Top food picks in Catania, Italy

Top food picks in Catania, Italy

by George Black
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Table of contents

  • 1. Always take the cannoli
  • 2. Don't think twice about biscotti
  • 3. Feel the texture of focaccia
  • 4. Go deeper for arancini
  • 5. Get cool with prosciutto
  • 6. Feel more with parmigiana
  • 7. Go with the flow with spaghetti carbonara
  • 8. Get saucy with salsiccia
  • 9. Finish up with brioches
  • 10. Keep risotto in mind for the future
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The second-largest city in Sicily, after Palermo, Catania doesn't get nearly enough recognition. Located at the base of the active volcano, Mount Etna, and facing the Ionian Sea, it is as scenic as it is serious in being a metropolitan centre. Dating back to the time of ancient Greeks of Italy, Catania has always been an important place for the region and the countries it's been part of. A jewel of the Renaissance, a hub of industry and commerce in modern times, the city has always stayed relevant and ever developing. This, of course, includes a strong culinary side to urban life.

1. Always take the cannoli
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Pasticceria Savia
#8 of 163 restaurants with desserts in Catania, Italy
Via Etnea, 300/302/304, Via Umberto I, 2/4/6, Catania, Sicily, Italy
Closes soon: 9:20PM
Cannolis
Cannolis

This dessert is sweet Sicilian pastries. They are tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough stuffed with sweet ricotta cream. Cannoli was invented as a Carnevale treat and was considered a fertile symbol. The largest cannolo was cooked in 2014 and weighed 119.069 kg.

This list must start with something absolutely Sicilian. The Italian pastries called the cannolis consist of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling usually containing the most Sicilian ingredient, ricotta. Some food historians place the origins of cannoli in 827–1091 AD in Caltanissetta in Sicily, by the concubines of princes looking to capture their attention. This is a very fitting dish for a city as old and with as powerful a pedigree as Catania.

Pasticceria Savia has great cannoli.

2. Don't think twice about biscotti
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Bisou
Piazza Giovanni Verga, 21E/F, Catania, Sicily, Italy
Closed
Biscotti
Biscotti

Biscotti, or cantucci, are popular Italian almond biscuits that are twice-baked and crunchy. They trace back to Ancient Rome when they were so popular among soldiers and travelers. Biscotti are made without eggs and fat and they can be stored for a long time.

Twice-baked, oblong-shaped, dry, crunchy – these are the characteristics of a very Italian dish that can accompany a substantial meal or be eaten on its own with some good drinks and good company. In fact, biscotti are supposed to be dipped in a drink, traditionally Vin Santo, but alternatives are always welcome. Biscotti are also known as "cantucci", a term coming from an old Italian word that literally means "little place", "nook", or "corner" and also indicating a little piece of bread with a lot of crust.

Bisou has some of the best biscotti you can find in Italy.

3. Feel the texture of focaccia
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Fud Bottega sicula
#353 of 1879 restaurants in Catania, Italy
Via Santa Filomena, 35, Catania, Sicily, Italy
Open until 1AM
Focaccia
Focaccia

It's traditional Italian flat oven-baked bread that is cooked in flat sheet pans, flavoured with olive oil and rosemary and topped with herbs and vegetables. Focaccia is regarded as a pizza's precursor. It derives from the Latin word 'focacia' which means 'hearth' or 'fireside'.

The flat leavened oven-baked Italian bread is a perfect continuation of the current list, as it is both traditional and universal as a dish. Focaccia is similar in style and texture to pizza and can be served as a side dish or as sandwich bread. It's great as part of a combination with meats, wines, soft drinks, and even a heavier mix of pizza with the "white pizza", as focaccia is often called. The basic recipe of focaccia is thought by some to have originated with the Etruscans.

Fud Bottega sicula can offer interesting combinations of dishes, including focaccia.

4. Go deeper for arancini
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Pasticceria Sottile
#52 of 163 restaurants with desserts in Catania, Italy
Via Lago di Nicito, 17, Catania, Sicily, Italy
Closes soon: 9PM
Arancini
Arancini

They are deep-fried rice balls stuffed with mince or meat, tomato sauce, cheese and spices and coated with bread crumbs. Arancini are traditional Sicilian food whose invention traces back to the Arab rule in the 10th century. The name means 'little orange' because of their color and shape.

Next, we should try another staple of Sicilian cuisine very popular around Catania. Arancini are Italian rice balls that are stuffed, coated with bread crumbs and deep-fried. The most common filling is meat or mince, slow-cooked at low temperature with tomato sauce and spices, mozzarella and/or caciocavallo cheese, and often peas. The word "arancini" derives from the Sicilian plural diminutive of "aranciu" meaning "orange", because after cooking their shape looks like that of a small orange.

Pasticceria Sottile will take care of your arancini needs.

5. Get cool with prosciutto
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Sazi e Sani - Catania
#15 of 785 pizza restaurants in Catania, Italy
Via Sant'Euplio, 122, Catania, Sicily, Italy
Open until 11:30PM
Prosciutto
Prosciutto

Try this sweet delicate ham that is made of dry-cured hind legs of pigs. Eat prosciutto raw or add it to pasta or risotto. The recipes of Italian prosciuttos differ in various regions. The most famous is Parma ham, or Prosciutto di Parma, that is salted and air-dried for 8-24 months.

The next item on our list is stable food all across the country, it seems. This is natural, since prosciutto is, in its essence, the local Italian way to make meat that goes well with bread, pizza, and any other kind of food. Combining and enjoying the mix is the leitmotif of the Italian subsistent ingredients. The unsmoked dry-cured ham is usually served in slices with the likes of biscotti or other types of bread to kill the hunger before a more hefty meal. Or it can be a meal in its own right if you feel like going light.

Sazi e Sani Pizzeria has great prosciutto in addition to pizza.

6. Feel more with parmigiana
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Bistro Uzeta
#111 of 863 Italian restaurants in Catania, Italy
Via Penninello, 41, Catania, Sicily, Italy
Open until 2AM
Parmigiana
Parmigiana

It's one of the most popular Italian dishes made of thinly sliced, floured and deep-fried eggplants. Parmigiana is layered with eggplants, cheese and tomato sauce and then baked in the oven. Try it with zucchini or artichokes instead of eggplants.

Getting stronger and stronger in terms of satiation and seriousness of the food, we're getting to yet another Sicilian dish. There is the eggplant parmesan, an Italian dish made with fried, sliced eggplant layered with cheese and tomato sauce, then baked. The name of the dish in Italy is parmigiana, and it is prepared and served with different types of meat, including chicken, veal, or another type of meat cutlet or vegetable filling depending on the imagination and talent of the chef.

Uzeta Bistrò can provide something interesting in terms of parmigiana.

7. Go with the flow with spaghetti carbonara
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GG Bistrot
#10 of 863 Italian restaurants in Catania, Italy
Via Monsignor Ventimiglia, 317, Catania, Sicily, Italy
Open until 12AM
Spaghetti carbonara
Spaghetti carbonara

It's a classic Italian pasta made of spaghetti or other long pasta, guanciale or pancetta, parmesan, olive oil, salt and pepper. Carbonara means 'in the manner of coal miners'. There are different theories for its origin. The dish could be the main meal for charcoal workers or just the black pepper flecks look like coal dust against the creamy pasta.

Another entry on our list of dishes popular in Catania is quite modern and hailing from Rome. Pasta has always been associated with Italian cuisine, but the modern spaghetti carbonara appeared in the mid-20th century. The dish is traditionally made with eggs, hard cheese, cured pork, and black pepper. Although various shapes of pasta can be used, the raw egg can only be cooked properly with a shape that has a sufficiently large ratio of surface area to volume. This scientific approach makes spaghetti carbonara very modern in how it feels.

GG Bistrot has great carbonara.

8. Get saucy with salsiccia
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Achille
#114 of 863 Italian restaurants in Catania, Italy
Via Plebiscito, 734, Catania, Sicily, Italy
Open until 1AM
Salsiccia
Salsiccia

It's Italian pork sausage seasoned with fennel and numerous spices. The dish is cooked from ground or minced pork and fat that are filled into pork or sheep casing and then cured or smoked.

We've had pastries, we've had pasta, but what about sausage? Italians are relatively less known for their sausage than Germans, for example, but they do pay attention to that part of the food scene. Specific Italian sausage called salsiccia is usually made from pork and is often noted for being seasoned with fennel as the primary seasoning. This kind of sausage can be sweet or spicy, there are mild variations both made specifically for restaurants and even sold separately.

Achille can offer all kinds of great sausages.

9. Finish up with brioches
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Pasticceria Francalanza
#4 of 163 restaurants with desserts in Catania, Italy
Via Napoli, 37, Gravina di Catania, Sicily, Italy
Open until 9:30PM
Brioches
Brioches

Brioche is a French slightly sweet bread, enriched with butter and eggs. Brioches can be plain or baked with different types of filling, like foie gras, sausage, vanilla cream or jam.

Some influence from neighbouring countries and their cuisine can be traced even to the distinguished and established food scene as that of Italy. For example, there's a popular bread of French origin whose high egg and butter content gives it a rich and tender crumb. The little pieces of bread are called brioches and are widely used in cuisine. They can take on various forms, served plain or filled, as coulibiac, or with many other different savoury fillings. How exactly brioches will be used, depends on the chef.

Pasticceria Francalanza offers great desserts, including all kinds of brioches.

10. Keep risotto in mind for the future
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Chef Dedé
#9 of 1879 restaurants in Catania, Italy
Via Guglielmo Oberdan, 126, Catania, Sicily, Italy
Open until 11PM
Risotto
Risotto

This dish comes from Northern Italy whose climate is ideal for growing rice (riso means 'rice'). The key ingredient is semi-rounded short-grain rice cooked with meat, fish or vegetable broth. Try risotto with parmesan cheese and white wine. Add saffron for flavour and yellow colour.

A little bonus at the end of our list is rather well-known as a dish but can be a pleasant afterthought when exploring the food scene in Catania. The creamy rice-based broth called risotto is a traditional kind of food originating from northern Italy and popular all across the country. The dish is quite healthy and has a rather original taste, mostly due to the fact that only specific types of rice should be used when preparing it. Sauces and additions like sausages or prosciutto enrich the original recipe.

Chef Dedé would be a good place to visit if you want to have some risotto.

As you can see, Catania's food scene is very balanced. It doesn't go too far with its rich culinary traditions but at the same time does not forget its roots. We hope you have a grand time exploring the city and its restaurants.

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