Food is without a doubt one of the strengths of Sicily. The local gastronomy together with the traditional street food is one of the richest and most popular in Europe.
In addition to the famous cassata and cannoli, the Sicilian cuisine is made up of hundreds of delicious dishes that will definitely not disappoint. Other than restaurants and bars, the city centre offers a multitude of stalls (mobile ones as well) selling typical street food, famous in Europe and recognised as some of the best in the world. To choose to visit Palermo means to eat everything. The local cuisine is fantastic! Do not worry about ordering something you have never tried before for fear of disappointment. Be brave and ask for the house special, you will definitely be satisfied.
Street Food
Practical, tasty, fast and cheap. These are a few of the adjectives that can be used to describe Sicilian street food. Amongst the many options the first one to mention is Pane and Panelle. Panelle are basically simple fritters made with chickpea flour, water, salt and parsley. They are normally served in restaurants as antipasti, together with other specialities. They are also traditionally sold in all the “friggitorie” (fry shops) of Palermo, some of which are mobile, and served in a white bread bun covered in sesame seeds. Together with Panelle you can often taste, sometimes in the same bread bun, the Crocchè, also called Cazzilli (in Palermo). These are croquettes made from potatoes, salt and parsley and are characterised by a typical long shape.
Next we present another main dish of the Sicilian street food; the Pane con la Milza (bread and spleen) or, as known in the local dialect, “Pani ca meusa”. This is a soft bread bun (the same as the Pane e Panelle) stuffed with fried veal’s spleen, heart and lungs and a squeeze of lemon. It can be served with or without cheese, “schettu” or “maritatu”, (which means single or married).
One famous street food that you cannot miss is the Arancina, a gluttonous speciality of Sicilian cuisine. It is basically a rice ball stuffed with meat, or sausage, or ham and mozzarella, along with many other variants that can easily be found in any bar or friggitoria. Quarume (veal tripe stew), stigghiuola (lamb or goat guts) and frittola (leftover scraps from the calf) are other delicacies offered that you shouldn’t miss if you are in Palermo. They can be found in the historic markets, townships and popular neighbourhoods of the city, and in all the typical trattorias. The quarume, also called Caldume, is tripe cooked in broth with onions, celery and carrots. In Sicilian it is better known as Quarumi which means “hot food cooked in a pot” (quarara). A staple dish of the street food menu in both Palermo and Catania, it is normally served in its own broth and should be eaten whilst still piping hot. Stigghiola is a typical Palermitan dish that over time has become popular throughout Sicily. It is made by stuffing lamb or goat’s guts with parsley and spring onions, and cooked on the grill of the Stigghiularu who sells it in the streets of Palermo, and it is served hot and fresh from the grill. When you see smoke and smell something like a roast, here is the stigghiularu. Stop and eat stigghiuola directly there, in front of the stall. Frittola (frittula in Sicilian) is a mixture of leftover scraps from the calf, little pieces of fat and cartilage which are boiled and then fried in lard. Still hot it is placed in a basket covered by a kitchen towel. The Frittolaro, who makes the frittula, will pick a handful of it with his bare hands and will serve it to their customers in a piece of oiled paper or inside a soft bread bun.