Street Food of Palermo

"Sicily is the most beautiful region of Italy: an unprecedent orgy of colours, scents, lights. A great pleasure!"

Sigmund Freud

Panelle

Panelle are Sicilian fritters made from chickpea flour and other ingredients. They are often eaten in a bread roll, like a sandwich, with the crocchè.

Panelle are of Arabic origin, and they have a lot in common with other italian chickpea-based dishes like farinata or cecina. They are best eaten hot, when they are crunchy and tender at the same time.

You can buy the panelle in the historic market of Palermo on the stall of the "PANELLARO" (the panelle vendor).

Crocchè

Crocché is a snack street food invented in Sicily, influenced by the popular French croquette, during the seventeenth century when potatoes arrived in Sicily.

Nowadays crocchè are served as an appetizer or with panelle for a tasty sandwich.

The name recalls croccante (crunchy) and the best crocché are fried just the right way, leaving a crusty exterior.

Only in Palermo the name of the crocchè is CAZZILLO; to know why you have to participate to the tour!!!!

Sfincione

The sfincione (or sfinciuni in dialect) is a traditional focaccia served in Palermo. The crust is light and spongy with a crisp bottom layer.

It's traditionally topped with onions, tomatoes, anchovies, oregano, and sometimes with grated "caciocavallo" cheese. The final touch is a crisp top layer of breadcrumbs.

In Palermo, it's sold in bakeries or from streetside stands (you can see the "sfincionaro" in the picture on the right), starting from the early morning in the most important historic food market (Capo, Vucciria and Ballarò).

The origin of the name is from the latin word "spongia" that means sponge.

Arancina

It is a ball of breaded and fried rice stuffed generally with meat sauce, peas or with diced ham and mozzarella.

The origin of the name of the arancina is from the traditional round shape and the typical golden colour, that resembles an orange.

Due to the presence of saffron, we suppose that the origin of the arancina is during the Arab domination between the 9th and 11th centuries, a time when people in Sicily ate rice and saffron seasoned with herbs and meat.

Arancina or Arancino

According to the citizens of Palermo the correct name is arancina, from the fruit of the orange tree; the orange in fact, which in Italian is declined in the feminine. However in Sicilian dialect all fruit is masculine and in this specific case the orange is called arànciu; therefore, especially in eastern Sicily and in Catania in particular, the name of this street food is originally in the masculine (arancinu), as also testified by the Sicilian-Italian dictionary of the Palermo Giuseppe Biundi.

... moreover the bravest will be able to tast also ...

Pane con la milza

Bread with spleen

It is a dish exclusively typical of Palermo and it consists of a soft bread (locally called vastedda or mafalda) flavoured with sesame, stuffed with chopped veal's lung and spleen that have been boiled and then fried in lard.

The bread with spleen is "schiettu" o "maritatu" (married in sicilian dialect). The first one in seasoned with pepper and lemon; the maritato is seasond of grated caciocavallo cheese or ricotta cheese.

The "meusaru" is the street vendor of the bread with spleen. They serve the bread with spleen above all in the three historic market, Capo, Vucciria e Ballarò.

The origin of this dish seems to date back to the Middle Ages, when the Jews living in Palermo worked as butcher, and since they cwould not accept any money for their job.then, they sold the splee with cheese and bread.

Stigghiola

In Palermo, stigghiola is a staple street food item consisting of lamb, goat, or chicken intestines that are skewered or wrapped around onions or leeks. Prepared skewers are then grilled and served cut into small, bite-sized pieces. Originally developed as a frugal meal, stigghiola nowadays represents an authentic, local specialty.

The dish is typically sold by stigghiularu, street vendors who are found at various local markets and fairs, specializing in the preparation of this delicacy. When served, stigghiola is traditionally accompanied by lemon wedges.