Traditional Catanesi recipes: Learn to Cook them

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There is one thing that the Catanians do better than almost anyone in the world: cooking with what they have.

Lava stone, crystal clear sea, an active volcano at sight — and a dispensation that is already, in itself, a philosophy of life. Catalan cuisine has never been rich cuisine. It has been, for centuries, intelligence cuisine: few extraordinary ingredients, precise techniques handed down without ever being written, and a taste for abundance that transforms every meal into something festive even when there is nothing special to celebrate.

If you are spending a few days in Catania in an apartment with kitchen, you have an opportunity that no restaurant can give you: cooking like a Sicilian family, with the same ingredients that you can find at the Pescheria market or in the shops of the old town.

This guide takes you into five iconic traditional dishes with traditional Catalan recipes. For each one you find the story, the ingredients to buy here (and where to find them), the authentic recipe and the tips that local cooks never put in writing.

💡 Where to cook in Catania: I'll give it to you. holiday houses of Sayen Holiday Sicily are equipped with fully equipped kitchens — perfect for those who want to transform the living room into a true gastronomic immersion. From the market to the kitchen, in less than ten minutes walk.

Before Starting: Where to Make the Expense in Catania

The quality of the final result of these traditional Catania recipes, depends almost entirely on the quality of the ingredients. In Catania, luckily, finding exceptional raw materials is very easy.

Fishing market (Piazza Pardo, from Tuesday to Saturday, 7:00–13:00) The place where to buy fresh fish, Sicilian vegetables and local spices. Prices are honest and sellers — if you show genuine interest — are often willing to explain how to use what you sell. Bring the cart or a large bag.

Piazza Carlo Alberto Market (the "Fiera", every day) More chaotic and less touristic than the Pescheria. Local fruit and vegetables at unbeatable prices: purple aubergines of Sicily, expensive tomatoes, almost orange lemons as they are ripe. This is where they buy the families of Catania.

The gastronomy of the old town For fresh ricotta, the pistachios of Bronte DOP, the 'nduja, the anchovies under salt and the artisan preserves. Always ask if they have zero km products — They almost always have it.

1. Pasta alla Norma — The Plate Who Given the Name to an Opera

History

We're in Catania, late nineteenth century. The playwright Nino Martoglio tastes for the first time this pasta dish with fried eggplants, tomato, salted ricotta and basil. He finds it so extraordinary that he exclaims: "It's a Standard! " — as to say: it is a masterpiece, it is at the height of the Norma di Vincenzo Bellini, the most famous Catalan composer in history.

Since then, the dish had its name. And it has remained, over the centuries, one of the gastronomic symbols of Catania — simple in appearance, technically demanding in reality.

Ingredients (for 4 people)

• 320g of pasta (rigatoni or maccheroni — never spaghetti, the Catalans keep us)
• 2 Sicilian violet aubergines (those round and compact, not long)
• 400g of peeled tomatoes or fresh tomatoes rigged in summer
• 150g of salty ricotta seasoned (not the fresh one) — is a common mistake)
• 1 white onion average average
• Abundant extra virgin olive oil Sicilian
• Fresh basil (at least 10-12 large leaves)
• Salt, black pepper
• Peanut seed oil for frying eggplants
  

The Authentic Recipe

Step 1 — Aubergines (the most important step) Cut the eggplants to thick slices about 1 cm, arrange them in a squlapasta, sprinkle with big salt and let them lose the water of vegetation for at least 40 minutes. This passage is not optional: without it, the eggplant absorbs too much oil during frying and the result is heavy and greased.

Step 2 — The Sugo In a large pan, make the onion sliced thin in extra virgin olive oil on low heat — It takes at least 10-12 minutes, don't rush. Add the crushed peeled tomatoes with your hand, salt and cook on medium heat for 20-25 minutes until you get a dense and fragrant sauce. At the end of cooking, turn off the fire and add the basil.

Step 3 — The pasta Cook the pasta in plenty of salt water, drain a lot to the tooth and finish cooking in the sauce for 2-3 minutes, adding a cooking water mixture if necessary.

Step 4 — Stacking Place the pasta in the dish, adagia over the fried eggplants, grate abundant salted ricotta with a grater with wide holes and add some fresh basil leaf. Do not mix — the salty ricotta must remain visible on the surface.

