Sicilian Food: Recipes from Italy's Abundant Isle [Paperback]

Mary Taylor-Simeti's book has one major advantage over all the other English language books on Sicilian food I have read - she knows what she is talking about. First published in hardback in 1989 as Pomp And Sustenance: Twenty-five Centuries of Sicilian Food the paperback brings her reference work to a wider readership. It is the 5 star book.

Another review criticised Sicilian Food as being :gossipy". It's not. What Mary Taylor-Simeti combines is her historical and social knowledge which is what makes Siclian food so different from other regions, particularly the influence of Sicily's many invaders.

The usual failing of celebrity chefs writing cookery books about regional food is that they have little knowledge of the area and it's food traditions - the reason that food exists in the first place. Mary Taylor-Simeti does not have that problem. She married a Sicilian and as an American went to live in Sicily in the 70's so she did not parachute in with the intention of writing a cookery book.

Of particular interest is the section on street food. As any visitor Palermo and the Vucciria market will testify, it is the street food and not just cannoli or cassata which distinguish Sicilian food. True, there are things 'missing', but that is my experience and not hers.

A book for educated cook and food traveller. If you read Mourjou by Peter Graham and enjoyed it and like your history, Mary Taylor-Simeti is for you. If you want entertainment and pictures then buy a celeb chef book. Otherwise, read 'Sicilian Food' and buy a flight to Palermo or Catania.

Whether the extensive historical excursions in this book come across as bewildering, or whether they are welcome depends on the individual reader. They are not typical for a cookbook, but if you wish to learn about how a recipe evolved, why certain foodstuffs are popular in Sicily, and who brought them in or propagated them: this is the book for you. Mary Taylor Simeti tells us about the history of the mattanza (tuna fishing), the numerous influences that came with the Greeks, and how intensive agriculture made its way into Sicily - and subsequently Europe and the rest of the world. I welcome all this background information, but others may disagree here.

Despite the long paragraphs covering the historical aspects of Sicilian cooking, there are plenty of recipes in this book, way over a hundred. (Hands up whose everyday cooking repertoire contains this many?) And these recipes are authentic to boot! No modern day shortcuts, no cheats, no surrender to convenience. Mary mentions substitute ingredients where appropriate, which is great; but she always lists the 'proper' ingredient to use first, which is even better. I like to have the original way of preparing a dish in black on white, because I firmly believe that the history, cultural heritage, and traditions of any area are reflected in its food, and that they must be preserved. However, I do apply my own little tweaks to speed up operations and the reader is always free to do so.

Sicilian food is varied in its own special way. As you travel around Sicily, you will find dishes with the same names all over the island, but every region has its own take on it. Sarde a beccaficu, for example: In the classic Palermo version the butterflied sardines are rolled around a filling of currants, pine nuts, and parsley. Cooks in Catania sandwich the butterflied sardines using a filling of onions and garlic. The two constants are sardines and bread crumbs, they always feature. Swordfish involtini are another example of how differently a dish is interpreted between one Sicilian region and another. And there are others. This book does not favor one version over the other, and instead gives a recipe for both. The reader can then choose which version best suits their palate.

With Sicily being a small island situated in a very warm climate, fish and vegetables take precedence over meat in the Sicilian diet, but they also can offer some stunning meat recipes. Farsumagru is a meatloaf made from ground veal and pork, enriched with herbs and spices and the meat is then wrapped around hard-boiled eggs before the cooking. The recipe for the famous arancini di riso (stuffed rice balls) very closely resembles the one I found in my first ever Italian cookbook (which I very sadly lost a long time ago), and is very unlike the stripped down versions in many contemporary Italian cookbooks which are stuffed with mozzarella and nothing else. Mary's stuffing contains raisins, meat ragu, herbs, and cacciocavallo cheese.

The book was originally published in the 1980s, and this belated British edition sticks with the 1980s style. The book does not contain pictures, as this was not common in a cookery book back then; but the American measurements have been converted into metric - how good a job the publishers have done I don't know for sure as I tend very much towards eyeballing, but at a quick glance I would say they did not too bad at all.

For those among us who are into true Sicilian cooking and who favor authenticity over convenience, I strongly recommend this book as it is second to none I've come across in my love affair with Italian cooking which has been going for over twenty years.

Whether the extensive historical excursions in this book come across as bewildering, or whether they are welcome depends on the individual reader. They are not typical for a cookbook, but if you wish to learn about how a recipe evolved, why certain foodstuffs are popular in Sicily, and who brought them in or propagated them: this is the book for you. Mary Taylor Simeti tells us about the history of the mattanza (tuna fishing), the numerous influences that came with the Greeks, and how intensive agriculture made its way into Sicily - and subsequently Europe and the rest of the world. I welcome all this background information, but others may disagree here.

Despite the long paragraphs covering the historical aspects of Sicilian cooking, there are plenty of recipes in this book, way over a hundred. (Hands up whose everyday cooking repertoire contains this many?) And these recipes are authentic to boot! No modern day shortcuts, no cheats, no surrender to convenience. Mary mentions substitute ingredients where appropriate, which is great; but she always lists the 'proper' ingredient to use first, which is even better. I like to have the original way of preparing a dish in black on white, because I firmly believe that the history, cultural heritage, and traditions of any area are reflected in its food, and that they must be preserved. However, I do apply my own little tweaks to speed up operations and the reader is always free to do so.

Sicilian food is varied in its own special way. As you travel around Sicily, you will find dishes with the same names all over the island, but every region has its own take on it. Sarde a beccaficu, for example: In the classic Palermo version the butterflied sardines are rolled around a filling of currants, pine nuts, and parsley. Cooks in Catania sandwich the butterflied sardines using a filling of onions and garlic. The two constants are sardines and bread crumbs, they always feature. Swordfish involtini are another example of how differently a dish is interpreted between one Sicilian region and another. And there are others. This book does not favor one version over the other, and instead gives a recipe for both. The reader can then choose which version best suits their palate.

With Sicily being a small island situated in a very warm climate, fish and vegetables take precedence over meat in the Sicilian diet, but they also can offer some stunning meat recipes. Farsumagru is a meatloaf made from ground veal and pork, enriched with herbs and spices and the meat is then wrapped around hard-boiled eggs before the cooking. The recipe for the famous arancini di riso (stuffed rice balls) very closely resembles the one I found in my first ever Italian cookbook (which I very sadly lost a long time ago), and is very unlike the stripped down versions in many contemporary Italian cookbooks which are stuffed with mozzarella and nothing else. Mary's stuffing contains raisins, meat ragu, herbs, and cacciocavallo cheese.

The book was originally published in the 1980s, and this belated British edition sticks with the 1980s style. The book does not contain pictures, as this was not common in a cookery book back then; but the American measurements have been converted into metric - how good a job the publishers have done I don't know for sure as I tend very much towards eyeballing, but at a quick glance I would say they did not too bad at all.

For those among us who are into true Sicilian cooking and who favor authenticity over convenience, I strongly recommend this book as it is second to none I've come across in my love affair with Italian cooking which has been going for over twenty years.