Going through Raffadali’s gastronomic itinerary we immediately discover that it concerns two traditional products “the macco di fave” and the “pistachio.” The former is one of the oldest traditional local dishes, while the latter has featured a myriad of recipes, new and old, that have revitalized local gastronomy over the past 20 years, making it known both nationally and internationally.
Macco di fave, u Màccu di favi, is a typical Sicilian dish included in the list of traditional Italian food products (P.A.T) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Mipaaf).
It originates from the culinary tradition of Raffadale, and its preparation is now widespread throughout western and even eastern Sicily.
This is a fava bean puree made by prolonged cooking of dried fava beans to which a vegetable, usually chard, is added and served with only a dressing of extra virgin olive oil. It is eaten as a soup or a single dish.
It is a poor dish of peasant culture and at the same time very nutritious. It dates back to antiquity as it seems to have been known in the time of the ancient Romans.
Turning to Raffadali pistachio, it is used as much by pastry as in savory. In desserts we find it garnishing cassatas and cannoli, in cookies and as a cream to fill desserts as an alternative to cocoa cream. In the savory, it accompanies and seasons multiple first courses, such as “pasta with Pistachio Almonds and Shrimp Pesto,” “pasta with tuna and pistachios pesto,” “pasta with pesto in the old way,” “pasta with ricotta cheese and pistachio granola,” and “pistachio arancini”; then famous is the “pistachio pizza with buffalo mozzarella”; as for main courses, we find from “pistachio steaks,” to rolls.
Not for nothing is pistachio called the green gold, the crucial time to taste pistachio dishes is the “Raffadali Pistachio Festival” held in autumn at the end of the harvest of the delicious fruit.
The food and wine itinerary that we propose, aims to offer the most complete choice of refreshment places that offer the possibility of delighting the palate with typical Raffadalean recipes and dishes:
– The Cusps, F16 Street, 26;
– Le Fontanelle, 241 Fontanelle Street;
– L’Antico Forno, 130 Porta Palermo Street;
– Metabirrificio, Contrada Modaccamo, km 126 and 800;
– Pastificio Criscenti, 19 Tivoli Street;
– Totò’s Restaurant, 120 Porta Agrigento Street;
– Localino, G7 Street, Pezzalonga Contrada;
– Al Boccaccio Ristorante Pizzeria, 17 F Street;
– Restaurant Pizzeria Trattoria Kometa, provincial road 17, Raffadali-Santa Elisabetta;
– Pastry Shop Di Stefano, 23 Murano Street.