Cuisine of Sicily
Encyclopedia
Sicilian cuisine shows traces of all the cultures which established themselves on the island of Sicily
over the last two millennia. Although its cuisine is predominantly based on Italian cuisine
, Sicilian food also has Spanish
, Greek and Arab
influences.
s, sugar
, citrus
, sweet melon
s, rice
, saffron
, raisin
s, nutmeg
, clove
, pepper
, pine nut
s, cinnamon
(along with fried preparations) is a sign of Arab
influences from the Arab domination of Sicily
in the 10th and 11th centuries.
Normans
and Hohenstaufen
influences are also found, such as in the fondness for meat
dishes, such as Bruscialoni. Later, the Spanish introduced numerous items from the New World
, including cocoa
, maize
, peppers, turkey
, and tomato
es and other produce
. In Catania
, on the east coast, initially settled by Greek colonists, fish
, olive
s, broad beans
, pistachio
and fresh vegetables are preferred instead. Much of the island's cuisine encourages the use of fresh vegetables such as eggplant, peppers
, and tomatoes, and fish such as tuna
, sea bream, sea bass
, cuttlefish
, and swordfish
. In Trapani
in the extreme western corner of the island, North African
influences are clear in the use of couscous
.
Gatò di patate (a kind of potato and cheese pie)
(a specialty origiated in Catania) are the most popular pasta dishes typically sicilian. Manicotti
is another common dish.
(Trapani
) and Pesce spada alla ghiotta (Swordfish).
, pignolata
, buccellato
, cannolo siciliano, granita
, and cassata siciliana. Granita is particularly famous and well known. It is a semi-frozen dessert of sugar, water, and flavorings originally from the island, and is commonly associated from Catania
, even though there is no evident proof that it hails from the particular Sicilian city. Related to sorbet and italian ice
, in most of Sicily it has a coarser, more crystalline texture. Food writer Jeffrey Steingarten
says that "the desired texture seems to vary from city to city" on the island; on the west coast and in Palermo
, it is at its chunkiest, and in the east it is nearly as smooth as sorbet. This is largely the result of different freezing techniques: the smoother types are produced in a gelato machine
, while the coarser varieties are frozen with only occasional agitation, then scraped or shaved to produce separated crystals.
Sicily uses citrus fruits in their cuisine. Many were first introduced by the Arabs from the 9th to 11th centuries, but some have been brought more recently to the region as well such as the Washington navel from Brazil
. Examples of the citrus fruits found in Sicily:
For the main meal Sicilians drink mostly wine
. The soil and the climate in Sicily are ideal for growing grapes
, mainly due to Mount Etna
, and a wine-making tradition on the island has operated since the Greeks set up their first colonies on the island. Today, all provinces of the island produced wine and wine by the introduction of modern methods of Sicily established itself on the European wine market.
Sicilian red wines have an alcoholic content of 12.5 to 13% and are usually drunk in the evening with roast or grilled meat. Well-known red wines include the Cerasuolo di Vittoria, the Nero d'Avola
mainly those product around Noto (Siracusa).
The dry and white wines and rosé
s usually have an alcoholic content from 11.5 to 12% and are mainly taken with fish, poultry and pasta dishes.
In addition, various dessert wine
s are produced, such as the famous Marsala, the Malvasia delle Lipari.
More typical Sicilian drinks are the limoncello
, a lemon liqueur, and the Amaro Siciliano
, a herbal drink, which is often consumed after meals as a digestive
.
s). Diffused in the Palermo
region is pani ca meusa
.
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
over the last two millennia. Although its cuisine is predominantly based on Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
, Sicilian food also has Spanish
Spanish cuisine
Spanish cuisine consists of a variety of dishes, which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by seafood available from the waters that surround the country, and reflects the country's deep maritime roots...
, Greek and Arab
Arab cuisine
Arab cuisine is defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab World, from Morocco and Tunisia to Saudi Arabia, and incorporating Levantine, Egyptian .-History:...
influences.
History
The use of apricotApricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
s, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
, sweet melon
Melon
thumb|200px|Various types of melonsThis list of melons includes members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit e.g. gourds or cucurbits. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit...
s, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, saffron
Saffron
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...
