It was time to explore another of Palermo’s markets – the Ballarò Market
This 1000 year old market is hidden in side streets around Piazza Carmine, in the old part of town between Via Marqueda and Corso Tukory.
On first glance, you notice the sea of umbrellas and tarpaulins, mainly red, covering the stalls
As with the Capo Market, locals shop here for new seasons fruit and vegetables, cheeses, spices, fresh fish and all cuts of meat.
Tenerumi are the vines, leaves and tendrils of a cucuzza, a long, thin, sicilian squash. They are often used in pasta dishes or soup.
The market is also a street eaters delight.
Pane con panelle, arancine, pane cu’ la meuza and sfincione are readily available
In the middle of the market, this panelle stall does a roaring trade. The panelle, which are slices of a dough made from chick peas are deep fried along with aubergine slices, and then put into the freshest panini to make a stunning roll.
You must try one!
Pane ca’ meuza is another popular snack. For this, the bread roll is filled with beef spleen and topped with grated caciocavallo cheese.
Not for me, but they are very popular.
Just outside the market, this sfincione cart was hoping for business. Sfincione are slices of focaccia like base topped with a mixture of tomato and herbs
These vendors were enjoying a quiet moment playing the Italian card game, Scopa, which is all about taking tricks.
It’s easy when you can bring your own table!
Panelle is probably my favorite thing to eat in Sicily, getting increasingly difficult to find, though; many old roadside truck operators have retired. I’ve tried making it at home but doesn’t have the same flavour, sigh. Great post and pics!
Great to meet another panelle lover Lesley! We kept going back to this stand for our fix over the five days we were in Palermo.Now that you mention it, we did not see many stands or trucks on our journey through Sicily. Thanks for visiting.