Sicilian street food is the traditional cuisine, prepared and consumed right in the streets. To better understand what experience Sicily means: close your eyes and let scents and flavours guide you. They’ll take you to the right place. The local markets, festivals and fairs in Sicily offer tasty opportunities to enjoy the best trip of your life to the last bite. Each place has its speciality (or perhaps even more than one), and you can eat them while strolling through the historic centre of the towns. You will cherish these places forever in your heart. Listen to the cries of the friendly hawker who wants to catch your attention, get close to his truck and buy its delicious specialities. When you’vefinished eating, you’ll think that food really tastes different this way.
Where to start? Palermo is one of the places with the best street food in the world (5th place, according to the Virtual Tourist chart ). To get a taste of it, head to the historic markets: Vucciria, Ballarò, il Capo and Borgo Vecchio.
Here you can find everything: pani câ meusa, frittula (veal offal), stigghiole (skewered and roasted lamb guts), muccuna (boiled murexes or sea morsels), cicireddu (fried whitebait
fish), purpu (boiled octopus), rizzi (sea urchins), babbaluci ( boiled and seasoned snails).
But you can also choose from a wide range of vegetarian dishes: pane, panelle e crocchè ( bread, fritters and croquettes), pollanche (boiled corn on the cob), carduna cardoons fried in batter, pipittuna (sliced citrons served with salt), muluni (sliced watermelon) and ficurinnia (prickly pears). The tour of the vegetarian cuisine of Sicily has just begun!
Don’t forget to try the Sicilian street food par excellence: Arancin… The name divides Sicily in two, but the taste brings everyone together. It opens the way to the parallel universe of the deli. The bolognese, the bomba, the cartocciata, the cipollina ( rustics from Catania), the pitone or pidone – in this case pronunciation doesn’t cause a diplomatic crisis – from Messina. And then there are the crispelle from Catania, made of fried batter and stuffed with anchovies or ricotta cheese. It also exists a sweet version: the rice zeppole or the sfinci with ricotta cheese.
In Catania, on the other hand, it is called scacciata. But Catania’s street food deserves a special mention. To discover it, we have to go between Piazza Pardo and Piazza Alonzo di Benedetto, where we find the old fish market. Here the seafood has to pass the “lemon test”. It should be eaten raw with the ‘fishermen’s snack’, u mauru, a red seaweed with a strong flavour. Its presence in the waters indicates that there is no pollution.
Via Plebiscito is the perfect place to eat another speciality from Catania: the sandwich filled with grilled horse meat seasoned with oil, salt and parsley.
Both in summer and winter, the patronal feasts in Sicily draw in the caliari, ready to sell to passersby calia e simenza ( chickpeas and roasted pumpkin seeds, famous all over the world thanks to the “ruminant walks” of Montalbano Commissioner). This is the case of the feasts of Saint Calogero in Agrigento, of Saint Agatha in Catania, of Saint Lucia in Syracuse, of Saint Rosalia in Palermo
In autumn, instead, we can smell the scent of caldarroste, the salted chestnuts roasted at the corners of the streets.
No matter what: eat your street food and keep walking. That’s the best way to enjoy Sicily.
FAQs
But you can also choose from a wide range of vegetarian dishes: pane, panelle e crocchè ( bread, fritters and croquettes), pollanche (boiled corn on the cob), carduna cardoons fried in batter, pipittuna (sliced citrons served with salt), muluni (sliced watermelon) and ficurinnia (prickly pears).
What is a famous Sicily breakfast? ›
Everything you need to know about Sicily's classic summer breakfast. Forget cappuccino and the croissant-like brioche/cornetto. In Sicily, locals start their summer days on a sweet and refreshing note, breakfasting on granita câ brioscia, or granita with brioche.
What area in Sicily has the best food? ›
Palermo. Palermo is the commercial and culinary capital of Sicily. The traditional cuisine of Palermo adheres to the local and fresh ingredients of the Mediterranean diet, utilizing fruits, vegetables, breads, cereals, potatoes, and legumes, pork, sheep, beef, cheeses, and olive oil.