The secret that is not found in the books: salted ricotta must be aged at least 3 months. Fresh or semi-seasoned is a different ingredient that produces a different result. Look for the hard crust in the gastronomy of the center.

2. Arancini di Catania — La Disputa con Palermo (and Why Vince Catania)

History

The war of the oranges — if you are from Palermo — is one of the most felt cultural battles of Sicily. In Catania are oranges, they are conical (not spherical), and have the tip upwards. This shape is not random: it recalls the shape of the Etna. Or at least, they want the Catanians.

The origins date back to the Arab domination of Sicily (IX-XI century): the Moors used to eat rice seasoned with saffron and meat held in the palm of the hand. The frying and the panatura probably arrived with the Norman domination. In any case, what is today a Catalan arancino is the result of a thousand years of cultural hybridization — and he feels.

Ingredients (for 8 large oranges)

For rice:

• 500g of Carnaroli rice (or Arborio) — not rice parboiled)
• 1 saffron bag (unreachable identity element)
• 50g butter
• 80g of Parmigiano Reggiano grated
• Rooms
  

For the filling (Moon):

• 200g mixed minced meat (mal and beef)
• 100g peas (fresh or frozen)
• 1⁄2 onion, 1⁄2 carrot, 1⁄2 celery coast
• 150ml of Sicilian red wine
• 200g tomato sauce
• Salt, pepper, bay
  

For the paneling:

• Flour 00
• Water
• 1⁄2 onion, 1⁄2 carrot, 1⁄2 celery coast
• Fine breadcrumbs
• Peanut seed oil for frying
  

The Authentic Recipe

Step 1 — Rice (the day before) Cook rice in abundant salt water with saffron loose. It must be well cooked but not undone. Drain, mantle with butter and Parmigiano, spread over a baking tray and let it cool completely. Better if you rest in the refrigerator all night: cold rice you work much better.

Step 2 — The spider Slice with onion, carrot and celery in extra virgin olive oil. Add the grounded meat and brown well on all sides. Flame with red wine, lets evaporate alcohol and add tomato sauce, peas, bay, salt and pepper. Cook on low heat for at least 40 minutes until you get a dense and dry ragout. Let it cool completely.

Step 3 — Forming With the hands moistened, take a portion of rice (about 120-130g), flatten it on the palm, put a generous spoon of ragù in the center and fold forming a cone. The base must be flat and stable, the decisive tip. Compact: the lobster should not open during frying.

Step 4 — La panatura Prepare a semi-liquid batter with flour and water. Pass each arancino first into the batter, then into the breadcrumbs, ensuring that the cover is uniform across the surface.

Step 5 — The frying Friggi in abundant oil of seeds at 170-175°C for about 4-5 minutes, turning them gently, until even browning. Drain on absorbent paper and warm servants — but not hot: the filling needs 2-3 minutes to settle.

The secret that is not found in the books: the temperature of the oil is everything. Too cold, the peanut absorbs oil and is greased. Too hot, the panatura burns before the heart gets warm. A kitchen thermometer is the most useful investment you can make for this recipe.

3. Caponata di Melanzane — The Agrodolce of Sicily

History

The caponata is perhaps the Sicilian dish with the most laminated history. The name probably comes from Chief — a fine fish that Sicilian nobles ate in bittersweet. The popular baskets, unable to afford the fish, replaced the capone with the eggplant. The result was, as often happens in the history of poor cuisine, superior to the original.

Every Sicilian family has its own recipe of caponata. There are versions with olives, versions with capers, versions with pine nuts and raisins, versions with bitter cocoa. The Catalan one tends to be sweeter and less sour than the Palermitan version.

Ingredients (for 6 people, 4-5 days in the refrigerator)

• 3 Sicilian violet aubergines large
• 4 celery coasts
• 1 white onion great
• 200g of peeled tomatoes
• 80g of green olives (the big ones, denocciolate)
• 2 tablespoons of capers under salt (screw)
• 60ml white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 30g of pine nuts
• Sicilian extra virgin olive oil
• Salt, pepper
• Fresh basil
  

The Authentic Recipe

Step 1 — The eggplants Cut the cubed eggplants of about 2 cm, salt and let them purify 30 minutes. Dry and fry in plenty of oil until golden. Stand aside.

Step 2 — Basic suffrage In a large pan, dry the sliced onion in extra virgin olive oil. Add the celery cut into pieces of 2 cm — must remain slightly crisp. Add olives and capers.