, raisin
Raisin
Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...
s, nutmeg
Nutmeg
The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...
, clove
Clove
Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...
, pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
, pine nut
Pine nut
Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines . About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of great value as a human food....
s, cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
(along with fried preparations) is a sign of Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
influences from the Arab domination of Sicily
Emirate of Sicily
The Emirate of Sicily was an Islamic state on the island of Sicily , which existed from 965 to 1072.-First Arab invasions of Sicily:...
in the 10th and 11th centuries.
Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
and Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...
influences are also found, such as in the fondness for meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
dishes, such as Bruscialoni. Later, the Spanish introduced numerous items from the New World
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange was a dramatically widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations , communicable disease, and ideas between the Eastern and Western hemispheres . It was one of the most significant events concerning ecology, agriculture, and culture in all of human history...
, including cocoa
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
, maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, peppers, turkey
Domesticated turkey
The domesticated turkey is a large poultry bird. The modern domesticated form descends from the wild turkey , one of the two species of turkey ; in the past the ocellated turkey was also domesticated.The turkey is raised throughout temperate parts of the world and is a popular form of poultry,...
, and tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es and other produce
Produce
Produce is a generalized term for a group of farm-produced goods and, not limited to fruits and vegetables . More specifically, the term "produce" often implies that the products are fresh and generally in the same state as where they were harvested. In supermarkets the term is also used to refer...
. In Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
, on the east coast, initially settled by Greek colonists, fish
Fish (food)
Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...
, olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s, broad beans
Vicia faba
This article refers to the Broad Bean plant. For Broadbean the company, see Broadbean, Inc.Vicia faba, the Broad Bean, Fava Bean, Field Bean, Bell Bean or Tic Bean, is a species of bean native to north Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere. A variety is provisionally...
, pistachio
Pistachio
The pistachio, Pistacia vera in the Anacardiaceae family, is a small tree originally from Persia , which now can also be found in regions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sicily and possibly Afghanistan , as well as in the United States,...
and fresh vegetables are preferred instead. Much of the island's cuisine encourages the use of fresh vegetables such as eggplant, peppers
Bell pepper
Bell pepper, also known as sweet pepper or a pepper and capsicum , is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum . Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange and green. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as...
, and tomatoes, and fish such as tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
, sea bream, sea bass
European seabass
The European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax, also known as Morone labrax, is a primarily ocean-going fish that sometimes enters brackish and fresh waters. It is also known as the sea dace...
, cuttlefish
Cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda . Despite their name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs....
, and swordfish
Swordfish
Swordfish , also known as broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory, predatory fish characterized by a long, flat bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfish are elongated, round-bodied, and lose all teeth and scales by adulthood...
. In Trapani
Trapani
Trapani is a city and comune on the west coast of Sicily in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the main gateway to the nearby Egadi Islands.-History:...
in the extreme western corner of the island, North African
North African cuisine
North Africa, the northernmost part of Africa along the Mediterranean Sea includes the nations of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia...
influences are clear in the use of couscous
Couscous
Couscous is a Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.-Etymology:...
.
Dishes
Starters
The starters (in italian antipasti) are an important aspect of sicilian cuisine. A list of the most common sicilian startes include caponataCaponata
right|210pxCaponata is a Sicilian aubergine dish consisting of a cooked vegetable salad made from chopped fried eggplant and celery seasoned with sweetened vinegar, with capers in a sweet and sour sauce...
Gatò di patate (a kind of potato and cheese pie)
Pasta
Spaghetti ai ricci (spaghetti prepared with sea urchin) Pasta alle sarde (with anchovies) and Pasta alla NormaPasta alla Norma
Pasta alla norma is a classic pasta dish in Sicilian cuisine from Catania, an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily. It's made with tomatoes, fried eggplant, grated ricotta cheese, and basil. It is supposedly named for the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini....
(a specialty origiated in Catania) are the most popular pasta dishes typically sicilian. Manicotti
Cannelloni
Cannelloni are a cylindrical type of pasta generally served baked with a filling and covered by a sauce. Some type of cannelloni need to be boiled beforehand, for some others is enough to use runnier sauces/filling....
is another common dish.
