La Cucina Siciliana
Sicilian Cuisine is one of Italy's most sophisticated:
And certainly the most eclectic; almost every people to sail the Mediterranean -- the Greeks, Romans, Carthaginians, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards, and even the English -- has visited, bringing new ingredients and ideas that the long-term residents adapted and reworked.
The Land:
Think of Sicily, and you probably think of the coast. Indeed Sicily is famed for seafood, especially the tuna and swordfish caught the traditional way, by men who go out in boats with nets (for the tuna) or hand-held harpoons.
And where the sea meet the land there are date palms, and lush orange groves. Inland it's dry, however, with sun-baked vineyards and fields of grain, with arid pastureland that makes for good cheeses, and -- one must not forget -- Etna, whose volcanic slopes yield superb wines.
The People:
Everyone has stopped in Sicily, and left their mark: Visit one town, and if you listen carefully to the dialect you may hear a little Greek; drive to the next and you may hear either Arabic or Norman French. Each new wave brought new ingredients, and techniques the locals adopted and adapted. The Greeks, for example, introduced olives, while the Arabs introduced oranges, and rice (which rapidly spread north), and also began making spaghetti in the 1100s. The English developed Marsala, one of the world's greatest white wines.
Rich, Distinctive Pasta Dishes:
Sicily was one of the breadbaskets of the Romans, and grain is still an important crop today. Lots of grain means lots of flour, and the step from flour to pasta is quite obvious; Arab documents from the 1100s mention the production of itriyah -- vermicelli noodles -- and indeed spaghetti are still called tria in some Sicilian dialects.
Spectacular Fish:
Sicily is famed for fish, especially tuna, but Sicilians get just as excited about the lowly sardine, however, and rightly so: Sarde a beccaficu, stuffed sardines, are one of Sicily's signature dishes.
Caponata:
The dish more people probably associate with Sicily than any other is caponata, a (generally) eggplanty delight that has now spread throughout the Peninsula. Alas, much of the caponata one encounters outside of Sicily is a shadow of what it should be: a zesty summer dish that's ideal for perking up an indolent appetite on a hot day.
Elegant Sweets:
Many of the sweets people commonly associate with Italy are Sicilian, from Cassata, a Roman cheesecake, to Cannoli, fried dough tubes filled with a libidinous ricotta cream, to spectacular, beautifully painted marzipan sculptures sometimes made to mark a holiday -- Easter lambs -- and sometimes simply for the fun of it -- a basket of marzipan fruit -- to wonderful cookies.
Sicilian Regional Variations:
Around Syracuse and Ragusa cooks still draw from Greek traditions, making abundant use of vegetables -- their eggplant parmesan is renowned -- while meats, mostly pork and mutton, were traditionally reserved for feast days.
Palermo's cooking is more sophisticated, revealing French influences that emerge in dishes such as caponata, falsomagro, a rich meats stew, and involtini alla palermitana.
In Trapani fish of all kinds predominate. The area, which faces North Africa, has maintained closer ties with the Arabs than other parts of the island, and is especially known for fish-laced cuscus.
Messina is instead more Continental, with an abundance of fish, many recipes that reveal French influences, and others that hearken back to the peasantry, for example Spaghetti alla Norma.
Finally, there are the sweets: Pasta Reale, Cassata, Cannoli...
Truly a blessed land.
Sicilian recipes on site
And certainly the most eclectic; almost every people to sail the Mediterranean -- the Greeks, Romans, Carthaginians, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards, and even the English -- has visited, bringing new ingredients and ideas that the long-term residents adapted and reworked.
The Land:
Think of Sicily, and you probably think of the coast. Indeed Sicily is famed for seafood, especially the tuna and swordfish caught the traditional way, by men who go out in boats with nets (for the tuna) or hand-held harpoons.
And where the sea meet the land there are date palms, and lush orange groves. Inland it's dry, however, with sun-baked vineyards and fields of grain, with arid pastureland that makes for good cheeses, and -- one must not forget -- Etna, whose volcanic slopes yield superb wines.
The People:
Everyone has stopped in Sicily, and left their mark: Visit one town, and if you listen carefully to the dialect you may hear a little Greek; drive to the next and you may hear either Arabic or Norman French. Each new wave brought new ingredients, and techniques the locals adopted and adapted. The Greeks, for example, introduced olives, while the Arabs introduced oranges, and rice (which rapidly spread north), and also began making spaghetti in the 1100s. The English developed Marsala, one of the world's greatest white wines.
Rich, Distinctive Pasta Dishes:
Sicily was one of the breadbaskets of the Romans, and grain is still an important crop today. Lots of grain means lots of flour, and the step from flour to pasta is quite obvious; Arab documents from the 1100s mention the production of itriyah -- vermicelli noodles -- and indeed spaghetti are still called tria in some Sicilian dialects.
- Maccheroni con le Sarde[/link">: Macaroni with sardines and fennel is as Sicilian as it gets.
- Spaghetti alla Norma, with tomatoes and eggplant
- Il Gran Ragu della Festa: A spectacular meat sauce, which was often the reason for the festivities
Spectacular Fish:
Sicily is famed for fish, especially tuna, but Sicilians get just as excited about the lowly sardine, however, and rightly so: Sarde a beccaficu, stuffed sardines, are one of Sicily's signature dishes.
- Tonno Ammuttunatu, tuna filet with peas.
- Tuna with onions, which is also good cold.
- Marinated Tuna, a tasty treat from Trapani.
- Tunnu a Palirmitana, grilled with lemon, rosemary, and sage.
Caponata:
The dish more people probably associate with Sicily than any other is caponata, a (generally) eggplanty delight that has now spread throughout the Peninsula. Alas, much of the caponata one encounters outside of Sicily is a shadow of what it should be: a zesty summer dish that's ideal for perking up an indolent appetite on a hot day.
- Caponata: the classic recipe, with several rich variations.
- Caponatina: Quicker and easier.
- Caponata di Virdura: A winter version made with greens.
- Caponata di Carciofi e Sedano: Another winter caponata, made with artichokes and celery. Healthy!
Elegant Sweets:
Many of the sweets people commonly associate with Italy are Sicilian, from Cassata, a Roman cheesecake, to Cannoli, fried dough tubes filled with a libidinous ricotta cream, to spectacular, beautifully painted marzipan sculptures sometimes made to mark a holiday -- Easter lambs -- and sometimes simply for the fun of it -- a basket of marzipan fruit -- to wonderful cookies.
- Cassata alla Siciliana, a heavenly cheesecake.
- Cannoli Spicci, which are quick to make.
- Chitellini, a classic Sicilian cookie.
- Riso Nero, a rich Easter dessert.
Sicilian Regional Variations:
Around Syracuse and Ragusa cooks still draw from Greek traditions, making abundant use of vegetables -- their eggplant parmesan is renowned -- while meats, mostly pork and mutton, were traditionally reserved for feast days.
Palermo's cooking is more sophisticated, revealing French influences that emerge in dishes such as caponata, falsomagro, a rich meats stew, and involtini alla palermitana.
In Trapani fish of all kinds predominate. The area, which faces North Africa, has maintained closer ties with the Arabs than other parts of the island, and is especially known for fish-laced cuscus.
Messina is instead more Continental, with an abundance of fish, many recipes that reveal French influences, and others that hearken back to the peasantry, for example Spaghetti alla Norma.
Finally, there are the sweets: Pasta Reale, Cassata, Cannoli...
Truly a blessed land.
Sicilian recipes on site
Source...