Sicilian cuisine has its roots in tradition and its multi-ethnic past. The succession of different peoples and heterogeneous cultures has given life to a fascinating variety of gastronomy, where the ancient contributions of Magna Graecia, spices and Arab fragrances, the kitchen of the Bourbons, blended wonderfully with our Mediterranean diet, are combined giving life to one of the most fascinating and complex Italian culinary traditions : an assortment of fresh fish, fragrant spices and aromatic herbs, a great assortment of fried, sweets, dried fruit and citrus.
Moving up and down in Sicily you meet typical dishes that are the true symbol of the customs, habits and history of each visited area. The western part of the island lives with Arab influence and therefore proposes richer and more refined recipes; the eastern part lives by the Greek influence and always uses simple preparations and the use of natural products, above all the aubergine. Since each recipe is characterized by the use of different preparation techniques and condiments, it is possible to obtain a gastronomic reality that is always personalized and unique in its kind, which tells many variations of typical Mediterranean tastes.
With no less than 30 food products with denomination (17 PDO, 13 IGP), Sicily boasts a centuries-old tradition of food and wine linked to street food, where the “arancino” is the real protagonist: it is a ball or a rice cone breaded and fried, 8-10 cm in diameter, generally stuffed with meat sauce, peas and caciocavallo, or diced ham and mozzarella. The name derives from the original shape and the golden color typical of the orange, but it must be said that in eastern Sicily they more often have a pointed shape reminiscent of Etna.
If you prefer Slow food, you just have to sit in one of the many restaurants to taste excellent seafood, the famous pasta alla Norma (topped with fried aubergines and ricotta salata), spaghetti with cuttlefish ink covered with a crunchy “crumb”, the delicious caponata, pasta with sardines that we find in Palermo, or pasta ‘ncaciata in Messina. The fish is, as previously said, an important part of life on this island and therefore of its cooking: tuna and swordfish are easily purchased in the Sicilian markets, where you immediately feel catapulted into the most ancient traditions of Sicilian fishermen.
A separate chapter is then opened for pastry, great pride of national cooking: we start from fruits of marzipan, pass for the cannoli, the cream puffs with the almond paste and arrive until the cassata. For breakfast or a refreshing break, the almond or coffee granitas can be served with brioche. The origin of the granita is to be attributed to the Messinese territory at the time of the Arab domination; in fact, the Arabs brought with them the sherbet recipe, an iced drink flavored with fruit juices or rose water. Other Sicilian confectionery excellences are the Chocolate of Modica PGI, which is exported outside our borders, and the green Pistachio of Bronte PDO, the green gold of the province of Catania. In the territory of Bronte, in over 2600 hectares of land, there is 80% of the Sicilian production and represents 0.25% of the quantity produced in the world.
Being therefore an extremely varied and complex island, the flavors of Sicily are manifested in every different form, also through the wines that best match the different nuances offered by each different dish or recipe.
The island boasts no less than 31 named Wine products (24 DOP, 7 PGI) and 17 Wine Roads. The wine roads, established in 1999 in order to enhance the wine-growing areas, represent a practical tool to show off certain natural landscapes, perfectly integrated with the production of wines and grapes. Wine roads are marked and advertised routes with special signs, along which natural, cultural and environmental values insist, vineyards and cellars of single or associated farms open to the public ; they constitute an instrument through which the wine territories and their production can be disseminated, marketed and enjoyed in the form of a tourist offer.