Main dish
After the pasta in the typical sicilian menu is served a second dishes (secondi) or main dish that could be indifferently meat or fish based. Main dishes based on marine products are couscous al pesceCouscous
Couscous is a Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.-Etymology:...
(Trapani
Trapani
Trapani is a city and comune on the west coast of Sicily in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the main gateway to the nearby Egadi Islands.-History:...
) and Pesce spada alla ghiotta (Swordfish).
Desserts and sweets
Sweets are another specialty; examples include: frutta martoranaFrutta martorana
Frutta martorana are traditional marzipan sweets, in the form of fruits and vegetables, from the province of Palermo, Sicily....
, pignolata
Pignolata
Pignolata is a Sicilian pastry, and is also common in Calabria. It is a soft pastry, covered in chocolate and lemon flavoured syrup/icing. This pastry is half covered or iced in one flavouring and the other half in the other flavour, which hardens when the pignolata is ready to be served...
, buccellato
Buccellato
A Buccellato is a Sicilian circular cake given by godparents to the godchild and family on the christening day. The cake is supposed to be as large as possible to ensure good luck. Legend has it that the cake has even once reached the size of a Ferris wheel...
, cannolo siciliano, granita
Granita
Granita is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavorings. Originally from Sicily, although available all over Italy , it is related to sorbet and italian ice. However, in most of Sicily, it has a coarser, more crystalline texture...
, and cassata siciliana. Granita is particularly famous and well known. It is a semi-frozen dessert of sugar, water, and flavorings originally from the island, and is commonly associated from Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
, even though there is no evident proof that it hails from the particular Sicilian city. Related to sorbet and italian ice
Italian ice
Italian ice, also known as water ice, is a sweetened frozen dessert made with fruit or other natural or artificial food flavorings, similar to sorbet. Italian ice is not shaved ice that is flavored; rather, it is made by the same process by which ice cream is made: freezing the ingredients while...
, in most of Sicily it has a coarser, more crystalline texture. Food writer Jeffrey Steingarten
Jeffrey Steingarten
Jeffrey Steingarten is a leading food writer in the United States. He has been the food critic at Vogue magazine since 1989. His monthly columns in Vogue have earned him a National Magazine Award, and nearly a dozen James Beard Awards and nominations...
says that "the desired texture seems to vary from city to city" on the island; on the west coast and in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, it is at its chunkiest, and in the east it is nearly as smooth as sorbet. This is largely the result of different freezing techniques: the smoother types are produced in a gelato machine
Ice cream maker
A domestic ice cream maker or ice cream freezer is a machine used to make small quantities of ice cream at home. Ice cream makers may stir the mixture by hand-cranking or with an electric motor, and may chill the ice cream by using a freezing mixture, by pre-cooling the machine in a freezer, or by...
, while the coarser varieties are frozen with only occasional agitation, then scraped or shaved to produce separated crystals.
Fruits
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Examples of the citrus fruits found in Sicily:
- Biondo comune - the "common blonde" orange
- Ovale - ripens between April and May, with a compact flesh
- Sanguigno comune - common blood orange harvested between January and April
- Washington navel - introduced from BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
during the 1940s-1950s, grown chiefly near Ribera and SciaccaSciaccaSciacca , also Schiacca, is a town and comune in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily...
and harvested from November to January - Sanguinella - bitter orange of the blood orangeBlood orangeThe blood orange is a variety of orange with crimson, blood-colored flesh. The fruit is smaller than an average orange; its skin is usually pitted, but can be smooth. The distinctive dark flesh color is due to the presence of anthocyanins, a family of pigments common to many flowers and fruit, but...
variety, found in Paternò Santa Maria di Licodia, PalagoniaPalagoniaPalagonia is a comune in the Province of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about 150 km southeast of Palermo and about 35 km southwest of Catania...
