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Messina in Sicilia - The cuisine

The cuisine of Messina is justly famous, particularly for its patisserie and unbeatable icecream. Any visit to the city aimed at discovering the uniqueness of its thousands of years of culture is bound to end up in the kitchen, where you can taste local dishes, cakes and icecreams. The typical Messina breakfast, especially during the summer months, is a glass of coffee or strawberry "granita" accompained by a soft brioche. At lunch, you can start with "la pasta 'ncaciata" (pasta, meat and melted cheese with boiled eggs) alternatively, try sworldfish or in the poorer but equally tasty version "la ghiotta di piscistoccu" (stockfish) fillets of fish slowly baked in a rich sauce of tomatoes, potatoes, capers and herbs. Fried Costardelle (saury) , spatola (angler fish) and shell-fish are less sophisticated alternatives to swordfish, the king of the Straits, this delicious fish may be served as a main course in the form of delicate rolls stuffed with breadcrumbs. The meat version of the dish is called braciole, and usually comes served with a large helping of green salad.

Vegetable dishes include those based on aubergines, such as caponatina and fritters. The latter can also be made with cauliflower. But is cakes and pastries that the cooks of Messina partucularly excel, and where you are really spoilt for choice, even though the classics remain cannoli ( pastry tubes filled with ricotta and candied fruit) and pignolata (a cake made with lard, eggs, sugar, lemon and chocolate). And while taking an afternoon stroll around the town, why not try a delicious home-made icecream.

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