What to eat during a holiday in Palermo: typical dishes and street food

A great culinary tradition. Saffron, pistachio, prickly pears, and ricotta are some of the main ingredients. If you’re wondering what to eat in Palermo, there are several culinary specialties that you should taste.

The street food

Maybe you plan to visit Palermo in one day, or you’ll stay longer. In both cases, enjoy cannoli and cassata is a real experience that you will not forget so easily. But better not gorging on cannoli and cassata because there are other specialties to try.

In addition to cassata and cannoli, you will surely know arancini: breaded and fried rice balls, usually stuffed with mozzarella, peas and tomato sauce. Instead, this is considered a real delicacy: ‘u pani ca meusa, a soft loaf with chunks of veal spleen and lung.

Walking on the streets of Palermo, there are still many other culinary specialties to discover: crocchè o cazzilli, the potato croquettes; panelle, chickpea flour fritters; sfincione, a sort of pizza with tomato sauce, cheese, anchovies and onion.

The typical dishes

If you want to sit and taste typical dishes of Palermo in a small and cosy restaurant, these are the culinary specialties:

• Caponata. A cooked vegetable salad (eggplants, usually), with sweetened vinegar, capers and sour sauce.
• Anelletti al forno. A particular kind of pasta. The main ingredients are eggplant, meat sauce, peas, cheeses, and tomato.
• Pasta con le sarde. It is tasty pasta prepared with sardines, fennel, onions, raisins, and pine nuts.
• Carne a sfincione. Slices of meat topped with a sauce made with tomato, cheese, anchovies and onion.
• Sarde alla beccafico. They are sardine rolls with breadcrumbs.

Where to eat

Vucciria and Ballarò are two of the main historical markets of Palermo: in these two places, there are several peddlers that will give you the street food specialties. Instead, for dishes such as pasta con le sarde and carne a sfincione, you can find several restaurants in the old own centre of Palermo.

Now you know what to eat in Palermo during your holiday. But have you booked your ferry to Sicily?

Image source: Flickr.com/photos/nebulux