Food has a religious status in Sicily, which causes controversy, reunites families, and the recipes are kept unchanged for tens and hundreds of years. Therefore, if you want a holiday seasoned with typical Mediterranean dishes, with more pasta, but with big adrenalin combinations, Sicily is the place you are looking for. In addition, you pay a lot less for a menu comparing to what you would have to pay in Italys mainland.
Foreign influences
Tourists who visited Sicily were amazed by the diversity of culinary products. They say that eating on this island is like eating in Greece, France, Turkey and (of course) Italy at the same time. And they're right. Many of the main ingredients of the Sicilian cuisine have been "imported" from the countries that conquered, one after another, the island.
For example, the Greeks were the ones who brought the olives here. Since then, they, and also the oil that is made from them, represent the basis of the Sicilian food. And it is very healthy custom because, in Sicily, you will not find fat foods, so the Sicilian menus, even though they are huge in terms of quantity, dont cause inconveniences to those that are having problems with their silhouette. Also from the Greek ancestors, the island has inherited the ricotta sarata (a kind of cheese) and the wine.
The Romans came with more sophisticated food habits: stuffed sepia or sausages, while the spices were inherited from the Byzantines. In turn, the Normans brought the dried and salted cod that you will find in Sicily as the baccata.
Mama mia ... pasta
Obviously, pasta is always present on the Italian table. In the supermarkets, the area reserved for pasta is about three times bigger than in a shop from another country. There are many kinds of pasta that, seasoned with the local sauces, create thousands of culinary combinations. This kind of dish is consumed usually for lunch as the first course. The Parmesan cheese is mandatory because, as the Italian cooks claim, it completes the pastas taste. In Sicily, the cheese is never consumed in combination with pasta, which also contains fish. It is against the principles of the Sicilian cuisine.
By far the most interesting pasta-based dish is pesto siciliano, which contains a sauce made from basil. I recommend you to try this delicacy at least once. You can also choose the pasta with tomato sauce and wild dill. The wild dill (finocchietto in Italian) has a sweet taste and is grown mainly in Sicily.
Wine and cheese
The wine is always present on a Sicilian table, not for other reasons, but for the fact that on the island you can find most of the noble wines in Italy. I recommend sorts of Nero d'Avola or Grillo. They have a very pleasant taste and they are prepared in such a way so that they dont cause hangover, those who have tried them claim so.
The Sicilians also have cheese. You will find it called caciocavallo. It is round like a ball and it tastes quite similar to the Romanian cheese. If you want something more special, even adrenalin, I recommend the purpette. Be careful, taste it with caution because your mouth may burst into flames as this cheese dish contains chili.
Adrenalin vegetables
Have you ever eaten slices of dried tomatoes, then anointed with oil and vinegar? I guess not. At least for this culinary delicacy only a visit to Sicily is well worth it. Have you ever eaten stuffed eggplants, "dressed" and cooked in such a way so that you think it is meat? If you're a vegetarian, its worth going to the island located in southern Italy, at least for the eggplants. In addition, you can also find eggplants seasoned with garlic, mozzarella, parmesan, etc.
The same category includes the pickled vegetables and adrenalin marinated peppers. They have a very good taste and can be combined with seafood.
In case you love to eat fast food, dont miss the arangina. It looks like a doughnut, but it contains rice, ham, cheese, minced meat and tomatoes. You will find it in all the Italian shops. Those who are fans of the mixture between salty and sweet, have the orange salad at their disposal. They are freshly picked from the tree and seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper.
How much the Sicilian food costs
In Sicily everything is cheaper than in the rest of Italy. The food is no exception. Most Sicilian restaurants offer complete menus with two courses and a dessert. Such menu costs around 13 euros. An arangina costs 1.5 euros. A normal size pizza costs around 3 euros, depending on the ingredients or the place where you eat it. For one portion of stuffed eggplant you will pay around 7 euros.
Recipe: stuffed eggplant
3 eggplants
4 garlic heads
4-5 well baked tomatoes
100 grams of fid
50 g of cheese
Basil, as much as you wish
Salt
Pepper
Oil
Preparation
Cut the eggplants lengthwise, make deep scratches in the interior and boil them for 10 minutes. Place them to cool on a baking sheet or on any container that absorbs water, and then put them in a pan that was greased with oil. The empty spots that you created are filled with garlic and fid. Do not forget to abundantly sprinkle with basil and tomato sauce.
To prepare the tomato sauce, fry the garlic. Then, removed it and dont use it anymore. In remaining oil, add the tomatoes which were peeled before and cut them in round slices which are crisped for 5-10 minutes, during which time you have to mix constantly. Add salt, pepper and basil.
Now is the time to return to the eggplants and to sprinkle them with grated cheese and to season them with oil. Now you only have to put them for 30 minutes in the hot oven.
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