The Sicilian cooking is one of the tastiest of the world, only in some exotic countries there is a similar level of taste. The main features of the Sicilian recipes is these can be prepared with a few simple ingredients. At first sight, they can seem very humble, but going forward, especially while you eat them, you notice that they are simply delicious. Today, I want to talk about the Sicilian soups. These are very nutrient meals that begin just from simple and natural ingredients. I mean the chickpea soup, the tinnirumi soup and the potato and sweet pepper soup.
chickpea soup
To prepare the chickpea soup ( see the image), you need 500 g of chickpeas to soak overnight in water. The following day, move the chickpeas to a pan and add water, salt and a pinch of bicarbonate. Cook on a low flame. In another clay-pan, fry two small slices of onion in half a glass of olive oil. Then, add three peeled and chopped tomatoes with no seeds, some rosemary and powdered red chilli, pepper and salt. Cook for some minutes and add the chickpeas with all of their cooking water. Leave to flavour the soup for a while and then serve very hot. You can prepare this recipe alone or to taste at the restaurant when you visit Sicily. The chickpea soup is famous in the district of Messina.
tinnirumi soup
Very known and prepared in the district of Palermo, the tinnirumi soup ( see the image) is made with the leaves and the shoots of a thin and tender plant called courgette. For the soup, you need one kg of tinnirumi. Wash very well and boil in salted water. At half-cooked, drain the leaves and the shoots and cut roughly. Then, in a pan, melt six fillets of salted anchovy, some olive oil, two slices of garlic, 500 g of peeled tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for some minutes and then add the tinnirumi. Thin with a half of broth or water and continue cooking for five more minutes. At last, season this soup with 350 g of macaroni you boiled previously, leave to boil the whole ingredients once more and then serve hot.
potato and sweet pepper soup
The potato and sweet pepper soup ( see the image) is prepared in all Sicily but this meal is mostly offered and prepared in the city of Catania In a pan, it is better a clay-pan, to preserve the taste of foods, add an onion, sliced finely, half a glass of olive oil, half a kg of potatoes cut into cubes and three sweet peppers cut into thin strips. Add water or broth, salt, pepper and cover with a lid. Boil on a slow flame and continue boiling for almost 30 minutes. Before turning off the flame, sprinkle the soup with some chopped parsley. I suggest that you taste these recipes in Sicily only, because for having a delicious taste, these soups must be prepared exclusively with Sicilian ingredients. Moreover, if you eat these soups at a Sicilian restaurant, you can enhance their taste by drinking a few drops of excellent Sicilian wine.
Rosalba Mancuso is a freelance journalist born in Sicily. Passionate about her loved island and with extensive writing experience, Rosalba worked as a contributor for the main Sicily’s newspapers and as a bilingual Italian – English writer. Thanks to her skills, she also founded four websites in English. On Sicilyonweb, Rosalba tells every corner of her beloved Sicily. Furthermore, she writes this blog thanks to your help. Rosalba, in fact, earns a small commission, with no cost for you, when you book your travel or buy products through the affiliate widgets or links you find in her posts.