Visiting the vibrant markets of Sicily is a crash course in Sicilian cuisine, the natural world, and culture all at once. Here, I’m in Il Capo market in Palermo getting a lesson on spatola (or spatula aka silver scabbarfish or lepidopus caudatus) from the fish monger. Spatola is a beautiful silver, long fish found in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean that when cooked, has a meaty texture. You’ll see it in all of the fish markets in Sicily because it’s hearty and not expensive. Sicilians will fillet and bake it or use it in a stew.

On Day 3 of our Sept. 2018 Stirring Sicily food and wine tour featuring three hands-on cooking lessons, we’ll be touring Siracusa’s Mercato Antico with a local mamma who will pass on the wisdom of the market and its strange looking fish, then take us back to her home where we’ll cook-up what we purchased and enjoy it for a community lunch.

Get stirred by Sicily with this year, learn more about Stirring Sicily and all of our 2018 tours at ExperienceSicily.com.