Agrigento eating and drinking

By virtue of its location on a hillside, yet only 4 kilometers from the sea, the cuisine of Agrigento encompasses both the traditions of the sea and those purely from the countryside, and as in the rest of Sicily, it is rich in the influences of other cultures, especially Arab.

The restaurants of Agrigento offer fantastic antipasti, typically Mediterranean, and made with simple and flavorful ingredients: salted anchovies, olives, vegetables preserved in oil, sundried tomatoes or the traditional dish called "pitaggio", made of fresh fava beans, peas, and artichokes. Sicily also offers delicious variations on pizza: layers of puff pastry stuffed with various ingredients; at least try one of the "sfincioni", the "miscati" the "mignolate" or the "cuddruni".

First-course dishes are a triumph of pasta. Among the most popular recipes is "cavatelli" (a kind of pasta) with tomatoes and eggplant, or with fava beans and ricotta. Often you find pasta prepared with fish, as in the famous "pasta con le sarde" (pasta with sardines), often embellished with exotic touches like fennel and pistachios.

Among the meats, the cuisine of Agrigento features roasted goat and barbequed lamb. In the winter, you can enjoy pork, sweet and sour duck, or barbequed sausage flavored with fennel and peppers. Meats are always accompanied by flavorful seasonal vegetable dishes, prepared in various styles. Not to be missed is "caponata", a dish of fried mixed vegetables, served cold.

Fish has an important place on the tables of Agrigento, given its vicinity to the sea. All types of fish are used in the most varied recipes. The most common dish, however, is sole, stuffed sardines with nutmeg, and the exquisite dentex in meat broth.

Finally, dessert: it would take too much space to enumerate here the specialties of Sicilian pastry. They are among the most original and renowned in all of Italy. Be sure to make your way into a pastry shop, and let your curiosity be your guide. Buon appetito!

Immagini: © AAPIT Agrigento e APT Trapani