Sicily is a stunning tourist destination, full of natural and artistic wonders in every corner. During a stay in one of our luxury properties in Sicily like Villa Afrodite, Villa Marisol or Villa Agorà, you cannot forget to taste some of its delicious culinary specialities!
Silician cuisine is a journey through two millennia of diverse influences—a melting pot of cultures that has shaped a distinctive gastronomic heritage. Its foundations trace back to Phoenician, Greek, and Roman rule: olive oil, wine, cereals, fish, and seafood. Jewish communities enriched the culinary landscape with aromatic fillings, offal-based dishes, and preserves. Arabic influence introduced new preservation methods, fragrant spices, and ingredients such as fish, legumes, couscous, and spices like ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Each dominant culture left enduring traces, creating a culinary heritage celebrated today in Sicily’s coastal and inland specialties.
Here's a list of the top 10 Sicilian dishes:
- Cassata Siciliana
This Easter cake is typical of Palermo and it is prepared with ricotta cheese, chocolate, candid fruit, marzipan and many other ingredients settled on a delicious Victoria cake. Its style is kind of "baroque" because of the numerous surface decorations and a peculiar flavour wich amazed everyone who tries it for the first time.
- Granita with Brioche
Sicilian breakfast does not include the typical cappuccino, but a tasty "granita" with whipped cream along with an exquisite sweet roll called "brioscia col tuppo”. If you are staying in Catania, cool yourself down with a classic lemon granita or try one of the numerous tasty variations!
- Arancino
Arancino is a must in Sicily! It is a rice breaded ball seasoned with green peas, tomato or the typical "ragù" sauce. This finger-food has Arab origins and its lovers are found in every part of the world.
- Busiati con l’Agghia Pistata
This is a first course dish you absolutely need to taste in a restaurant in Sicily! The "busiati" are thin maccaroni that look like bucatini, accompanied by a delicious "pesto alla trapanese" with garlic, basil, almonds and tomatoes. Sicilians got inspired by Genoa's pesto and they revisited it using some fresh local ingredients, with an exquisite result!
- Cous Cous di Pesce
Many believe that cous cous is a typical North-African dish, but it's not exact: Sicilians use it as the base of many excellent dishes, especially in the province of Trapani. This specific variation expects the use of a particular saucepan called "cousscoussiera” and a mouth-watering fish broth seasoning.
- Caponata/ Parmigiana di Melanzane
The paradisiac Parmigiana is cooked in every region of Italy but its origins are Sicilian, where the dish is flavored with a lot of parmesan, salami, hard-boiled eggs and provola. Aubergines are the base of another appetizing dish called "Caponata", which you should try savoring at all costs!
- Pane e Panelle
The typical sandwich of Palermo contains "panelle", which are chickpea flour fritters accompanied by some succulent pepper and parsley croquettes called "cazzilli". Eat this speciality while walking along the narrow streets of this wonderful Sicilian town!
- Almond Pastries
Sicilian almonds are used in the recipes of many fantastic sweets and biscuits, which are usually made with the so-called "pasta reale" or "frutta martorana". Taste one of these and let their flavor flood out!
- Pasta con le Sarde und "Sarde Beccafico”
Sardines are the most popular fish dish in Sicily as well as one of the tastiest. We suggest trying a dish of pasta with "sarde" in Palermo or the amazing "Sarde Beccafico"., which is made with sardines, raisins, parsley and pine nuts.
- Cannolo with Ricotta
Cannolis are crunchy and exquisite fried sweets filled with sheep ricotta cheese, chocolate chips and candied fruit zest. They boast ancient origins and hundreds of imitations in the world, which are never as good as the originals. They are typical Carnival desserts, but pastry shops cook them all year long to sweeten the stay of each tourist in the region!
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