Pasta alla Norma
The Pasta alla Norma is a first course of pasta with eggplants. Its name is due to the juxtaposition of the dish with the homonymous opera, to boast its qualities. When seasoning the pasta, the fried eggplants cut into washers or cubes are added to the sauce. Everything is served with a good local salty ricotta.
Caponata
Also in the caponata, eggplants are the main ingredient. They are cut into cubes and fried in hot oil. Then a sauce is prepared with onion and tomato paste, to mix with fried eggplants. It is also flavored with celery, olives and capers. The caponata is an excellent summer dish that can be served even cold a few hours after preparation, to let it become more flavorful.
Caponata photo seriouseats
Pasta con le sarde e finocchietto selvatico
Pasta with sardines is a recipe from Catania, even if in Sicily we can find several variants depending on the area. The sardines, washed and cleaned, are added to a sauce made of tomato, wild fennel, onion, raisins, pine nuts. Once seasoned, the pasta is dusted with grated bread previously roasted in the frying pan.
Falsomagro alla siciliana
The Sicilian Falsomagro is a meat dish. Its origins date back to the 13th century during the French domination. The dish consists of a roll of veal meat, richly stuffed with boiled eggs, various types of salami, grated bread, cheese, salt and pepper. From here derives the term “fake thin”, which refers to a simple-looking dish outside and full of flavors and seasonings inside. Falsomagro is a typical dish of Messina, but we can find different variants in the rest of the island.
Cassata photo nevaroli
Cassata
The Cassata is a typical Sicilian dessert born in Palermo and traditionally prepared on Easter day. It has Saracen origin as evidenced by the elaborate decorations made with glaze. Today, we can find this exquisite and colorful dessert all year round, a dessert that over the centuries has required many more ingredients. This is a very elaborate dessert made with a sponge cake, soft icing, marzipan and a lot of candied fruit of any shape and color. The filling is made with ricotta and chocolate chips. The preparation of the dessert is long and you have to prepare ricotta the evening before. Then you can prepare the cake layer by layer until it’s ready for the decorations.
Geli e Granite
Among the Sicilian desserts we can also find geli and granite with fruit. Sweet and light desserts but very tasty and perfect for summer. The gelo can be done with watermelon, orange or other fruits. It’s just a simple gelatin prepared with fruit juice. Granites are prepared with water, sugar and various flavors such as coffee, lemon, almonds or pistachio.
