15/03/2026
🍋 Discovering the Typical Foods of Western Sicily
What to Eat Between Palermo, Trapani and Agrigento
When we talk about Western Sicily, we refer to the provinces of Palermo, Trapani and Agrigento—a region extremely rich in agricultural and gastronomic traditions.
Here the landscape alternates between sea, hills, and fertile plains, creating an extraordinary variety of products: very fresh fish, olive oil and olives from the Belice Valley, citrus fruits and vegetables from the countryside around Palermo, as well as cheeses, ancient grains, and traditional sweets.
🫒 Signature Products of Western Sicily
Among the region’s outstanding specialties are:
• Nocellara del Belice DOP – one of the finest Italian table olives
• Trapani sea salt – produced in the historic coastal salt pans
• Red garlic of Nubia – grown in the Trapani area
• Pistachio of Raffadali DOP – from the province of Agrigento
• Honey from the Sicilian black bee
🌾 Ancient Grains and Bread
Western Sicily still preserves traditional wheat varieties such as:
• Maiorca
• Maiorca di Pollina
• Cuccitta
• Maiorcone
• Rosia
To taste bread made with ancient Sicilian grains you can visit:
📍 Panificio Termini Antichi Grani – Castelvetrano
🥦 Vegetables
Spring
🌿 Ca****fo Spinoso di Menfi
Menfi is one of Sicily’s agricultural capitals with more than 600 hectares devoted to artichoke cultivation.
🌿 Fava di Ustica
Used in the traditional frittedda, a spring dish typical of the areas around Cefalù and Ustica.
🍑 Seasonal Fruit
Spring
🍓 Strawberries from Sciacca
🍑 Apricots from Scillato
🍊 Late mandarins from Ciaculli (Slow Food Presidium)
Summer
🍈 Purceddu melon from Alcamo
🍈 Yellow melon from Paceco
🍑 White plums from Monreale
🧀 Cheese
Vastedda della Valle del Belice
The only Italian stretched-curd sheep’s milk cheese.
It is produced from May to September and historically originated as a way to recover defective pecorino cheeses, transforming them into a fresh cheese with an oval shape.
🍝 Typical Dishes
Busiata from Trapani
The symbolic pasta of the province of Trapani.
In the past it was made by wrapping strips of dough around the stems of buso, a Mediterranean wild plant called Ampelodesmos mauritanicus.
The name busiata comes from these stems.
It is often served with:
🍅 Trapani-style pesto
🐟 fish sauces
Cassatelle in Brodo
Ravioli filled with sheep’s ricotta served in meat broth and topped with grated pecorino cheese.
🍰 Traditional Sweets
Genovesi Ericine
Pastries filled with custard cream typical of Erice.
The name comes from the hats worn by Genoese sailors and merchants.
Other traditional sweets include:
• convent sweets (dolci di badia)
• belli e brutti almond cookies
• Frutta di Martorana
• mustaccioli delle monache
• fig cookies
• cassatelle from Castellammare and Marsala
• Muccunetti from Mazara del Vallo
📍 Pasticceria Maria Grammatico
Via Vittorio Emanuele 14, Erice
Many recipes come from the tradition of Sicilian monasteries.
🍴 Where to Eat in Western Sicily
Trapani
📍 Caupona – Taverna di Sicilia
Via San Francesco d’Assisi 32
📍 Cantina Siciliana
Via Giudecca 36
Custonaci
📍 Ci Vediamo da Mario
Via Purgatorio 101
Erice
📍 Al Vicoletto
Via Biscottai 6
For sweets:
📍 Pasticceria Maria Grammatico
Selinunte
📍 Trattoria Casa Mia
Via degli Argonauti 10
Mazara del Vallo (Fish)
An important fishing port of Western Sicily.
📍 Trattoria delle Cozze
📍 Ammarì
Piazza S. Veneranda 10
📍 ControCorrente – Taverna di Mare
Piazza della Repubblica 21
📍 Food Tips for Visitors
✔ If you visit Erice, it is often worth going down to nearby Trapani, where there is a wider choice of restaurants.
✔ If you visit Selinunte, it is worth continuing to Mazara del Vallo, a well-known fishing port where the seafood is among the best in Sicily.
✔ From Mazara or Selinunte, make a short detour to Castelvetrano, where bakeries still work with ancient Sicilian grains.
