09/02/2026
If you grew up Sicilian, you probably already know exactly what this is. 🇮🇹
For everyone else…
This is a cucuzza.
Cucuzza is a long, light green Italian squash especially associated with Sicilian cooking.
And when we say long…
we mean LONG. Some can grow several feet in length.
The outside is typically peeled, revealing a mild, tender flesh that takes on the flavors of whatever you cook it with.
In Sicilian kitchens, cucuzza is often prepared simply.
Simmered with tomatoes.
Cooked with onions and garlic.
Added to soups and stews.
Served with pasta.
Sometimes cooked with potatoes and other vegetables.
It’s the kind of ingredient that doesn’t need much.
Good olive oil.
Fresh tomatoes.
Garlic.
A few simple seasonings.
And let the cucuzza do the rest.
For a lot of Italian-American families, though, cucuzza is more than just a vegetable.
It’s something your grandparents grew in the backyard.
Something that showed up in the kitchen every summer.
And something you probably didn’t appreciate nearly enough until you got older.
That’s the thing about Sicilian food.
Sometimes the simplest ingredients carry the most tradition. 🇮🇹