La Fiera Market, Catania.
So, you’re coming to Catania and you want to eat. Bravo!
This is a great place to be a foodie – food is cheap, plentiful and really, really good.
However, it can take some time to work out what you want to order. With that in mind, in the first part of a 2 part series on cheap eats in Catania, guest cheap foodie Kate Bailward gives us a quick guide (along with pronunciation) to some of the most common foods that you might see on menus or hear mentioned when you’re visiting here.
In the second part coming up on Thursday, Kate will share her favourite cheap eats from Catania. Stay tuned!
Arancino
Snacks:
Arancino (ah-ran-chee-no) = breaded, fried rice ball filled with …
– ragu (rah-goo) = meat sauce (plus mozzarella)
– spinaci (spee-nah-chee) = spinach (plus mozzarella and often ham – not guaranteed vege-friendly)
Caponata by Kate Bailward
Starters (antipasti):
Caponata (kah-poh-nah-tah) = sweet and sour aubergines
Pasta:
Alla Norma: with aubergines, tomatoes and salted ricotta (a bit like feta) cheese
Pizza:
Bianca (bee-an-ka) = white (without tomato sauce)
Rossa (ross-ah) = red (with tomato sauce)
Formaggio (for-madge-oh) = cheese
Tuma (too-mah) = type of melty cheese, a bit like a mild raclette
Acciughe (ah-chew-ghey) = anchovies
Peperoni (pep-eh-row-nay) = peppers, NOT salami
Salsiccia piccante (sal-see-cha pee-kan-tay) = spicy sausage (closest equivalent to peperoni sausage)
Grigliata mista di carne
Meat (carne):
Maiale (my-ah-lay) = pork
Cavallo (ka-val-low) = horse
Vitello (vee-tel-low) = veal
Cipollata (chee-pol-lah-tah) = spring onion wrapped in pancetta
Polpetta (pol-pet-tah) = burger
Cotoletta (cot-oh-let-tah) = cutlet
Salsiccia (sal-see-cha) = sausage
Grigliata mista di carne (gree-lyee-ah-tah mees-tah) = mixed grill (will definitely include horse)
Involtini (een-vol-tee-nee) thin slices of pork or veal rolled around a central filling, skewered and barbecued
Fritto Misto
Fish (pesce):
Sarde (sar-day) = sardines
Vongole (von-goh-lay) = clams
Cozze (cot-say) = mussels
Fritto misto (free-toe mees-toe) = selection of breaded, fried fish
Grigliata mista di pesce = mixed grilled fish
Pesce spada (peh-shay spa-dah) = swordfish
Vegetables (verdure / contorni):
Melanzana (mel-an-zah-nah) = aubergine / eggplant
Zucchini (zoo-kee-nee) = courgette
Cipolla (chee-pol-la) = onion
Patate (pah-tah-tay) = potatoes
Patatine fritte (pah-tah-tee-ney free-tay) = chips
Insalata (een-sah-lah-tah) = salad
Pomodoro (poh-moh-dor-oh) = tomato
Involtini – as for meat above, but the outer layers are usually zucchini or melanzane rather than meat
Granita
Sweet stuff (dolci):
Cornetto (cor-net-toe) = croissant
– Crema (cray-mah) = cream
– Marmellata (mar-may-lah-tah) = jam (apricot in croissants)
– Vuoto (vwo-toe) = plain
Gelato (jel-ah-toe) = ice cream
Granita (grah-nee-tah) = sorbet
– Cioccolata (cho-koh-lah-tah) = chocolate
– Limone (lee-moh-nay) = lemon
– Mandorla (man-dor-lah) = almond
– Pistacchio (pee-stak-ee-oh) = pistachio
Biography
Kate Bailward (aka Katja) is a cat-loving, trifle-hating, maniac driver, writing and eating her way through life in Sicily as a straniera.
Seconding the fact that Catania is amazing for typical Sicilian food!!
Arancino, cipollata, cavallo and vongole to die for! All freshly cooked or fish and meat fresh from the markets.
Yum!!!!!!
Ah mate I am hungry editing Kate’s post and now listening to you….off for some beans and toast 🙂
Right. It’s cold and I’m hungry, so there’s nothing for it but to go out and eat everything on this list. 😉