Savoring Palermo: In The Markets and Beyond

It’s easy to fall for the markets of Palermo: sundrenched side streets filled with lemons so bright, ricotta so creamy, capers by the basketful, and, let’s not forget, street food like nowhere else. Vendors in the Ballarò market howl, competing for the attention of hungry shoppers from tables spread with freshly cooked octopus and smoking grills loaded with offal. Stand after stand offer a paper cone of crispy battered and fried seafood, but you can also sit down for a plate of homemade eggplant caponata, studded with pine nuts and raisins. If a thick cut of grilled swordfish doesn’t tempt you, then, carry on, there’s probably a man sitting on an overturned bucket shucking fresh sea urchins just around the corner.