Amazing things you can eat in Sicily

Post by R.M. team, updated on 27 April 2020

Note: The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of RetoxMagazine.com

If you’re looking for an epic culinary assault on the senses, Sicily is the right place to visit.

Sicilian cuisine is very diverse and there is plenty to choose from.

Some of the dishes that you will find in Sicily are typically Sicilian, other dishes have made their way to Sicily from mainland Italy. Ultimately, the cuisine shows traces of various cultures that have existed on the island over the last two millennia, with Greek, Spanish, French, Arab and other culinary influences. With such a delicious culinary fusion it’s easy to end up in a glorious food coma!

Quicklinks to:

Sicilian food for vegetarians

Sicilian food for carnivores

Local seasonal fruit and veg

Desserts

Not for the faint-hearted

Sicilian food for vegetarians

The diverse Sicilian cuisine offers great options for vegetarians. In Sicily vegetarians eat well!

To be practical, when you visit any restaurant as a vegetarian, you may wish to enquire about ingredients. You can clarify with the restaurant waiter if the dishes you’re interested in have meat. If the waiter is not sure they can always check with the chef. Mainly, what you’ll want to keep an eye out for is that soups or sauces do not contain meat stock or meat. Even the seemingly innocent pesto can have anchovies.

The way to ask it in Italian is "C'e carne dentro?" which translates to "Is there meat inside?" You can check the pronunciation on Google translate.

Pictured above: A screen-grab from Google Translate. Where to click to hear the phrase pronounced is marked on the screen-grab.

Vegetarian options can include, but are not limited to pizza, panini, arancine, risotto, panella, couscous, calzones, soups, antipasti (carbonata), gnocchi, ravioli, pastas, tortellini, polenta, tortas, vegetables, salads, cheeses, desserts, fruits and nuts.

Pizzas come in all varieties (Sicilian, stuffed, thin crust, thick crust), and topped with everything from artichokes to peppers.

An example of an authentic Italian thin-base home-style pizza with plenty of cheese.

In Sicily the most common type of pasta is dried pasta made from durum wheat.

Fusilli Italian pasta (that looks a bit like a telephone cord) with tomatoes.

If you happen to visit Trapani, check out their local unusually shaped Fusilli pasta!

Sicilian food for…carnivores

A typical Sicilian menu includes a main dish based on meat or fish. But what meats do the Sicilians eat?

Some of the most popular Sicilian meat dishes include Sciusceddu - a soupy dish with meatballs and eggs, Coniglio in agrodolce – a sweet and sour rabbit, Polpette di cavallo – horse meatballs, as well as Falsomagro Sicilia stuffed meatrolls that date back to the 13th century.

The Sicilians eat pork, beef, lamb, mutton, horse, rabbit, and other. You can find chicken but it seems to be less popular than in some other European countries.

Seafood in Sicily is quite a staple, and you can get a great local variety, most likely caught on the morning of your purchase.

Some of the dishes you may wish to try are:

Couscous di pesce - mixed fish and semolina. A broth is made by simmering fish (including heads), onions, garlic, tomato and herbs. Then the fish is either discarded or flaked and served at the end. The couscous made from semolina absorbs all the delicious broth. This dish is particularly popular in San Vito Lo Capo.

A seafood dish that includes prawns and couscous, Arabic influence.

Fritto misto – a simple dish that uses whatever has been caught on the day, such as red mullet, prawns, squid and baby cuttlefish, which is then dusted in batter and deep fried.

Involtini di pesce spade – swordfish rolls with capers, pine nuts, raisins, olives and lemon and come baked, fried or grilled. You can get other variations of fish roles, such as Sarde a Beccafico (sardine rolls with raisins and pine nuts).

Raw red prawns – when the prawns are at their freshest they can be eaten raw simply dressed in a little lemon juice and olive oil, or at least that’s what the locals said.

Squid ink pasta - authentic artisan preparation that uses squid ink to make black spaghetti.

Sicilian Swordfish Ragu – gently slow-cooked moist swordfish with absorbed garlic and chili flavours.

Above are just examples of what fish and seafood dishes you can find in Sicily, and you will find much…much more.

A great way to get a feel for and understand the importance of seafood on the Sicilian table is to visit a local fish market, such as the famous La Pescheria fish market (open Monday to Saturday) sprawled through many streets in Catania.

A fish for sale presented on ice in the street fish market in Palermo city.

Traditional fishing and preparation of swordfish fish in Syracuse, Sicily.

Seasonal fruit and veg

Sicilian fruit and veg are fragrant and taste amazing! So while you’re there just as well you can explore the fruits and veg grown locally that are available during the seasons.

In springtime you can find loquats (little orange fruit originally from Japan), wild strawberries, apricots, cherries and tiny, sweet pears and other seasonal fruits and vegetables. This is also the season for wild fennel, asparagus and artichokes.

The loquats fruits, still on the tree.

Artichoke served with a couple of slices of lemon, ready to be enjoyed.

Summer - different varieties of prunes, peaches, cantaloupe, figs and watermelon.

Figs – very popular fruit in the Mediterranean, including Sicily.

Autumn is time for the olive and grape harvests. Prickly pears are also in abundance. You will also find plenty of roasted chestnuts sold in little kiosks in various towns. This is also the truffles season - every autumn lots of festivals known as sagre pop up in towns across Italy celebrating everything from wine to chestnuts to truffles.

Pictured: A truffle, Sicily.

Pictured: prickly pears that grow on the cactus plant, as pictured.

In winters keep an eye out for oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapes, walnuts among many other local produce that fill the markets. Also try the local aubergines.

Pictured: Grapes in Sicily, used for wine making.

A lemon fruit growing on a tree in Sicily, Italy.

Catania street market stall selling oranges.

Aubergine vegetable growing locally in Sicily, Italy.

A local fruit and veg shop

Desserts

One of the island’s greatest exports has to be cannoli - little deep-fried pastry tubes piped full of creamy ricotta that are now sold in bakeries all over Italy, and even in other countries.

Sicilian Cannolo dessert.

Deep fried pastries, kept crisp, ready to be filled with a creamy filling and topped with nuts.

Here’s an authentic canola we found in a Sicilian café in Baker Street, London.

Here are some more examples of pastries and cakes you can find in Sicily.

Typical Sicilian pastries.

Sicilian pastries a bit similar to croissants.

Enjoy your Sicilian food coma!

Unusual foodstuff

Intestines presented for sale in Catania’s food market.

Keep an eye out for the Sicilian speciality that consists of animal intestines, most commonly lamb. The intestines are washed, salted, seasoned and grilled. The dish is known as Stigghiola and is typically made from lamb or goat.

Of course, Sicily is not all about intestines. In Sicily you can get a good horse meat steak too!

And then there is wine…