Fall flavors: more than 4 traditional Sicilian dishes to discover and enjoy
Although it arrived late this year, autumn in Sicily is always highly anticipated for the extraordinary colors of the landscapes and the flavors and aromas it brings to the tables.
Just a few months before Christmas, Sicilian autumn cuisine is enriched with new seasonal products such as pumpkin, pomegranate, chestnuts and mushrooms. Lots of mushrooms! But also legume soups and risottos, perfect for those who already want to pamper themselves with a warm meal full of genuine flavors.
And in a climate that celebrates the beginning of the colder season, we rediscover these flavors in village festivals, from the Madonie to the Nebrodi, for an authentic taste of autumn tradition.
Let’s discover the flavors of autumn and the seasonal products most used in Sicilian cuisine, but most importantly, how to use them to create some of the tastiest traditional Sicilian dishes!
Sicilian cuisine: fall traditional Sicilian foods
Pumpkin, pomegranate, chestnuts and mushrooms, but also prickly pears, cabbage, persimmons, oranges and dried fruits. Autumn brings new flavors and colors to enrich tables and enjoy unique dishes that are truly delicious. Ready to discover them and put all the flavor of Sicilian autumn cuisine on the table?
Sicilian recipes with pumpkin
The pumpkin is one of the most beloved products of the fall season, a symbol for the little ones who celebrate Halloween at the end of October all over the world, and a must-have ingredient for Sicilian grandmothers and mothers who prepare dishes that are low in calories but rich in nutrients.
With its orange color and antioxidant properties, it is rich in vitamin A, vitamin E, and fiber, and contains many minerals including calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, and phosphorus.
In short, a health food, but also very good and versatile! In fact, pumpkin is used to prepare pasta dishes, side dishes and desserts.
But what recipes to prepare with pumpkin?
Without a doubt, one of the most popular pumpkin dishes among Sicilians is sweet and sour pumpkin (zucca in agrodolce), known in the Palermo area as “ficatu ri setti cannola“. Easy to prepare and very tasty, it appeals to young and old alike, and can be baked or fried. The sweet note comes from the sugar, while the white wine vinegar gives it a tart, sour taste that gives the dish a memorable flavor.
But pumpkin can also be prepared with tomato sauce, garlic and oregano for a tasty and quick side dish. And for risotto lovers? Try pumpkin risotto with carnaroli rice, butter, onion and a little Parmesan cheese, a tasty, delicate recipe with an enveloping flavor.
What if you want to make a pumpkin dessert? Well, one dessert your guests will love are pumpkin sfinci, made with pumpkin boiled in water, flour, sugar, brewer’s yeast and a pinch of cinnamon. Soft, tasty, mouthwatering.
Sicilian recipes with pomegranate
The pomegranate is the fruit of autumn, with its iconic shape and inside its bright ruby red color it is rich in vitamins A and C, fiber, minerals, phosphorus, potassium, and packed with antioxidants. Some people like to pick it straight from the tree, open it and eat the kernels, while others enjoy the juice extracted from the pulp, which is fresh, sweet and tasty. But pomegranate can also be enjoyed in other ways!
In fact, pomegranate can be used as a main ingredient to enrich risottos or to flavor meat and fish main courses. The sweet-sour note of pomegranate gives the risotto a unique flavor for a simple and original recipe to share with friends on a cold autumn evening.
The pulp of the small pomegranate kernels is rich in water, very juicy, sweet and with a tart aftertaste. A perfect ingredient to prepare an autumn variant of sicilian watermelon pudding, pomegranate pudding! This is a spoon dessert to be served as a refreshing conclusion to a lunch or dinner of vegetables, fish or meat.
How to enjoy chestnuts
Did you know that one of the oldest and largest chestnut trees in the world is actually located in Sicily? Precisely, in the municipality of Sant’Alfio, in Catania, Italy. This giant and legendary tree is called the “Chestnut of the Hundred Horses“, a thousand-year-old tree whose origin dates back more than 3,000 years.
But beyond the legends, Sicily offers an authentic treasure to discover. Autumn opens the doors to the search for chestnuts in the woods, and in every corner of Sicilian towns and villages the scent of “roasted chestnuts” is released, a scent that smells of autumn and invites you to stop and buy a hot “coppo” of freshly cooked chestnuts in the so-called “caliaturi“.
Undisputed protagonists and symbol of autumn, chestnuts fill the heart but also the stomach, so much so that in the past they were called the bread of the poor because of their floury pulp, from which chestnut flour is made.
The nutritional properties of this fruit are remarkable, just think that in 100 grams of chestnuts there are high percentages of iron, potassium and magnesium, making them a real treasure for those who find them in the dense forest (a treasure even for the price at which they are sold by traders!).
Chestnuts can be enjoyed on their own, as an appetizer or at the end of a meal, but they can also become the main ingredient in first courses and one-dish meals, such as hot soups, risottos, meat main courses, or used to fill cakes, pies and tarts.
A typical but not very well known recipe, for example, is Pasta ca’ Pastigghia, an ancient recipe of popular Sicilian origin based on dried chestnuts that results in a soup with a sweet and enveloping flavor, to be enjoyed hot. A really simple dish to prepare and with a special flavor that can be enriched with bay leaves, wild fennel and pecorino cheese.
But in Sicily, there are also chestnut desserts. Do marron glacés ring a bell? They are one of the flagship ingredients of one of the most famous Sicilian confectionery companies in the world, Fiasconaro. Fiasconaro’s Marron Noir is filled precisely with creamy marrons, made with chestnuts and sugar.
Mushrooms, what a passion!
At this time of year, there are many mushroom enthusiasts who venture into the woods with their large baskets to collect porcini mushrooms. The area of Etna Park, as well as the Madonie and Nebrodi Mountains, are ideal places to collect mushrooms due to the moisture of the undergrowth.
Not only porcini, but also boletus mushrooms and the prized amanita cesaria, become the star ingredients of some of the best traditional Sicilian mushroom recipes.
Among the best Sicilian cuisine recipes to prepare in the fall, you cannot miss that of mushrooms Sicilian style, a simple and tasty side dish that can be served as an appetizer, as a side dish or as a main course.
Another tasty recipe is that of stuffed mushrooms au gratin baked Sicilian style. For this dish, the heads of champignon mushrooms are used, to be garnished with a filling prepared with the chopped stems, breadcrumbs flavored with parsley and spices, cheese, garlic and pine nuts. Simply season them with a little olive oil drizzle and bake them au gratin. A real treat!
More traditional Sicilian fall recipes
We have seen how easy it is to prepare tasty dishes with the ingredients of the fall season, but there are so many Sicilian dishes that we cannot forget.
Dishes such as Paccheri del maltempo (paccheri ru malu tempu), prepared when boats could not go out to sea and it was impossible to fish, so they used sardines or salted anchovies, raisins, pine nuts and breadcrumbs, and poor ingredients on hand.
With indian fig (fichi d’india), however, a delicious mustard is still made today. This is a typical product of Gagliano Castelferrato, in the province of Enna, and Militello Val di Catania, which is prepared in traditional terracotta pans.
In the Madonie area, delicious soups made with legumes, fried guastedda and Petralia Sottana’s “risu niuru” (black rice), a delicious delicacy made with rice, sugar, cinnamon and dark chocolate that is truly delicious!
And to accompany all this? Obviously, you cannot miss an excellent Sicilian DOC wine, a Sicilian amaro or liqueur of tradition to fully enjoy each dish.
And you, what do you prepare in the fall to pay homage to the flavors and scents of Sicily?
