Find out what to eat in and around Trapani

Last Updated on 16 April 2024

Let’s find out what to eat in Trapani and surroundings . As in all of Sicily, the dishes are the result of the intertwining and influence of numerous cultures and peoples who have colonized the island over the centuries. Below you will find a list of the typical products of Trapani and its surroundings, which you can try during your trip.

Appetizers

The typical appetizers are based on tuna, given the historical presence of the tuna traps.

• the tuna bottarga
• Tunnina, salted red tuna
• Musciame and ventresca in oil
• tuna lattume, lattume both fresh (diced, floured and fried) and salted
• the “ficazza”, salted tuna sausage
• “pulmuneddru”, salted tuna lung
• the heart of tuna, salty

Street food

As for street food, even in the Trapani area, as in Palermo, you can try the panino ca meusa (spleen) and the bread and panelle with crocchè, the latter of Arab origin.

First dishes

As for the first courses, the main ingredient here too is fish.

• The busiate, a sort of homemade macaroni, with various condiments, including fish.
• Pasta with fish broth.
• The gnocculi, typical homemade pasta (hollowed out by hand) and seasoned like the busiati.
• Pasta with tuna bottarga.
• Pasta with “Pesto alla trapanese”; the latter is a basil, olive oil and garlic pesto, but with the addition of raw almonds, raw tomato and grated pecorino
• Pasta cu ‘l’ova di minnula (menola)
• Pasta with fresh tuna sauce.
• Cassatelle in broth (fish or chicken)
• Pasta with redfish ragout.
• Pasta with eel sauce.

Seconds

The typical second courses are based on tuna and fish in general. Some examples are tuna meatballs, fish soup and grilled mackerel seasoned with salt, oil, vinegar, garlic and oregano. But there are also meat-based pacts, such as trapanese rolls, veal stuffed with pecorino and parsley, boiled hen and larded garlic, cooked in a pan with oil, vinegar, garlic and oregano.

Unique dishes

• The most typical dish is definitely the cuscus alla Trapanese, prepared with mixed fish broth.
• Frascatula, that is a polenta topped with various vegetable soup.
• U Mataroccu or salamoreci (From the Andalusian salmorejo, a dish still present in Andalucia), that is a tomato salad into small pieces, dressed with oil, chopped garlic, basil, water and stale bread into pieces.
• Lemon salad, lemon juice, chopped lemons, oil, salt, pepper, water with stale bread into small pieces.

Sweets

The desserts of the area are usually filled with fresh ricotta. Generally cannoli with ricotta made in the village of Dattilo, in the Trapani area, are considered the best on the whole island and can be found at the Eurobar bar.

Typical products

Cheeses

• Belicino (PAT)
• Caciotta degli Elimi (PAT)
• Box (PAT)
• Ericino (PAT)
• Vastedda della Valle del Belice (DOP)

Wines

• Bianco d’Alcamo (DOC)
• Delia Nivolelli (DOC)
• Erice (wine) (DOC)
• Marsala (wine) (DOCG)
• Passito di Pantelleria (DOC)
• Moscato di Pantelleria (DOC)
• Salaparuta (wine) (DOC)

Oils

• Trapanese Valleys (DOP)
• Val di Mazara (DOP)
• Belice Valley (DOP)

Other

• Red garlic from Nubia (PAT)
• Pantelleria caper (PAT)
• Red shrimp of Mazara (PDO) [3].
• Honey from Trapani (PAT)
• Prickly pears from Valle del Belice (PAT)
• Bastarduna prickly pears from Calatafimi (PAT)
• Nocellara del Belice olive (PDO)
• Squaratu bread from Marsala
• Ovaletto of Calatafimi (PAT)
• Castelvetrano black bread (PAT)
• Paceco Pizzutello tomato (PAT)
• Bread of San Giuseppe di Salemi (PAT)
• Trapani sea salt (PGI)
• Pasqualora sausage

Typical Sicilian dishes

Here you find the typical Sicilian dishes that you can find all over the island.