The Greek imported the olives and brought Ricotta cheese, honey and wine to the island. Later, the Romans started to cultivate durum wheat in the interior of Sicily and made the first ice cream from the ice of the volcano Etna, by sweetening it with honey and fruits. Today, you can buy the popular “granita” water ice on every corner, flavoured with all kind of tastes. The Romans taught the farmers to prepare the “salsiccia” sausage, a coarsely-ground sausage from pork meat, and the typical “maccu,” a puree of broad beans, which was the staple food for the farmers for a long time.

The Arabs had a considerable influence on the Sicilian cuisine as well. They brought important foods like citrus fruits, rice, sugar, almonds, and marzipan. The preference of the Arabs for sweet desserts especially reflects the variety of the Sicilian “dolci.” The Sicilian confectioners offer a colourful variety of pastries from almond, pistachios and pine nuts which are mostly very sweet and filling. You should not miss the popular rolling pins “cannoli” which was filled with Ricotta cheese and the “cassata siciliana”, a layer cake from sponge mixture, Ricotta cheese, marzipan and candied fruits.

The combination of raisins and pine nuts, which are often served with vegetables and fish, is the basis of many common dishes, especially around Palermo. In the southern part around Trapani, the proximity to Northern Africa is noticeable, as many dishes are prepared with couscous. But nevertheless, the famous Italian Pasta is popular here, too, and it is said that Sicily is the home to the “maccheroni” pasta.

Fresh fish and hearty meat dishes

The ingredients of the Sicilian cuisine are colourful and daring mixtures of sweet, salty and sour, combined with a harmonic flavour. Along the coastline, fresh fish is the key of many dishes.