What is the signature dish of Sicily? ›
Cannoli. Perhaps the most instantly recognizable of Sicilian dishes—and one of the best desserts in the world—is the elegant curled pastry shell of cannoli, with its luscious, sweet ricotta filling.
What do Sicilians eat every day? ›
Usually an Italian snack is either a piece of fruit or a juice. Lunch: One example of a Sicilian lunch is a one course meal like pasta or a panino and a salad or piece of fruit. Afternoon snack: A yogurt or some fruit. Dinner: Fish, meat or chicken dishes are usually eaten for dinner with a vegetable side dish.
What is the common pizza eaten in Sicily? ›
Sfincione which translates loosely to “thick sponge” consisted of a thick, rectangular crust topped with ingredients like tomato sauce, onions, and anchovies. This dish was a stepping stone to the masterpiece that would eventually become thin Sicilian-style pizza.
Do Sicilians eat pizza with a fork? ›
Italians eat pizza with a fork and knife. Pizza is to be enjoyed straight from the oven and piping hot. Waiting for your dinner to cool down is just not an option – protocol says it should be enjoyed straight away.
What is the pasta of Sicily? ›
Pasta alla Norma is arguably the best representation of Sicilian cuisine out there, making the most of local tomatoes, aubergines, garlic, basil and ricotta salata, salted ricotta. It's called Norma after the nineteenth century opera of the same name – both the dish and the music are regarded as true masterpieces.
What is a typical Italian lunch? ›
Lunch is the day's main meal, lasting up to two hours! If you plan to eat lunch with locals, block out time. A typical Italian lunch consists of a primo (pasta, soup or risotto dish), a secondo (meat or fish-based dish) and a contorno (side dish).
What time do Sicilians eat breakfast? ›
But we come right to the point: we want to understand what a Sicilian eats and what a visitor to Sicily should eat. Around 8:00 in the morning, Sicilians head to the bars for breakfast. Surely some remain at home enjoying a good glass of milk and cookies, but we are following the Sicilian who goes to the bar.
Meal times in Sicily
Don't try to eat lunch after 2.30 pm or expect to have dinner before 8 pm. People in many towns and cities in Sicily, especially smaller places or those in more off the beaten locations, continue to observe the midday “riposo”.
Is Sicily cheap to eat? ›
Unlike other more notoriously expensive destinations in Italy, like the Amalfi Coast or Lake Como, Sicily has the advantages of size and variety. It's easy to find inexpensive meals, off-the-beaten-path accommodation, and even affordable public transportation to get around without racking up the bill at the gas pump.
What foods to try in Sicily? ›
Spaghetti ai ricci in sea-urchin sauce, swordfish carpaccio on a seafront terrace, veg-spiked arancini and primeval offal at a market: whatever the time, place or occasion, Sicily cooks up traditional dishes and street snacks bursting with seasonal flavor and top-quality island produce.
What is the national dish of Sicily? ›
Pasta con le Sarde (pasta with sardines) is the national dish of Sicily, in which the tradition of Italian pasta meets the Mediterranean island's seafood-focused cuisine.
What is the number 1 food in Italy? ›
Besides pasta, pizza is perhaps the most popular and recognized Italian food. Pizza is considered a national symbol representing Italy to the rest of the world, so much so that UNESCO has acknowledged pizza as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
What food to bring home from Sicily? ›
Here are some ideas for taking a piece of Sicily away with you and sharing your memories with your friends and loved ones. Buy some typical products, such as almond pastries, Nebrodi black pork salami, Modica chocolate and Bronte pistachio to delight your guests over dinner or offer them as delicious gastronomic gifts.
What is the famous thing in Sicily? ›
Sicily is known for landmarks like The Valley of Temples and Mount Etna, its heavenly sandy beaches, delicious wine, and mafia origins. Originally dominated by the Greeks, the island was passed on to the Romans and then the European powers during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
