Sicily Archives - Hungry Travelers

Sicily

Food to bring home from Sicily

Posted on April 15, 2026April 7, 2026 by Pat and David

By nature, we are hunter-gatherers. (Pat hunts. David gathers. He usually has the extra space in his luggage.) We rarely venture anywhere without returning home with some of the tastes of the trip. This series about foodstuffs to bring home is usually entitled ‶What to buy in a supermarket in ….″ But apart from the capita city of Palermo, we didn't see many supermarkets. We ended up buying foodstuffs in the public open-air markets, small delis, and in specialty shops. Shopping from individual vendors on the street turned out to be much more fun than scouring the supermarket shelves. Over the course of three weeks we ended up with quite a haul. Fitting it into our Ryan Air-friendly luggage was a challenge. One item we...Read More

Enotecas offer insights into Sicily’s wine renaissance

Posted on April 11, 2026April 6, 2026 by Pat and David

The generational turnaround in Sicily's wine culture is almost enough to give a wine lover whiplash. Long known as a region of overcropped bulk wines that were shipped north for blending, Sicily has done a 180-degree turn. It's become a region that takes pride in its indigenous grapes, a region where small, often experimental winemakers are pushing the limits with natural yeasts and extended skin contact. And while many larger operations have also embraced varietals best known in Bordeaux and the Rhône valley, the number of winemakers focusing on natural wines made from old-vine Sicilian grapes took us entirely by surprise. The rise of an aspirational wine culture has also led to a spread of enotecas, or wine bars, where curious drinkers can taste a...Read More

Ghiotta: A touch of Sicilian home cooking

Posted on April 8, 2026March 30, 2026 by Pat and David

We met Lena as we were all marveling over the Greek theater in Taormina, Sicily (parconaxostaormina.com/en). Originally built in the third century BCE, the ruins perch high above the Ionian sea. Even after the Roman renovations (they took out the orchestra to make room for gladiatorial combat) and more than a millenium of decay, the old theater has a marvelously imposing presence. After chatting about Sicily's rich history and remarkable artifacts like Roman villas and Byzantine churches, our conversation inevitably turned to food. We had been spending a lot of time in the fresh food markets, after all. Lena had been born near Trapani and emigrated from Sicily to Toronto with her family when she was seven years old. She grew up eating her mother's...Read More

Sicily rings in Easter with baked pasta

Posted on April 1, 2026April 1, 2026 by Pat and David

One of the perks of renting an apartment while traveling is that it give us an excuse to go grocery shopping. (As if you could keep us out of the markets....) A particular shape of dried pasta kept catching our eyes in the fresh markets and even in the supermarkets. Called anelletti, it's a small ring-shaped pasta. We kept looking for it on restaurant menus, but to no avail. Eventually we learned that it's mainly used in baked pastas for special events, including Easter. Of course we bought a bag to bring home, and we're glad we did. The shape is a little hard to find in the U.S., as most ring-shaped pastas for sale here are the even smaller rings called anellini, mostly used...Read More

Sausage quest elicits timeworn beauty of Palazzolo Acreide

Posted on March 27, 2026March 27, 2026 by Pat and David

Good things happen when you follow your stomach. In our reading about Sicily we came across an intriguing gastronomic nugget. The traditional sausage of the mountain town of Palazzolo Acreide was one of more than fifty specialty foods of Sicily celebrated by the Slow Food Foundation. Only a handful of butchers still made the sausage, and only a few places in the town served it on their menus. In the interest of gastronomic preservation, we decided to pay a visit and do our part in keeping the tradition alive. It was, after all, only a 45-minute drive from elegant Noto, where we were staying in a guest room in the Liberty-style Villa Nicolaci (nicolacisuites.it/en/). Moreover, we hoped against hope that the 7th century BCE sanctuary...Read More

Welcome to Sicily at Palermo’s Ballaro market

Posted on March 8, 2026March 8, 2026 by Pat and David

We started a three-week trip to Sicily with a week in the island's capital city of Palermo. We have two criteria in choosing an Airbnb: the price and proximity to the fresh food market. We're not sure which comes first. We got it right on a funky little street with a second story apartment less than a five minute walk from the market streets. Yes, streets. Ballaro sprawls for blocks and blocks -- completely unlike the covered market buildings we're used to in Spain. And despite the stenciled signs advising "tourists go home," everyone is friendly and helpful. It's possible that the greatest art of Sicily is the display of food, which is rearranged every morning. This being March, the stalls are filled with gorgeous...Read More

A whirlwind tour of great Sicilian wines

Posted on February 10, 2023February 10, 2023 by David

The continuing reorganization of Sicily's wine regions, as reflected in the map above (courtesy of De Long), has brought considerable focus to what used to be a free-for-all. More than 60 varietals grow on the island, and more than two dozen are autochthonous — varieties that either originated in Sicily or have been grown here since the Phoenicians introduced advanced viticulture 3,000 years ago. I had a chance to taste some modern twists on that grand tradition when Roberto Magnisi, production director of the Duca di Salaparuta group of wineries (duca.it/en), recently came to Boston. He brought outstanding wines from two of his company's properties for a tasting luncheon at Contessa (contessaristorante.com). His group coalesced in 2001 when the Sicilian regional government sold Duca di...Read More

Journey to Sicily with pasta alla Norma

Posted on April 17, 2021April 17, 2021 by Pat and David

Somehow it seemed fitting that Stanley Tucci's quick survey of Italian cooking on CNN concluded in Sicily, a rugged land with overlays of Greek, Arab, and even Norman traditions. Because so many sons and daughters of the island emigrated to the U.S., Sicilian cooking became the departure point for many Italian-American dishes. Admittedly, American Italians show a penchant for piling on the cheese. Order eggplant parm in the U.S., and the hearty dish will probably have more ricotta and mozzarella than eggplant. Yet the original Sicilian cuisine is the model of a healthy Mediterranean diet. It emphasizes fresh vegetables—Sicily supplies the rest of Italy with winter produce—and goes light on the animal protein. Yes, many dishes are fried, but they're fried in extra virgin olive...Read More