Eating on Etna

Most people come to Etna for the wine and find out on the first day that lunch matters just as much. The volcano’s soils grow far more than Nerello Mascalese. Pistachios, cherries, apples and chestnuts all do well in the black ash, and every town around the mountain seems to have one thing it is proud of and will tell you about at length.

This is a short guide to what to eat, where to find it, and what to drink with it.

Bronte and its pistachios

On the western slope, around Bronte, pistachio trees grow out of what looks like bare lava. The Pistacchio Verde di Bronte has had DOP status since 2009, and it is only picked every other year, in late August and early September of odd-numbered years. In the years between, growers strip the buds by hand so the trees can rest. Bronte grows something like 1% of the world’s pistachios, which explains both the prices and the pride.

You will find it everywhere: stirred into pesto for pasta, packed into arancini, piped into pastries and frozen into granita. The town holds its Sagra del Pistacchio over two weekends in early to mid October.

Linguaglossa sausage

The north slope’s signature is salsiccia al ceppo, made around Linguaglossa, Piedimonte Etneo and Castiglione di Sicilia. The pork is chopped with a knife on a block of Etna oak rather than minced, then seasoned with salt, pepper and wild fennel seed. Slow Food lists it as a Presidium. It is traditionally grilled and eaten with caliceddi, a bitter wild green, and it is the dish of St Martin’s day on 11 November, when the new wine is traditionally opened.

To try it at the source, In Cucina dai Pennisi in Linguaglossa is a family butcher’s shop with a kitchen attached, and it has a place in the Michelin Guide.

Mushrooms, apples and chestnuts

Autumn is the best time to eat on the mountain. Porcini and other wild mushrooms come out of the woods above the vineyards, and restaurants on the north slope put them on almost everything. At Veneziano in Randazzo, the mixed mushroom antipasto and the mushroom soup are reason enough to book.

Higher up, between about 800 and 1,500 metres, small orchards grow old Etna apple varieties such as Cola and Gelato, now protected as a Slow Food Presidium. On the east side, Zafferana Etnea is known for its honey. Every Sunday in October the town holds the Ottobrata, a street fair given over to honey, apples, mushrooms, chestnuts and grapes.

Cherries and strawberries

Early summer belongs to fruit. The Ciliegia dell’Etna, a DOP cherry, grows across the east and south-east slopes, from Giarre and Riposto round to Acireale, Belpasso and Biancavilla. Sant’Alfio and Macchia di Giarre both hold cherry festivals in late spring or early summer. Up in Maletto, on the north-west side, June is strawberry season, and the town’s festival is famous for a very large strawberry cake that everyone gets a slice of.

Down in Catania

Most visitors fly into Catania, and the city has its own way of eating. Pasta alla Norma, with fried aubergine, tomato, ricotta salata and basil, is the local dish. The usual story connects the name to Norma, the opera by Bellini, who was born in Catania. Another credits the writer Nino Martoglio, who supposedly called a plate of it “a real Norma”, meaning a masterpiece. Either way, it is a very good match for a young Etna Rosso.

Arancini here are arancino, masculine, and shaped into a cone that is meant to look like the volcano. In Palermo they are round and called arancina, and the two cities never tire of arguing about it. Breakfast in summer is granita with a soft brioche on the side, the one with the little topknot. Granita has an Etna connection too: for centuries snow was collected on the mountain and packed into stone pits called neviere, then carried down to chill drinks and ices in the city.

If you are curious and not squeamish, Via Plebiscito is where Catania grills horse meat on the street in the evening.

What to drink with it

Etna Rosso, mostly Nerello Mascalese, is lighter than people expect from a southern red, with fresh acidity and fine tannins. That makes it easy with food. It works with mushrooms, with aubergine dishes like the Norma, with pasta in meat sauce and with grilled sausage. Serve it a little cool, around 16 to 18°C.

Etna Bianco, made from Carricante, is sharp and saline. Drink it with shellfish, grilled swordfish, white meat and, in autumn, porcini. It wants to be around 10 to 12°C.

Where to eat near the wineries

• Veneziano, Randazzo. Mushrooms in season and Nebrodi black pork. In the Michelin Guide.
• San Giorgio e il Drago, Randazzo. Handmade pasta, roast lamb and a well-chosen wine list. Closed on Tuesdays.
• Cave Ox, Solicchiata. For years the place where Etna’s winemakers eat, with a big cellar and straightforward local cooking. Check opening days before you go.
• In Cucina dai Pennisi, Linguaglossa. A butcher’s shop with a kitchen, and the place for salsiccia al ceppo.
• Shalai, Linguaglossa. For a special night: it has held a Michelin star since 2015 and cooks with wild herbs from the mountain.

A food calendar

• Late May to June: cherry festivals at Sant’Alfio and Macchia di Giarre
• June: strawberry festival in Maletto
• September onwards: porcini season
• Sundays in October: the Ottobrata in Zafferana Etnea
• Early to mid October: Sagra del Pistacchio in Bronte (harvests fall in odd-numbered years)
• 11 November: St Martin’s day, with new wine and salsiccia al ceppo

Opening days and festival dates shift from year to year, so check before you travel. And if a producer offers lunch with your tasting, say yes.

Planning a trip? Our Visiting Etna itineraries map out a day among the north-slope wineries, and the winery directory lists every producer on the mountain.