From regional pasta to breakfast with a side of granita, here are 10 things every tourist must eat in Sicily.
Think you know Italian cuisine? Think again. These top 10 Sicilian dishes will surprise and delight with their bold flavours. On a trip with Bunnik Tours, we uncovered the stories behind each region, tasting local specialties along the way. Here were my favourites.
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You’ve seen plenty of round rice arancini balls with a cheesy centre served on platters, but you need to go to Catania to find Sicily's best. Their golden-fried cone-shaped arancino, as they call them here, are stuffed with hearty fillings like ragù, mozzarella, and peas. The locals say enjoy them upside down, with the filling on top! Try it at Antica Rosticceria Catanese, where they have been making arancino since 1910.
Picture: Kerry Heaney
In Ragusa, they love the traditional almond-based dessert, Biancomangiare. This silky-smooth pudding has a delicate flavour enhanced by lemon zest, vanilla and sometimes orange blossom water. In typical Italian style, it’s popular for breakfast too, because why not have dessert for breakfast if you can?
When a chocolate has its own museum, you know it’s worth trying. Modica's dark, crumbly, and grainy chocolate has no added fats, just the cocoa butter naturally present in cocoa beans, which is mixed with sugar in a cold working process. It’s rich and bitter compared to modern chocolate, with citrus and spice flavours. Find it around Modica, which is not far from Ragusa in southern Sicily.
Have you heard of Bellini? Not the Italian cocktail, but the composer, who was Catania's favourite son? Pasta alla Norma is named after his famous two-act opera, Norma, which debuted in 1831. This pasta diva is loaded with fried eggplant and ricotta salata (salted ricotta), then covered with a robust tomato sauce.
It’s hard to imagine how good Sicilian–style granita combined with soft, fluffy, warm brioche tastes. On a hot Sicilian day, there’s nothing better than this refreshing, icy treat. Dip pieces of brioche into the granita and enjoy it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Brioche infused with orange rind adds a delicious twist. Lemon is the most traditional flavour, but almond is the most popular.
Sicily’s famous crispy pastry tubes, cannoli, are filled with creamy ricotta and often topped with pistachios, chocolate, or candied fruit. Where can you find some of Sicily’s finest? Head to Laboratorio Pasticceria Roberto in Corso Umberto, Taormina where they fill them fresh to order.
In hot, sultry Sicily, the cool climes of hilltop Erice come as a refreshing relief. Even better is the flaky shortcrust pastry Genovesi Ericine. Filled with rich lemon cream, it has a perfect balance between zest and sweetness. Buy it from La Pasticceria di Maria Grammatico. Maria, who spent 15 years as a nun learning to cook the pastries, still works in the shop she opened in 1978.
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If you think these small pastries look like breasts, you are right! They respect the patron saint of Catania, St. Agatha, who was tortured and had her breasts severed when she spurned a Roman proconsul's advances. Eating these round, white pastries filled with ricotta with a cherry on top honours her sacrifice.
Picture: Kerry Heaney
Proving that you can make jam with just about anything, cucchiteddi are spoon-shaped pastries stuffed with sweet zucchini jam. You’ll only find them in Sciacca where the cloistered nuns of Badia Grande di Sciacca invented the treat. Covered with almond paste, they are very sweet and best enjoyed with coffee.
Picture: Kerry Heaney
Sicily’s Aeolian Islands lay claim to producing the world’s best capers. Adding a salty, lemony flavour to dishes, capers are the unripe buds of a prickly bush that grows well in the island’s harsh volcanic climate. Try them in potato salad, puttanesca, or with Sicilian swordfish. In Lipari’s Corso Vittorio Emanuele, you’ll find boxes of capers for sale graded from piccolo to grande.
Picture: Kerry Heaney
Sicily is bursting with so many unique tastes that it's definitely not the place to stick to a diet. Instead, embrace the unusual, step out of your flavour comfort zone, and savour la dolce vita like a true local!
Picture: Kerry Heaney
This writer travelled as a guest of Bunnik Tours.
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