, ScordiaScordiaScordia is a comune in the Province of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about 160 km southeast of Palermo and about 30 km southwest of Catania. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 17,202 and an area of 24.3 km².Scordia borders the following municipalities:...
and FrancofonteFrancofonteFrancofonte is a comune in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy, located about 170 km southeast of Palermo and about 40 km northwest of Syracuse....
during January until April - Tarocco - high quality blood orange found in CataniaCataniaCatania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
, Siracusa and Francofonte from November to January - Tarocco dal muso - bell shaped orange found in Francofonte
- ValenciaValencia orangeThe Valencia Orange is a sweet orange first hybridized by California pioneer agronomist and land developer William Wolfskill, on his farm in Santa Ana in southern California in the United States. -History:...
- similar to the Ovale and used often in confectionary items - Moro - crimson colored flesh found in LentiniLentiniLentini , historically Leontini, Leontinoi , or Leontium, is a town and comune in the Province of Syracuse, southeast Sicily .-History:...
, Scordia, and Francofonte from mid-January until the end of April - Comune - common variety of the mandarin orangeMandarin orangeThe orange, also known as the ' or mandarine , is a small citrus tree with fruit resembling other oranges. Mandarin oranges are usually eaten plain or in fruit salads...
- Tardivo ciaculli - a second variety of the mandarin orange found in Sicily
- Femminello - the lemon that makes up 80% of Sicily's lemon crop, sound in Catania, Siracusa, Messina and Palermo
- Monachello - "little monk lemon harvested from October from March and able to withstand drought better that the Ferrminello
- Verdello - a lime that grows particularly well and is harvested from May to September
Wines and drinks
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
. The soil and the climate in Sicily are ideal for growing grapes
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
, mainly due to Mount Etna
Mount Etna
Mount Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently standing high, though this varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21 m higher than it was in 1981.. It is the highest mountain in...
, and a wine-making tradition on the island has operated since the Greeks set up their first colonies on the island. Today, all provinces of the island produced wine and wine by the introduction of modern methods of Sicily established itself on the European wine market.
Sicilian red wines have an alcoholic content of 12.5 to 13% and are usually drunk in the evening with roast or grilled meat. Well-known red wines include the Cerasuolo di Vittoria, the Nero d'Avola
Nero d'Avola
Nero d'Avola is "the most important red wine grape in Sicily" and is one of Italy's most important indigenous varieties. It is named after Avola in the far south of Sicily and its wines are compared to New World Shirazes, with sweet tannins and plum or peppery flavours...
mainly those product around Noto (Siracusa).
The dry and white wines and rosé
Rosé
A rosé is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.- Production techniques :There are three major ways to produce rosé...
s usually have an alcoholic content from 11.5 to 12% and are mainly taken with fish, poultry and pasta dishes.
In addition, various dessert wine
Dessert wine
Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert.There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal, as opposed to the white fortified wines drunk before the meal, and the red fortified wines drunk after it...
s are produced, such as the famous Marsala, the Malvasia delle Lipari.
More typical Sicilian drinks are the limoncello
Limoncello
Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur mainly produced in Southern Italy, especially in the region around the Gulf of Naples, the Sorrentine Peninsula and the coast of Amalfi and islands of Procida, Ischia and Capri, but also in Sicily, Sardinia, Menton in France, and the Maltese island of Gozo...
, a lemon liqueur, and the Amaro Siciliano
Amaro Averna
Amaro Averna is a Sicilian liqueur in the Amaro category. It is named after its inventor, Salvatore Averna, who invented the recipe in 1868. This drink is produced on the Island of Sicily and is considered a traditional drink....
, a herbal drink, which is often consumed after meals as a digestive
Digestive
Digestive may refer to:*Digestion, biological process of metabolism*Digestive biscuit, a British semi-sweet biscuit*Digestif, small beverage at the end of a meal...
.
Street food
Very famous are the arancine (a form of deep-fried rice croquetteCroquette
A croquette is a small fried food roll containing, usually as main ingredients, mashed potatoes, and/or ground meat , shellfish, fish, vegetables, and soaked white bread, egg, onion, spices and herbs, wine, milk, beer or any of the combination thereof, sometimes with a filling, often encased in...
s). Diffused in the Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
region is pani ca meusa
Pani ca meusa
Pani ca meusa is a Sicilian example of street food. Litterally its name means bread with spleen, the italians call it panino con la milza...
.