They were called Miteco, Labdacus, Terpsion. Their names may mean little to us today, but in the Greek world, between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC, they were renowned, sought after, and widely imitated: the Syracusan cooks were true celebrities. As inventors of ancient Sicilian cuisine, throughout the Greek world there was fierce competition to learn from them the secrets of culinary art. These generations of cooks, often cultured and refined authors of prose works and treatises, shaped and laid the foundations of the culinary tradition of Sicily and of the entire Western world.
Even today, discovering Sicily through its most typical food and wine traditions allows one to experience an authentic encounter with its history and to fully immerse oneself in its culture.
In particular, through the Syracusan cooks, the world learned to appreciate fine cuisine and exquisite gastronomic preparations. Ancient Syracusan cuisine was so popular that a common expression used to describe particularly rich, luxurious, and opulent banquets was “like a Syracusan feast.” The food of the Sicilian cooks was fragrant and intoxicating, like incense.
In Syracuse, many gastronomic specialties prepared with local ingredients can be enjoyed.
Syracusan dishes prominently feature very fresh fish and shellfish: tuna (there are numerous tuna fisheries in the area), swordfish, sea urchins, and squid.
These are complemented by abundant specialties based on bread, pasta, and cheeses.
In Syracuse, food is part of everyday life, not just a pleasure. Walking through the streets of Ortigia, among markets, the scents of fresh fish and toasted almonds, it immediately becomes clear how deeply cuisine is connected to the land here. Every recipe is born from what the sea and the countryside provide, with simple yet meaningful combinations.
Syracusan cuisine arises from a natural balance between sea and countryside. It is a cuisine made of simple ingredients, chosen for their freshness and tied to seasonality. The typical products of Syracuse tell the story of a land that lives off its catch, its fruits of the earth, and a climate that delivers intense, immediate flavors.
FIRST COURSES
Fried pasta “alla siracusana”
One of the most representative dishes. The pasta is first cooked, then pan-fried until crispy, and seasoned with tomato, anchovies, black olives, and capers. A humble dish, originally created to reuse leftovers, but full of flavour and character.
Spaghetti alla carrettiera
Simple and direct: garlic, olive oil, chilli pepper, parsley, and grated cheese. This recipe, typical of the cart drivers who once travelled through the Sicilian countryside, represents everyday cuisine—made with little, but always delicious.
Pasta with sardines and wild fennel
Fresh sardines are combined with wild fennel, raisins, and pine nuts, creating a perfect balance between sweet and savoury.
Pasta with “taddi”
A soupy dish featuring “taddi” (the tender leaves of the Sicilian long zucchini). They are boiled with chopped tomato and then combined with pasta, usually broken spaghetti.
Pasta “alla matalotta”
Syracusan sailors used the broth of “matalotta” to dress pasta, usually long pasta.
MAIN COURSES
“Matalotta”
The word matalotta comes from the French matelot, meaning sailor. It is the symbolic soup of the city.
Its special feature lies in its very simple preparation, where different types of fish, after being deglazed with white wine, are cooked with tomato.
It is served hot, with bread croutons that soak up the broth and concentrate the flavours of the sea.
Tuna “alla ghiotta”
One of the finest traditional dishes of Syracuse, made by combining tuna—previously seared in abundant olive oil—with peppers cooked with onions, olives, capers, and tomato.
“Bobbia”
A variation of caponata. The recipe involves sautéing peppers in a pan with potatoes and onions, then deglazing with vinegar.
Sardines “beccafico” style
The name comes from the “beccafichi,” birds once eaten by Syracusan nobles after hunting. The common people, unable to afford this dish, recreated it using sardines rolled and stuffed with breadcrumbs, raisins, and pine nuts, then baked.
DESSERTS
Traditional sweets from Syracuse combine simple ingredients such as almonds, ricotta, and wheat, transformed into recipes linked to religious festivals and daily life. Each dessert has its own story and is often prepared only at specific times of the year, following long-standing traditions.
Giuggiulena
A crunchy sweet made of honey, sugar, almonds, and sesame seeds.
Totò
Biscuits covered in chocolate or lemon glaze.
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Cassatedde
Pastries filled with ricotta, sugar, and cinnamon.Baked raviola
A pastry filled with ricotta and baked in the oven.“Zuccaro”
Nougat made with honey and sugar.Martorana fruit
A sweet made of almond paste, hand-shaped and decorated.
