Experience Sicily

Tag: food

  • To Tomato? or Not to Tomato?

    There is an argument among Sicilians–to put tomato sauce or not in the recipe for pasta con le sarde (Pasta with sardines). Usually, I am in the “without” camp, but this dish, which was what I ate for dinner on Wednesday night in Palermo, made me think twice. I loved how the waiter repeated twice…

  • Pasta with Sardines for Saint Joseph’s Day

    Among the main dishes eaten for Saint Joseph’s Day, or La Festa di San Giuseppe, is Pasta with Sardines, or Pasta con le sarde. The legend of how this dish came about is another post. So today, I’m just focusing on its relevance to the upcoming March 19th feast for Saint Joseph, which falls around…

  • Yes, Couscous.

    Seafood couscous is a staple dish of western Sicilian cuisine. This one, pictured, was one of tens of international recipes with different ingredients served at the September 2014 installation of the annual Couscous Fest in San Vito Lo Capo.

  • Ancient Sicilian Secret

    The cloistered Cistercian nuns of Agrigento’s Monastero di Santo Spirito, like many of their cloistered counterparts around Sicily, over the centuries have raised funds by selling baked goods. Pictured here is one of those goods–sweet couscous–for which the recipe is a secret. After eating it during our Experience Sicily tour in September, I can tell…

  • Eat your greens!

    Sicilians and Italians when they are the chief homemakers,  generally shop daily (or utilize their own gardens’ bounty) to determine what they’ll cook that day. This is why everything tastes so good!  An example is this beautiful, fresh cabbage seen at Ballerò street market in Palermo.

  • Sicily’s Hot Table

    If when in Sicily you are on the go and looking for something hearty to eat, stop into a “tavola calda” or rosticceria (Literally, “hot table” meaning cafeteria or rotisserie). There you will find “Pezzi di rosticceria” or according to my cousin Filippo, “Pezzi” for short. Pezzi (pieces) consist of pizzette (small pizzas), calzoni (pictured…

  • Warm Sfincione

    Warm sfincione, or “sfinciuni” in Sicilian, served directly from the street vendor is a real treat. Palermo-style (There are different recipes in each town.) is a flat bread with a sauce of tomatoes, anchovies, and Caciocavallo cheese baked into it with some oregono and breadcrumbs sprinkled on top. This one has a tomato slice baked…

  • They are Prickly

    In the early fall, Sicilians enjoy the tuna, or fruit, of the cultivated “ficudinnia” in Sicilian, or “fico d’india” in Italian. We call them prickly pears. In the early fall, Sicilians enjoy the tuna, or fruit, of the cultivated “ficudinnia” in Sicilian, or “fico d’india” in Italian. We call them prickly pears. “Prickly” is a…

  • Does It Make Me Palermitana?

    Today we were in Palermo, and we experienced StrEAT Tour Palermo. Here I am with our magnificent host and guide Marco. I am stuffed after eating arancine, panelle e cazzilli, sfincione, pane ca’ meusa (yes, I ate the infamous Palermitano spleen sandwich!!), and gelato con brioche, and drinking local “sangue” wine (blood). Oh, my. At…