Sicilian cuisine is the style of cooking on the island of Sicily. It shows traces of all cultures that have existed on the island of Sicily over the last two millennia.[2] Although its cuisine has much in common with Italian cuisine, Sicilian food also has Greek, Spanish, Jewish, Maghrebi, and Arab influences.[3]
The Sicilian cook Mithaecus, born during 5th century BC, is credited with having brought knowledge of Sicilian gastronomy to Greece:[4] his cookbook was the first in Greek, therefore he was the earliest cookbook author in any language whose name is known.
The starters (called antipasti) are an important aspect of Sicilian cuisine. Common Sicilian starters include caponata and gatò di patate (a kind of potato and cheese pie).
Soups
Maccu is a Sicilian soup and foodstuff prepared with fava beans as a primary ingredient.[8] It is a peasant food[9] and staple that dates back to ancient history.[8]Maccu di San Giuseppe (lit.'maccu of St. Joseph') is a traditional Sicilian dish that consists of various ingredients and maccu.[10] The dish may be prepared on Saint Joseph's Day in Sicily, to clear out pantries and allow room for the spring's new crops of vegetables.[10]
Pasta
Sicily is the oldest Italian and Western location on record where pasta worked into long and thin form was part of the local cuisine. This dates back to around the 12th century, as attested by the Tabula Rogeriana of Muhammad al-Idrisi, reporting some traditions about the Kingdom of Sicily.[11]
After the pasta, the typical Sicilian menu includes a second or main dish (secondi) based on meat or fish. Main dishes based on seafood are couscousal pesce and pesce spada alla ghiotta (swordfish).
Candy in Sicily was heavily influenced by the Arab candymakers in the 9th century, and Sicilian candy has preserved more of that influence than almost any other place in Europe.[14]Marzipan fruits may have been invented at the Convent of Eloise at Martorana in the 14th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries, many Sicilian monasteries produced candies and pastries, some with fertility themes. The only surviving convent to follow this tradition is the Monastery of the Virgins of Palermo, which makes breast-shaped cakes in honor of Saint Agatha of Sicily.[14]
Granita is particularly famous and well known. It is a semi-frozen dessert of sugar, water, and flavourings originally from the island, and is commonly associated with Messina or Catania, even though there is no evident proof that it hails from any particular Sicilian city. Related to sorbet and Italian ice, in most of Sicily it has a coarser, more crystalline texture. Food writer Jeffrey Steingarten says that "the desired texture seems to vary from city to city" on the island; on the west coast and in Palermo, it is at its chunkiest, and in the east it is nearly as smooth as sorbet.[15] This is largely the result of different freezing techniques: the smoother types are produced in a gelato machine, while the coarser varieties are frozen with only occasional agitation, then scraped or shaved to produce separated crystals.
Citrus fruits are a popular ingredient in Sicilian cuisine. Many were first introduced by the Arabs from the 9th to 11th centuries, but some, such as the Washington navel from Brazil, have been brought to the island more recently. Examples of citrus fruits found in Sicily are:[16]
Biondo comune – the "common blonde" orange
Ovale – ripens between April and May, with a compact flesh
Sanguigno comune – common blood orange harvested between January and April
Washington navel – introduced from Brazil during the 1940s–1950s, grown chiefly near Ribera and Sciacca and harvested from November to January
Sanguinella – bitter orange of the blood orange variety, found in Paternò Santa Maria di Licodia, Palagonia, Scordia and Francofonte during January until April
Tarocco – high quality blood orange found in Catania, Siracusa and Francofonte from November to January
Tarocco dal muso - bell shaped orange found in Francofonte
The drink most often served with the main meal in Sicily is wine. The soil and climate in Sicily are ideal for growing grapes, mainly due to Mount Etna, and a wine-making tradition on the island has existed since at least 4000 BC.[17] Today, all Sicilian provinces produce wine and Sicilian wine produced by modern methods has established itself on the European wine market.
Sicilian red wines have an alcoholic content of 12.5 to 13.5% and are usually drunk in the evening with roast or grilled meat. Well-known red wines include the Cerasuolo di Vittoria and the Nero d'Avola, mainly those produced around Noto (Siracusa). The dry and white wines and rosés usually have an alcoholic content from 11.5 to 12.5% and are mainly consumed with fish, poultry and pasta dishes. Sicily is also known for producing dessert wines, such as Marsala and the Malvasia delle Lipari.
Other common Sicilian alcoholic drinks include limoncello, a lemon liqueur, and Amaro Averna, a herbal drink, which is often consumed after meals as a digestive.
^Steingarten, Jeffrey (1997). "The Mother of All Ice Cream". The Man Who Ate Everything. Vintage Books. pp. 361–380. ISBN0-375-70202-4. The chapter is an essay first published in June 1996.
.jpg)
