Sfera Sicilian Street Food - Chicago
Italian food, like the foods of every country in the world, looks different in different regions of the same country; Avondale’s new Sfera focuses on the distinctive street food of Sicily.
Perhaps because it’s an island, Sicily has developed a unique cuisine all its own, and the street food of Sicily is delicious and accessible, with well-known ingredients and spice profiles. At Sfera, most of the food falls into one of two groups: arancini and scaccia. There are also sides of meatballs, salads, and other accompaniments.
In Italian, “sfera” means sphere, or balls, and arancini are small balls of fried risotto stuffed with several ingredients. The most popular arancini at Sfera are the Classico (saffron risotto stuffed with Sicilian beef ragu, peas and mozzarella, with a side of house-made marinara); the Porcini (vegetarian risotto filled with a ragu of imported porcini and locally sourced mushrooms, fontina cheese and truffle aioli); and Chicago-Style (risotto filled with marinara, mild Italian sausage, mushrooms, mozzarella, and green pepper).
Scaccia is a lesser known Sicilian favorite that’s basically a flatbread folded over into a kind of crisp and delicious turnover, similar to an empanada or a Welsh pasty. Popular scaccia include Ragusana with marinara, mozzarella, parmesan, wild garlic ricotta with fresh basil leaf, and Alla Norma, with the marinara and grilled zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant with mozzarella.
If the arancini or scaccia do not appeal to you (and that would be very surprising!), there are other options including the meatballs and salad.
For dessert, there are must-have Sicilian specialties like Pistachio Cannoli as well as Door Country Cherry and Chocolate Cannoli, a beautiful example of how a traditional Italian favorite can be prepared with high-quality Midwestern ingredients.
Two Sicilian inspired cocktail mixes are on the menu. Pomegranate Mint Refresher (add your spirit of choice – vodka and bourbon work well – into a blend of (you guessed it) pomegranate and mint. The Saffron Sour is a mix of saffron, lemon juice and cane syrup, which you can add to just about any spirit, including rum and gin.
