Visit Agrigento also means savoring the typical "dishes giurgintane", with all the gastronomic delicacies that our magical land offers.

 

Arriving in the city of temples will find in his daily meals, a mix of flavors that will enchant as the sensual embrace of a beautiful woman in Sicily.

From appetizers to dessert, it will be a triumph of goodies that will oblige tourist, on his return from holiday, to a diet that will allow the resumption of the size and weight of the original.

Taken for granted that at any bakery in the city, all the succulent delicacies that will display in the windows are handcrafted, daily breakfast becomes a real conundrum of what to choose and taste first.

If one of the Sicilian sweets the title of queen was given to cassata, you can start your day relishing a slice luxuriantly filled with cream cheese or, if you want, you can taste the king of Sicilian sweet: his majesty the "cannoli". And why not try an "cciarduni", a typical sweet Agrigento stuffed with cream cheese with the outside covered with sprinkles of chopped almonds. Or even a nice piece of rustic pie, this one with ricotta and almond "giurgintane"?

If you love sweets buckets that are not "cremosamente" redundant, then we recommend choosing the pastries stuffed with almonds or pistachio.

In the fall, at the commemoration of the dead, you will find an explosion of colorful "fruits of MARTURANA", or white "carcagnetti" also called eerily "bones of the dead." And if your visit to the City of Temples coincides with the Easter period, then we recommend to taste the lamb pasta with real soul of pistachio paste. It 'a delight as the exclusively handmade is carried out with the use of almonds and pistachios from crops of the province of Agrigento. Always with local almonds "in cubaita", the Sicilian nougat, biscuits curly, the fruits of marzipan, almond cakes, are just some of the delicacies that suggest trying without delay to anyone visiting Agrigento. Should you wish to enjoy something unusual, then we suggest the "mastazzola". Are cookies whose dough is kneaded and softened with mulled wine and adding pepper nero.Sono a real treat that we recommend of water with wine raisins.

Encouraged by a climate Agrigento very mild, even in winter you can taste some good ice cream. And if your vacation takes place during the summer then every day you can enjoy a different taste. Agrigento is that in the seaside beach of San Leone you will find every opportunity to fulfill your desires cold. From the simple to the soft cone stuffed croissants can enjoy ice creams that are unlikely to have the same taste in other places.

Reached the lunch hour, from 13.00 onwards you can devote to a new supply of energy by choosing to visit one of the many restaurants in the city, ready to make you enjoy the traditional local specialties of fish or meat. However, we indicate some of the dishes that are usually served in the restaurants of Agrigento, starting from appetizers that can be vegetable or fish.

The wise processing vegetables and vegetables, the fruit of tradition, produces some delicacies that in their simplicity express, supported by a generous extra virgin Agrigento and local herbs and spices, strong flavors, decisive and intense.

Generally presented as "rustic appetizer", are served "ass" (tomato red dried outside in the summer and put in oil) and still, tomatoes, "milinciani fried", artichokes, artichoke caponata caponata eggplant, "olive driven" (crushed olives and season), "passuluna" (black olives baked), fritters and potato croquettes. Then there are the omelettes that can be of artichokes, eggplant or zucchini. A real pleasure.

Even the fish occupies a very important role among the starters. Always fresh and coming from our coast is an excellent seafood salad with octopus, shrimp, mussels and clams or even raw shrimp marinated, breaded swordfish, or the genuine blue fish like sardines that simple prepared to "warbler" with crumb , aromas, pine nuts and raisins become a dish irresistible.

Every restaurant in addition to offering a wide choice of first courses, generally presents a typical specialty that is not simply the result of quell'inventiva culinary typical Sicilian. However we indicate some traditional first courses such as pasta with sardines, rigatoni with sauce and sausage or with cauliflower, pine nuts and raisins, or with the broccoli in dialect "giurgintano" is called "pasta cu sparaceddu" recommending dusting grated pecorino. The cavatelli pasta with fresh giurgintana, topped with fresh tomato sauce, fried eggplant, basil, strictly covered with ricotta salata. Still spaghetti "carters" or seasoned with tomato green, the fingering with the beans and fresh ricotta cheese and macaroni pistachio and the legendary baked pasta that someone calls also timbale of pasta, made with rigatoni or the rings. An explosion of Sicilian in which the actors are the bolognaise sauce necessarily prepared with fresh tomatoes and minced meat with little fat, cheese or pecorino cheese, hard-boiled egg, breadcrumbs with the pleasant presence of fried eggplant or roasted. Generally after a generous portion well it is difficult to eat a main course.

