book ahead, as it’s a popular spot.”

Elizabeth Webber, Head of commercial
“On a video shoot with Gennaro Contaldo in Salina, Sicily, Gennaro made pasta on a hill side overlooking the sea for a brand we were working with. Everyone went and dipped in the sea afterwards to celebrate the shoot… My strapless swimming suit fell down and I inadvertently flashed all of my colleagues!”

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