Sicilia

Appears in

Published 2005

About

Sicilian cooking is really quite unique, compared to the other Italian regions. Centuries of invasion have exposed the island to a variety of culinary influences, which have enriched the cuisine. Arab and Greek influences are significant and responsible for the introduction of olives, almonds and citrus fruits, for example. Pasta and vegetables form the basis of Sicilian cooking, and fish is more dominant than meat. Sweet things are popular, among them cassata, cannoli, sorbets and ice-creams.

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean (closely followed by its northern neighbour, Sardinia) and the ‘football’ at the ‘toe’ of the Italian ‘boot’. Its position, central in the Mediterranean and close to Africa, has made the island irresistible to a succession of invaders over the centuries, among them the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Arabs, Spanish, Normans and French, and of course many mainland Italians, including the Etruscans and Romans. Sicily was once considered so important strategically and geographically that large swathes of Italy and other parts of Europe were governed from here.