The fish, plays an important role in the preparation of dressings and sauces for pasta dishes. Spaghetti with lobster sauce, asparagus and shrimp with seafood or with seafood, or fettuccine with shrimp, risotto with artichokes and shrimp are just some indications of what you can enjoy.

Before concluding with the first it is only right to mention the soups and stews.

Among the soups it excels undoubtedly "u maccu". Dish originating in the country Raffadali, a cream of beans to which one must add the pasta. And yet the very simple but tasty soups "cabbage" and lentils.

Moving on to the main courses, a separate discussion deserve those of meat. It ranges from the rich grilled with grilled lamb chops, pork and veal and the inevitable tasty sausage seasoned with hot pepper, sesame and fennel.

And then the rabbit "all'agru-dukes" (sweet and sour) cooked stew with celery, olives onion, garlic and spices, or the roast kid with potatoes and onion, or even rolls Sicilian style with crumb, cheese, pine nuts, raisins or fillet with orange juice and so many other specialties that you can enjoy during your stay in Agrigento restaurants.

In some restaurants you can find in established days, some very typical dishes that should try. They include the "cooked stuff." It is a dish consisting of various dishes like the innards boiled veal and lamb seasoned with olive oil and lemon. Generally scope includes tripe, "u zirenu", "u pedi porcu" (boiled pig's foot) and "u sancunazzu" (blood sausage), prepared with the blood of veal cooked with plenty of pepper and many spices.

 

Moving on to the second fish, all restaurants will provide only local fish caught in the coast in front of our province. Therefore you are spoiled for choice whether you prefer it grilled or stewed.

Speaking of fish is required to utter the word "couscous", but it is equally essential to pronounce it when it comes to sweets from Agrigento.

In fact, the local cuisine has a case, perhaps unique in the world, where two culinary specialties have the same name for two types of dishes, completely different.

Historically the "couscous" finds its origins in the Arabic cuisine and the predominant ingredient is mutton, topped with a tomato sauce very spicy, meal, chili, potatoes, and various herbs. In Sicily, however this dish, arrived with the invasion of the Arabs, is a first variant replacing instead of meat the delicious fish of our coasts, to undergo subsequent to Agrigento a total metamorphosis turning into a delicious dessert prepared by the nuns of the monastery of Santo spirit. According to an old secret recipe and the basic ingredients are almonds and pistachios.

At this point the question arises: will be good to fish or that sweet? The only remedy to solve this puzzle is to try both versions, the caveat of water with one of the many white wines cous-cous with fish and with the excellent "Zibibbo" and "Inzolia" the (cous - cous sweet almond and pistachio).

In the event that an alternative to the restaurant you want to enjoy the many delicacies from the diner.

You could start with rice balls with meat and mozzarella, "rizzuole", the "ravazzate" or the sheets all season with the sauce and crushed peas.

Then there are the calzones, baked or fried, stuffed with mozzarella and ham, or the "mmiscate" made with bread dough kneaded and softened with lard, stuffed with cheese, sausage and olives, or olives, sausage and cheese or even cauliflower with onion and cheese.

In the varied world of delicacies that belong to the family of the pizza, we must distinguish the traditional pizza, usually proposed and served in the pizzeria, and the typical local, which instead can be found in bakeries and caterers, served by the slice.

Of the latter there are several varieties typically Agrigento like pizza of San Calo and "u sfingiuni" eu "Cudduruni".

These in turn are divided into a sort of Sub according to the filling and the filling. "U sfingiuni" may be the "Palermo" with tomato, onion, cheese first salt and diced pieces of anchovies, or with potatoes, tomato, onion, cheese, or "carrittera" with garlic, sardines, cheese, oregano and yet in so many other ways that suggest you to view directly on site.

"U Cudduruni" instead consists of two layers of dough in which there is a filling or vegetables or minced meat with various cheeses, and tomato, peas, onion and various spices, or ricotta cheese, ham and spinach. Also in this case we suggest a vision directly on site.

 

The recipe (for 4 persons)

Cavatelli pasta with fresh giurgintana

 

Ingredients: - For the dough cavatelli: 500 grams of flour - 2 eggplants - 1 kg.polpa tomato - grated cheese - basil - red pepper - onion - extra virgin olive oil - salt

 

Knead the dough, leave on for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form of snakes and cutting small pieces about 2 cm and a wooden draw with your fingers; let them dry on a towel.

Cut the eggplant into cubes or strips and fry. Saute onion add the tomato pulp.

When the meat is cooked, turn off the heat and add the eggplant fries, after eliminating the excess oil.

Cook the cavatelli al dente and trsferirli in a buttered casserole dish drizzle with the sauce, add the basil leaves and cheese, stir and bake at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes.