In small mountain villages like Sant’Angelo Muxaro (pictured) and Licodia Eubea (where we host our Secret Sicily tour in July), “Market Day” is a significant day each week. Traveling vendors from all over Sicily set up shop in the main piazza to sell everything from fresh fish brought from the coast to vegetables from other…
Tag: mercato
La Vucciria Isn’t So Cacophonous Anymore
Oh, how much La Vucciria market in Palermo has changed over the last few years! It gets its name because it used to be a butchery (fish and meat) with vendors singing their sales at the top of their lungs from crowded stalls and carts. Not so much anymore (at least during the day). Now,…
Which Eggplant For Caponata
Which eggplant is best to use for making Sicilian caponata the violet (left) or the dark purple (right)? You’ll learn this and more on Sunday, Oct. 25 when we make caponata during an online cooking class hosted by Experience Sicily. Our maestra, Annalisa of GoSicily Sicilian Cooking Experience, will be in her kitchen in Sicily,…
Shopping And Eating In Palermo’s Markets With A Local Guide
Shopping and eating in Palermo’s Il Capo and Vucciria markets led by our local guide Angelo is how we would have spent this morning, Day 1 of Stirring Sicily. Our focus of this week’s (I wish we were actually there) tour is Sicilian food culture, cooking, and wine. (Daydream along with me!) Here Angelo is…
The Sensations Of Palermo’s Markets | Stirring Sicily, Day 2
Live from Sicily! Day 2 of Stirring Sicily with Chef Nino Elia of Zest Cooking School .. The sensations of Palermo’s markets and its warm and fascinating citizens. A magnificent day!
You’ll Want To Kiss A Fisherman
When traveling to Sicily, I ask that you challenge your ideas about fish. Fish in North America, and certainly the canned and frozen kind, are not like the fresh fish you find in the markets and in restaurants in Sicily. In fact, they have many different kinds of fish that we never see on our…
Inspired By The Clamour of Sicily’s Markets
Sicily has vibrant outdoor markets that in some cases are centuries old, like this one pictured, in Catania that is well known for its fresh fish, vegetables, cheese, meats, and nuts (Here, I’m buying pistachios from Bronte.). Palermo has three very famous ones: Vucciria, Ballarò, and Il Capo, each with its own character. Among their…
Drinking In Sicily
I can’t express enough how much, every time I visit Sicily, I drink it in! When I was in Catania last week, I did just that in the ancient market–with a little help from my new friends. My desire to take it all in is backed by a passion to then turn it around and…
Feast Of The Seven Fishes In Sicily
Merry Christmas! For many in The States, tradition is to observe Christmas Eve with “The Feast of the Seven Fishes,” however, this is not Italian or Sicilian at all, it is an Italian-American tradition! When I asked my cousin Evelina in Bagheria, Sicily about the Seven Fishes, she didn’t know what I was talking about….
Making Friends in Il Capo Market
Palermo has three ancient markets: Vucciria, Ballarò, and Il Capo. Vucciria isn’t what it was 40 years ago when Renato Guttuso painted it, which is perhaps a good thing. Now, during the day, it is smaller and host to a few food stands and many antiques and collectible vendors. At night, however, when it comes…