Step 3 — Tomato and agrodolce Add crushed peeled tomatoes and cook 10 minutes. Then the crucial moment: dissolves sugar in vinegar and pours everything into the pan. Mix and let the sour cherry blend with the sauce for 5 minutes. Taste and balance — There must be a precise tension between sweet and acid, without one overwhelming the other.

Step 4 — The final composition Add fried eggplants, pine nuts and basil. Mix gently to not undo the cubes. Let intiepidire and then rest at least 2 hours before serving.

The secret that is not found in the books: the caponata is infinitely better the next day. The flavors merge and the bittersweet balances in a way that just made does not have. If you can, prepare it for the next day.

4. Granita Siciliana — Cold, Densa, Irriproducible

History

The Sicilian granita has nothing to do with industrial ice creams or granite from continental bars. It’s another thing. History says that the Arabs — that brought in Sicily the cultivation of sugar cane and sherbet — the original intuition: Etna snow mixed with fruit juices and syrups. The Normans perfected the technique, and over the centuries the Sicilian granite has become one of the most copied and less reproducible preparations in the world outside Sicily.

The reason why Sicilian granita is different from everything else is in the consistency: it is not a hard ice, it is not a creamy sorbet. It's halfway — crystalline but velvety, cold but not freezing. You get it with a continuous scraping technique during freezing that most craft bars still perform by hand.

Ingredients (for 4 people)

Lemon version (most identity):

• 250ml lemon juice fresh (about 4-5 Sicilian lemons — do not use anything else)
• 200g of sugar
• 500ml of water
• Slice of 1 lemon (only the yellow part)
  

The Authentic Recipe

Step 1 — The syrup Heat the water with sugar and lemon zest until completely dissolved sugar (do not boil). Let it cool completely, then remove the peel.

Step 2 — The juice Spray lemons and filter juice. Join the cold syrup. Taste: it must be sweeter and more acidic than you would like to drink — the freezing cold softens both.

Step 3 — Freezing (technical part) Pour the mixture into a low and wide container (increase the contact surface with the cold). Get in the freezer. After 30-40 minutes, when the crystals begin to form on the edges, shave with a fork stirring vigorously. Put it back in the freezer. Repeat every 30 minutes for 3-4 hours.

The result must be a mass of fine and uniform crystals — not a solid block, not a mousse.

Step 4 — The service The granite is used in glass glasses, accompanied by the brioche with the tup (the Sicilian brioche with the small knot at the top). Soaking the brioche in the granita is the only correct way to eat it — Whoever says otherwise has never been to Catania in the morning.

The secret that is not found in the books: the quality of the lemons is everything. The lemons of Etna and the area of Syracuse have an aromatic profile completely different from the lemons found at the supermarket of Northern Italy. Here in Catania buy them at the market of Piazza Carlo Alberto for a few cents per kilo — and the difference in the final result is abyssal.

5. Cannoli Siciliani — The Perfect Closure

History

The origin of cannoli is disputed between different versions — Arabic, Norman, convention — but almost all the historians of gastronomy agree on one point: the Sicilian cannoli were probably born as a carnival dessert, prepared by the nuns of the Sicilian convents in industrial quantities during the period before Lent.

The Catalan cannolo is distinguished by the palermitan one for some precise characteristics: the rind is darker and crisper, the ricotta is exclusively sheep (not cow), and the cream is never mixed with chocolate or other ingredients — only ricotta, sugar, vanilla and, sometimes, candied orange peel.

Ingredients (for 12 cannoli)

For the peel:

• 250g flour 00
• 30g sugar
• 30g of strutto (not replace with butter — change everything)
• 1 egg
• 60ml of Marsala wine
• 1 teaspoon bitter cocoa
• 1 pinch of salt
• Oil of seeds for frying
  

For cream:

• 500g sheep ricotta fresh
• 150g of powdered sugar
• 1 vanilla berry
• Candied orange peel q.b.
• DOP Bronte pistachio granella for garnishing
  

The Authentic Recipe

Step 1 — The cream (the day before) Sift sheep ricotta through a fine colino — this passage eliminates the lumps and makes the cream velvety. Combine sifted powdered sugar, vanilla berry seeds and candied peels in small pieces. Mix gently, cover with film and leave to rest in the refrigerator all night. The ricotta must be cold and compact before use.

