7 cold main foods and dishes recipes of Sicilian cuisine to get ready for summer!
Summer is just around the corner, and in Sicily the heat is already being felt in the first days of May. Fortunately, there are many cold dishes and Sicilian recipes that can be prepared with fresh, light foods that help you face summer with more enthusiasm.
No stews, stewed meat, baked anelletti, and complicated foods that should be avoided in view of the summer mugginess and also in view of the swimsuit test! Sicilian culinary tradition has thoughtfully included tasty but not heavy cold dishes as well.
Many of these cold dishes can be prepared without turning on ovens and stoves, because the ingredients should be eaten raw and fresh. These are seasonal, delicious and light foods that can be seasoned with a little extra virgin olive oil and some spices and enjoyed at lunch or dinner.
So let’s discover the cold summer first courses of Sicilian cuisine. Here are 7 fresh and appetizing recipes with typical seasonal ingredients to cook during summer!
Pasta with fresh Sicilian pesto
Good, tasty and delicate at the same time, which can also be eaten cold to savor all the aroma and intense flavor of fresh Sicilian basil. To prepare Sicilian pesto, just use cherry tomatoes or fresh tomatoes in season, garlic, almonds, basil and olive oil all raw!
You can also add grated parmesan and a little pecorino cheese to add even more flavor to your Sicilian pesto pasta dish.
Real goodness that you will want to enjoy at least once a week!
Pasta with Trapanese pesto
If you love the taste of fresh Sicilian-style pesto, then you can also try this delicious variation from Trapani: pasta with Trapanese pesto! A traditional dish perfect for lovers of garlic and strong flavors.
For this recipe we recommend you use a particular variety of tomato, Ramati quality. These are ripe tomatoes with few seeds, ideal for making Trapanese pesto or any other type of pesto to season cold first courses. If you love the sweet flavor of tomatoes, then use cherry tomatoes from Pachino or datterini.
Here is the recipe to make your own delicious Trapanese pesto and a tutorial to prepare, step by step, your own fresh busiate with Trapanese pesto recipe!
Pasta with almond pesto
Pasta with almond pesto is a really delicious and fresh dish of Sicilian cuisine, made of a few but tasty ingredients and perfect for anticipating the arrival of warm weather. It is a very easy dish to prepare, with uncooked ingredients, and which you can also combine with other seasonal foods or fish. For example, you can add fresh cherry tomatoes and basil or delicious freshly caught scampi to make a fresh, flavorful first course that tastes of the sea.
Pasta “chi tenerumi” (tender zucchini leaves)
What summer would it be in Sicily without a traditional pasta dish with tender zucchini leaves? True, it is not a cold dish but rather a hot soup that, however, has a refreshing effect since it is rich in vitamins and minerals.
Pasta with “tenerumi” is a Sicilian summer dish with an inimitable flavor! The original recipe originated in Palermo, but this dish is now served on all Sicilian tables.
The stars of this dish are the tender leaves of long, narrow zucchini of a delicate light green color! Just blanch them for a few minutes and add them to the tomato sautéed with garlic, which brings even more flavor to this tasty dish. In some areas of Sicily, diced potatoes are also added, making it a unique and delicious dish.
Sicilian rice salad
Sicilian rice salad is probably one of the most beloved cold dishes of summer. A first course made with simple, fresh and wholesome ingredients that can be prepared even several hours in advance and eaten even in the following days.
There are no rules. What matters is that the ingredients are few, simple and uncooked. From sun-dried tomatoes to olives, almonds to tuna and fresh mozzarella. We recommend that you flavor the dish by adding lemon zest, which gives it a hint of freshness, and that you choose a type of rice that does not scald, such as carnaroli rice or venere rice.
Sicilian rice salad can be prepared with whatever you wish. Rice can also be easily substituted, with barley, spelt, quinoa or cous cous. A real goodness that will bring cheerfulness and freshness to your table!
Herrings, oranges and olives salad
Sicilian salad of oranges, smoked herring and olives Sicilian style is a typical recipe from Palermo, but now widespread in Sicily and other parts of Italy. It is a cold dish with humble origins that features the delicious Sicilian orange.
The sweet flavor of the orange juice is perfectly combined with the strong, salty taste of smoked herring fillets and Sicilian olives. A combination of flavors that creates real magic on the table and brings a note of freshness to the hottest days, without sacrificing the pleasure of enjoying a rich and hearty dish. The salad of oranges, olives and herring can be a great side dish for a seafood lunch or can be enjoyed as a main course.
Pantesca salad and Sicilian orange salad
Pantesca salad is a triumph of flavors and colors, paying homage to the Mediterranean flavor and beauty of the Sicilian island. The original Pantelleria salad recipe originated on the island of Pantelleria and is a specialty of this place, where it is prepared with genuine, fresh and simple products.
Perfect as a side dish for fish dishes or as a true one-pot meal, light but very tasty, the Pantelleria salad has always been prepared with fresh cherry tomatoes, sweet red Tropea onion, black olives and Pantelleria capers, another excellence of the area. Basil and oregano can also be added to give even more flavor and freshness to the dish. An easy-to-prepare cold dish that everyone really likes!
Cold foods, ready to be enjoyed
In this article we reviewed the best and freshest traditional Sicilian cold foods that will bring a breath of freshness and flavor to your hot summer. What about you, do you know or have you already prepared any? Do you know any other traditional Sicilian cold dishes and recipes to enjoy in summer?
Please feel free to share your suggestions or recipes with us! We are waiting for you in the comments.
Great recipes
Ty very much for all these authentic Sicilian recipes I haven’t had since my grandmother and momma died looking forward to making these and sharing with my grandchildren