2018 Primetime Emmy
& James Beard Award Winner

(Almost) Everything We Ate in Sicily

Around the island in 41 dishes.

It takes almost no effort at all to eat well in Sicily. Stumble into a gas station off the autostrada and you’ll find panini lined up like runway models and an old man playing a $3000 espresso machine like a fine violin.

In fact, it’s safe to say it takes more effort to have a bad meal in Sicily than it does to have one you’ll still be dreaming about months later. The only problem? Where to put all that food.

Rigatoni with fennel sausage and tomato.
Down and dirty tiramisu.
Crudo plate: Raw tuna, swordfish, calamari, and sweet shrimp.
Pasta carbonara with smoked tuna belly.
Grilled swordfish.
Baby pears from the island of Filicudi.
Pasta alla norma.
Penne with pancetta and pistachio pesto.
Sea urchin bruschette.
Trio of granita: Lemon, pistachio and blackberry.
Grilled horse steak.
Grilled spring onions wrapped in pancetta.
Fried calamari.
Grilled branzino with blood orange sauce.
Orange and red onion salad with dried chilies.
Classic tomato-basil bruschette.
Ricotta ravioli smothered in a sea of red.
Ricotta ravioli smothered in a sea of red.
Olive-oil poached mackerel with sundried tomatoes and cabbage.
Swordfish tortelli with ricotta and eggplant cream.
Rare bluefin tuna crusted in Sicilian sesame.
Pasta cooked risotto style with steamed langoustine.
Couscous with shellfish, a parting gift from Sicily’s African invaders.
Eggplant parmesan.
Croissant slathered and stuffed with pistachio butter.
Sicilian sausage.
Carbonara pizza.
Tuna surprise.
Beef spleen summered in lard.
Ham and mozzarella arancini.
Sicilian square slice with fresh tomato.
Fried sardines.
Palermo’s starchy hero, pasta con le sarde (paste with sardines, fennel and breadcrumbs).
Nero de seppia: Squid ink pasta.
Evening spritz.
Spaghetti with sea urchin.
Pistachio gelato sandwich.
Swordfish ravilo with tomatoes and pinenuts.
Canolo.
Espresso.

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