Step 2 — The peel Mix all dry ingredients, then add the ostrich, egg and Marsala. Work until you get a smooth and elastic dough. Wrap it in film and let it rest 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Spread the very thin dough (2mm approx.) and get circles of about 10cm in diameter. Wrap each circle around the appropriate metal cylinders (rings), overlapping and sealing edges with egg whites.

Step 3 — The frying Fry the cannelli with the peel in oil of seeds at 180°C until dark and uniform browning — the peel must have the superficial bubble characteristics that indicate the right temperature and the right thickness. Drain, cool and remove cylinders with caution.

Step 4 — The filling and service Fill the peel with ricotta cream only when serving — never in advance, otherwise the peel loses crispness and softens. Seal the ends with Bronte pistachio granella and, if you want, a candied orange peel.

The secret that is not found in the books: the cannoli are always stuffed at the last moment. This is why those of the Sicilian bars are infinitely better than those you find already stuffed in the pastries of Northern Italy. If you are preparing them for guests, keep the peel and cream separate until the last second.

Market As a Culinaria Experience

Before lighting the stoves, it is worth spending a few words on the market as a gastronomic moment in itself.

The Pescheria of Catania is not just about to buy ingredients. You go and see what a city cooks. The counters of Tuesday morning tell the season better than any calendar: when the fresh beans arrive, it is spring. When ribbed tomatoes become fleshy and fragrant, it is July. When the blood oranges color the red bills, it is winter.

Going with a list of hard spending is wasting an opportunity. Go with a maximum idea and let the products of the day guide the final decision — This is cooking as a Catanian.

Where to Find the Hardest Ingredients

Some raw materials of this guide are not found at the supermarket. Here is where to look for them:

Fresh sheep ricotta: gastronomy and dairies of the old town, or directly from the market counters of Piazza Carlo Alberto. Always ask if it's sheep — is often sold mixed ricotta without specifying it.

Pistacchi di Bronte DOP: the specialized shops of the center, or the producers who have counters at the Fair. Those of Bronte have an intense green color almost fluorescent — It's too pale.

Seasoned Salad ricotta: Gastronomy is the right place. Ask for seasoning — minimum 3 months for pasta alla Norma.

Craftsmanship: traditional butcher shops in the centre or market. The industrial strut in packaging is fine as an alternative.

Cannon rings: house shops in the old town. It costs little and life.

Porta la Cucina Catanese a Casa

The beauty of cooking during a trip is that you bring something that does not end with your suitcase: a technique, a combination, the memory of a perfume that brings you back to a precise place every time you reproduce it.

A Bronte pistachio vasetto, a well wrapped salty ricotta, some Etna lemon in the backpack — are ingredients that travel and that allow you to reproduce (almost) that same magic at home.

The kitchens of holiday houses of Sayen Holiday Sicily are equipped to allow you to try in the traditional recipes of Catania during the stay: stoves, pans, scolapasta, everything you need. And the Pescheria is a few minutes walk away.

FAQ: Catanese cuisine

What is the difference between Catalan cuisine and Sicilian cuisine in general?
The Catalan cuisine is strongly influenced by volcanic territory: aubergines, tomatoes and citrus fruits grow in a soil that gives them a unique aromatic profile. Compared to the Palermo cuisine, the Catalan one tends to be more robust and less spicy, with a more marked use of sheep ricotta and Bronte pistachios.

Can you make pasta at Norma without frying eggplants?
Technically yes, but the result is a different dish. Broiled or baked eggplants have a different texture and taste than fried — less rich, less enveloping. Friction is an integral part of the original recipe.

Where to buy cannoli already made in Catania?
The most respected pastries in the centre are Savia (historical, Via Etnea), Spinella (open 24 hours, legendary for night crows) and pastries of the Pescheria Market. Remember: the best are always those stuffed at the moment in front of you.

Is it possible to follow a Sicilian cooking course in Catania?
Yes — search on Airbnb Experiences or GetYourGuide "cooking class Catania". The best courses include visiting the shopping market and then preparing in the kitchen. It is one of the most recommended experiences for those traveling alone or in couple.

Can the Sicilian granita be made without ice cream?
Yes — the recipe in this guide does not require ice cream. The manual scraping technique produces an authentic result, perhaps even closer to the original version of the one obtained with modern machines.

Have you tried to cook one of these recipes during your stay in Catania? Tell us what happened in the comments — and if you have discovered local variations that we have not included, we are curious to know.

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