Sicily shines in the common imagination for its nature and its surprising landscapes, for the culture and art that make each city amazing but above all for an extraordinary culinary tradition, the result of multiple cultures and a very genorous land.
The cuisine of Eastern Sicily draws on the sea and the mountains, with authentic flavors that tell the harshness and sweetness of such a rich and diverse territory.
from street food to tradition
In your journey to discover Eastern Sicily, there are ancient dishes full of flavor that you cannot absolutely miss. Where to start? Certainly with the characteristic granita con brioche, typical of this area. Among the most popular flavors, you can find mulberries, coffee, almonds, and pistachio. Speaking of pistachio, that of Bronte is unique and enjoys the Slow Food presidium, so much so as to make this town famous worldwide for this exceptional variety of pistachio.
Do not miss the arancine, the famous stuffed rice balls, passed in breadcrumbs and fried. A rotisserie specialty of Sicilian cuisine that you will find in different versions. A little curiosity: for years there has been a dispute between western Sicily and eastern Sicily. Arancina or arancino? We don’t know how to respond to this ancestral dilemma but certainly, the taste is exceptional!
Impossible to miss the scacce, thin pasta stuffed with tomato, aubergines, potatoes, ricotta and many other variations. And, again, the pizzolo formed by two superimposed pizzas and stuffed with sweet or savory filling.
At lunchtime you can choose between different restaurants, perhaps by the sea, in a vineyard or even in a small village. Pasta is one of the typical dishes of Sicilian cuisine and it is worth tasting it in all its forms. Some advice? Try the first fish dishes such as pasta with seafood, pasta with cuttlefish ink, cavatelli with bottarga, almonds and cherry tomatoes. The land is generous with exceptional fruits so how not to try pasta alla Norma with tomato sauce, fried aubergines and salted ricotta or pasta with Pachino tomato, whose name derives from a small town in the province of Syracuse famous for its 4 varieties of tomato and for Giuggiulena, a nougat with orange peel and almond paste.
Slow food and km0 products in Sicily
The aubergine is one of the products most present in Sicilian recipes and their scent immediately brings back to summer, to the saltiness on the skin, to an unmistakable taste that you can try in different versions. To begin with the classic Parmigiana, prepared with fried aubergines, tomato sauce and parmesan or the aubergine rolls offered with different fillings, the aubergine meatballs, his majesty the Caponata, or a mix of aubergines, cherry tomato, onion, green olives, capers , celery and basil, sautéed in a pan with sugar and vinegar which gives it its characteristic sweet and sour taste and many other dishes.
Among the unmissable products we recommend olives, capers and all Slow Food products, a true excellence that represents the generosity of Sicily. Slow Food products protect biodiversity and are a concrete expression against the approval of flavors, abuse of nature and its manipulation. Choosing these products will not only give you an olfactory and gustatory memory to your holiday, but will also allow you to get to know the dishes that symbolize the culinary tradition of this island.
Sicily also satisfies gourmands with its desserts made with ricotta, melon frost, almond paste and for lovers of unmissable chocolate the one of Modica unique for its grainy consistency, obtained with a particular cold processing, a true excellence that you can savor in many variations. Sortino honey is another product to try, perhaps to taste with the typical cheeses of the area such as Cosacavaddu ibleo with a spicy taste, one of the oldest in all of Sicily. Cheeses that you can accompany with unique products such as Pizzuta d’Avola, an almond typical of this area.
A whirlwind of flavors, aromas and textures will envelop you, giving your holiday a note of taste. Do you already have your mouth watering?
Let yourself be enveloped by beauty and taste, choose from our different tours in Sicily.
