Sicilian pizza is

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

prepared in a manner that originated in Sicily, Italy. Sicilian pizza is also known as ''sfincione'' (; scn, sfinciuni ) or focaccia with toppings. This type of pizza became a popular dish in western Sicily by the mid-19th century and was the type of pizza usually consumed in Sicily until the 1860s. It eventually reached

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

in a slightly altered form, with thicker crust and a rectangular shape. Traditional Sicilian pizza is often thick crusted and rectangular, but can also be round and similar to the Neapolitan pizza. It is often topped with onions, anchovies, tomatoes,

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

s and strong

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

such as caciocavallo and

toma Toma or TOMA may refer to: Places *Toma, Burkina Faso, a town in Nayala province *Toma Department, a department in Nayala province *Toma, Banwa, Burkina Faso, a town * Tōma, Hokkaidō, Japan, a town **Tōma Station, its railway station *Toma, a t ...

. Other versions do not include cheese. The Sicilian methods of making pizza are linked to local culture and country traditions, so there are differences in preparing pizza among the Sicilian regions of

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, Siracusa and

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

Variations

The ''sfincione'' (or ''sfinciuni'' in Sicilian language) is a very common variety of pizza that originated in the province of Palermo. Unlike Neapolitan pizza, it is typically rectangular, with more dough, sauce and cheese. An authentic recipe often calls for herbs, onion, tomato sauce, strong cheese and anchovies. The sauce is sometimes placed on top of the toppings to prevent it from soaking into the thick dough.

Siracusa

In the

province of Siracusa The Province of Syracuse ( it, provincia di Siracusa; scn, pruvincia di Sarausa) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Syracuse, a town established by Greek colonists arriving from Corinth ...

, especially in Solarino and Sortino, the ''pizzòlu'' is a kind of round stuffed pizza.

Catania

In the

province of Catania The Province of Catania ( it, Provincia di Catania; scn, Pruvincia di Catania) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in southern Italy. Its capital was the city of Catania. It had an area of and a total population of about 1, ...

the traditional ''

scacciata Scaccia (plural: scacce), scacciata or sciachiatta is a stuffed flat bread in Sicilian cuisine. Scaccia is made with a very thin rectangular layer of dough, folded on itself three or four times. It can be stuffed with different ingredients, t ...

'' is made in two different ways: a first layer made of dough covered, within the city, by a local cheese (''tuma'') and anchovies or, in the region around Catania, by potatoes, sausages, broccoli, and tomato sauce. In both cases a second layer of dough brushed with eggs covers everything. Also in the region of Catania, in Zafferana Etnea and in Viagrande a typical ''pizza siciliana'' is a fried

calzone A calzone (, , ; "stocking" or "trouser") is an Italian oven-baked folded pizza, often described as a turnover, made with leavened dough. It originated in Naples in the 18th century. A typical calzone is made from salted bread dough, baked in ...

stuffed with cheese and anchovies.

Messina

In the

province of Messina Messina (, ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Messina. It was replaced by the Metropolitan City of Messina. Geography Territory It had an area of , which amounts to 12.6 percent o ...

, the traditional ''piduni'' is a kind of calzone stuffed with

endive Endive () is a leaf vegetable belonging to the genus ''Cichorium'', which includes several similar bitter-leafed vegetables. Species include '' Cichorium endivia'' (also called endive), ''Cichorium pumilum'' (also called wild endive), and ''Cich ...

, toma cheese, tomato and anchovies. There is also the ''focaccia alla messinese'', prepared with tomato sauce, toma cheese, vegetables and anchovies.

United States

In the United States, "Sicilian pizza" is used to describe a typically square variety of cheese pizza with dough over an inch thick, a crunchy base, and an airy interior. It is derived from the ''sfinciuni'' and was introduced in the United States by the first Italian (Sicilian) immigrants. Sicilian-style pizza is popular in Italian-American enclaves throughout the

northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and also Michigan (which would influence Detroit-style pizza). In some parts of coastal Massachusetts and New Hampshire, it is also known as "

beach pizza Beach pizza is a style of pizza popular in the coastal communities of New England north of Boston, particularly in northeastern Massachusetts and coastal New Hampshire. It has a very thin crust and is rectangular, being typically cooked on a bak ...

" because of its prevalence along the Route 1A corridor. A similar dish, perhaps often overlapping or confused with sfincione, is tomato pie.

Gallery

File:Sicilian-style Pizza.jpg, A Sicilian pizza File:Sicilian pizza.jpg, Sicilian pizza in New York File:Sicilian slice - Carmine's Original Pizza.jpg, A slice of Sicilian pizza topped with red pepper and herbs File:Southsea Street-Financial District (Adrienne's Pizza Parlor) Sicilian Pizza.jpg, Sicilian pizza at a restaurant File:Loz lb.png, Sicilian pizza in Brooklyn File:Sfincione palermitano 2.jpg, Typical palermitan ''sfincione''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sicilian Pizza Cuisine of Sicily Palermitan cuisine Pizza styles Sicilian-American cuisine Street food Cuisine of New York City Street food in Italy scn:Pizza siciliana

Variations

Siracusa

Catania

Messina

United States

Gallery

See also

References

External links