Experience Sicily

Tag: food

  • Gigantic Green Beans?

    This long, light green summer vegetable is a type of zucchini squash that is very typical of Sicily. Sicilians call it “cucuzza longa.” They cut it up and fry it with breadcrumbs. They make a light pasta sauce with onions, tomatoes, and potatoes with it. They make soups with it. And they also make a…

  • Irish: Potato, Sicilians: Eggplant

    These “tunisine” eggplant are from Palermo’s historic Ballaro’ open-air market. Eggplant is a staple in Sicilian cuisine. The Irish have potatoes; Sicilians have eggplant, or “melanzane.” These, a breed that originated in Tunisia, are perfect for eggplant “alla parmigiana.”

  • The Difference between Fennel and Wild Fennel

    Fennel, or finocchio, as it’s called in Italian, is an important ingredient in Sicilian cuisine. It grows wild across Sicily throughout spring and into summer, and is the principal ingredient after sardines for pasta con le sarde. But wild fennel isn’t the same as the bulb fennel that we are familiar with in the US.…

  • Speckled Beans in Red Casing at Il Capo Street Market

    These wild looking, speckled “cranberry beans” are coming into season in Sicily. These are from Il Capo street market in Palermo.

  • Sardines in Springtime, Stuffed with Breadcrumbs

    During the spring, schools of sardines swim close to the coast of Sicily, making it very easy for fishermen to catch them. Now, Americans, I need you to forget what you think about sardines–because most of us only know those that come in a can. Fresh sardines are a whole different story: they are not…

  • Anelletti: Palermo’s Pasta Shape

    No, this is not Chef Boyardee. This is anelletti, a dry pasta that is particular to Palermo–in fact, you will rarely find this pasta shape outside of Sicily. America’s Chef Boyardee, who was really “Chef Boiardi,” was from northern Italy, but when he picked this Sicilian pasta to feed the US Military in WWII, he…

  • Springtime Artichokes in Sicily

    Sicilians eat seasonally. Their kitchens are very much in tune with which fruits and vegetables and even what dairy products and marine life are better tasting and plentiful throughout the year. For example, right now, artichokes are in season, so the tables of many homes are blanketed with “carciofi” prepared in different ways. Compared to…

  • Arancina di Spinaci

    Arancine have been gaining popularity outside of Sicily in recent years. But let’s be clear: they are from Sicily. Also, understand that they are “arancine” or one is an “arancina.” You’ll find in restaurants in the US they are often mis-named “arancini.” Arancini (plural with an -i) are little oranges (“Arancio,” with an -o, is…

  • Don’t Miss Seppia Ink Pasta

    When in Sicily, you must try “pasta al nero di seppia” or pasta with cuttlefish ink sauce. Here, I’ve used standard wheat pasta, but alternatively, you could enjoy the sauce with black pasta that is made with the ink. Either way, it’s something special. Be careful not to get it on your shirt! It’s called ink…