Pizza 
Value
Quality
If you HAD to live off it forever, how happy would you be?
Stop One in my quest to find the best pizza recipe Italy has to offer brings me to Palermo. Palermo is known for its sficione, a focaccia like pizza topped with tomatoes, anchovy paste, oregano and sheep curd. However, I was keen to find out what influences Neapolitan pizza had given its proximity to the island.
Sficione is exactly how the internet describes – thick, spongy and oily with a soft crust. I bought my first piece from a street seller for one euro. I have a great video of him describing what it is, and him quite evidently not understanding anything I’m saying in English. Considering it’s simple toppings and lack of cheese, I quite enjoyed the sficione. The anchovies, oregano and tomato sauce gave it a simple yet strong flavour and it didn’t really need much else. However, for it to be called a pizza I think is a little far-fetched (personally, really don’t want to offend anyone here!), as it’s essentially a focaccia. And a good one at that.
See the video here: http://youtu.be/8W1eFl3IIpw
In terms of pizza al pranzo (as a snack), which you’d find in panifores or snack bars, I found two different types. You’d either find circular brioche like pizzas or long rectangular pizza by the slice, with a much thinner base. For a maximum of 2 euros for a large portion, it’s definitely value for money. However, the circular pizzas don’t taste anything like the pizza you’d find in England, America or anywhere else I’ve tried pizza before. The dough is a lot sweeter, with a glossy brown coating and is soft throughout, just like a brioche in some cases. I actually quite liked it but I think it’d be a little like marmite, in that you’d either love it or hate it. The sliced pizza I tried has all been massively disappointing in that it has absolutely no taste, and the texture was just non-descript.
Pizza by the slice
Doesn’t look great hey?!
I found it interesting to see the difference between lunch-time ‘on the go’ pizza offerings and the pizzas you’d get in the evenings as in Palermo, they seemed to represent two completely different food types. There are pizzerias dotted around throughout Palermo, with a large majority offering ‘true Neapolitan pizza’, which is odd as the Sicilians seem so proud of their island that you’d think that they’d only serve ‘true Sicilian pizza’. I was taken to a local trattoria, well renowned for its pizza. You can read the review here, but in summary, I didn’t even want to eat it – that’s how disappointing it was. Again, it lacked taste and the texture was similar to a Tesco Value pizza you’d get at home.
Pizza from a Trattoria/pizzeria
In summary, I wouldn’t rate the ‘evening’ pizzas in Palermo. True, I only tried two places but given one of the two was recommended as having the ‘best’ pizza, I wouldn’t hasten to eat pizza in a Palermian restaurant again. However, I did love the sficione, so much so that I attempted to make it – you can read the recipe here. And, I liked the idea of a circular brioche like pizza, however, its prospects in England might prove risky.
