Restaurant in Sicilia. Sicily is an island with unique flavours and fragrances. Among the variety of its cooking cornerstone ingredients we find citrus fruit, herbs, prickly pear, almonds, pistachios and olives.
Fruit has a great role in the traditional cuisine of Sicily, usually it’s used for the production of marmalades, fruit salads, ice creams, and water ice.
Restaurant in Sicilia
Talking about ice creams, story tells that its origins are Sicilian because it seems that when Arabs controlled the island, custom was to prepare “Sherbet” whose meaning is sorbet. The Arabs used to mix the snow that comes from the Etna with sugar cane and fruit juice, the final product is considered the predecessor of ice cream. In 1600, the Sicilian man Francesco Procopio Coltelli acquired from his grandfather an ancient sorbet machine that he brought with him in France when he started the first Parisian cafe ( Procope cafe). He then improved his machine managing to create the first ice cream that looks like the modern one that you find on the market. Even if time has passed, modern ice cream machines works in the same way as Procopio dei coltelli’s one.
Restaurant in Sicilia
One of the features of Sicilian cuisine is its variety, each part of Sicily offers traditional dishes that changes from area to area, it’s nearly impossible to find the same recipe moving from one place to another. In the majority of the cases they are all variation of the same regional recipe, but in some cases, for example “muccunetti di Mazzara del Vallo” dishes are cooked and offered to the customers only in that specific area. This feature led people to divide Sicilian cuisine in Occidental central and oriental one. If you start a journey throw this provinces you will discover: “arancini” of Palermo, “Cannoli siciliani” of Catania or “Pesto” of Trapani.
Restaurant in Sicilia
Restaurant in Sicilia
Looking around the streets of the region, you will surely notice the presence of Street Food, spread here and there, where you can taste some dishes such as “panelle” and bread with spleen. Tradition is rich of fast to cook and cheep dishes that are sold in street stands and stalls. Moreover, during feast days, the streets are overwhelmed by trade shows where you can find sweet or salty “frittelle”. Palermo is the 5th city in the world as concern street food.
In order to taste the traditional dishes, we suggests you 10 of the best restaurant in Sicily.
“La Madia” Restaurant (Licata)
Restaurant in Sicilia
It is directed by Chef Pino Cuttaia, who worked in the most famous Italian restaurant. His dishes follows recipes that comes from the Sicilian tradition, its ingredient and its cooking techniques too. In the menu we find “gnocchi di seppia” served on fennel cream, smoked cod seasoned with pine cone and 7 different types of bread.
“Duomo” Restaurant (Ragusa Ibla)
Restaurant in Sicilia
We found in the historical Baroque centre of Ragusa Chef Ciccio Sultano’s restaurant. Among its recipes there are timbale “del ghepardo”, “petalo di rosa canina” with honey and “cicala di mare” combined with sauce “ai carpacci”. The philosophy of the restaurant is to discover flavours of different cultures that lived during the pass of the time in Sicily.
Principe Cerami Restaurant (Taormina)
It is located in the “Hotel San Domenico Palace” and directed by Chef Massimo Mantarro. You can eat in this restaurant in the period April-October.
Bye Bye Blues Restaurant (Mondello)
Restaurant in Sicilia
One of the main features that attracts people about this restaurant is its wine cellar that contains more than 350 different types of wine. The kitchen is in the hand of Patrizia Di Benedetto and among the tastier dishes there are octopus “ragu” with saffron aroma, beef filet glazed with “passito” of Pantelleria and the sweet lemon and almond cake with vanilla ice cream.
“La Fenice” Restaurant (Ragusa)
Restaurant in Sicilia
The restaurant is located in an ancient restructured “masseria”, while the wine cellar is a natural cave. The chef Claudio Ruta offers different dishes such as fillo dough with shrimps combined with Mediterranean salad, almond sauce, mustard ice cream and onion brittle.
“La Gazza Ladra” Restuarant (Modica)
Chef Accursio Carparo manage this location, situated inside Palazzo Failla. In the dishes you will rediscover the search of beauty, harmony and flavours of Sicilian land.
“Casa Grugno” Restaurant (Taormina)
It is located in a building of the ‘500, in the kitchen we find Chef David Tamburrini, capable of combining ancient food with poor ingredients.
“Corla” Resturant (Caltagirone)
There are two chefs in this Restaurant: Domenico Colonnetta and Ciccio Potti. Among the different food they offers you, you can find Rabbit “cosciotto” stuffed with roasted onions and hot “sformato” with almond, cinnamon and Marsala ice cream
“Don Serafino” Restaurant (Ragusa Ibla)
Chef Vincenzo Candiano set up different menu based on the Seasons. Among the main dishes there are “lasagnette” with bitter cacao and ricotta “Iblea”, and Rabbit stuffed with pistachio of Bronte and bacon.
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