
I was recently sent a copy of Sicilia in Cucina (The Flavors of Sicily) from SIME | BOOKS. You know I love cookbooks and one of my favorite things is to thumb through one every now and again and let folks know what I think.
Well to start, I think this is a beautiful book. That’s because this book is designed to be experienced in your hands and with your eyes (and maybe even your heart). It feels part travelogue, part photo album, as well as authentic regional cooking document. That’s partly because the editor of the book, William Dello Russo, has written extensively on Italian travel. His love of his native Italy shows itself well on every page. It’s easy to lose yourself in the romance of this book. Still, at its heart, it is indeed a cookbook. The way to judge a cookbook is not by its cover, but to actually cook something from it.
As I turned my attention to the recipes, I noted that this book seems to be written for experienced cooks. The directions are rather abbreviated. The author seems to expect the reader to know his or her way around an Italian kitchen. That may be because the text appears both in Italian and English. It’s a fun way to brush up on your language skills, but at first the cookbook author in me was a little put off by the casual approach. Though it was fun trying to slip inside the mind of an experienced Italian cook and wonder how he or she would handle things.
I chose to make Primosale Cheese Ravioli with Balsamic Vinegar Reduction and Roasted Almonds. I chose this simple recipe partly because I wanted to familiarize myself with a style of Italian cheese I was not used to working with primosale cheese. Which brings me to another observation. Tracking down some of the ingredients in this book might prove to be both a pleasure and a pain. Many of the ingredients won’t be familiar to North American cooks. You may find yourself turning to the internet to both define and source some things. I know I did.
What I learned in the process is that primosale is a cow’s milk cheese that comes in two styles. The Northern Italian version is soft and very fresh, similar to ricotta or queso blanco. But the Sicilian primosale is aged a bit longer and has a semi-soft texture. The cheese itself is best described as a fresh, young pecorino (Hmm. I thought all pecorino cheese was well-aged, see I learned something). I realize some cooks might be bothered by the extra effort these ingredients take to source or substitute. As for me, I consider it an adventure in furthering my knowledge about authentic Sicilian cooking. It’s what I most enjoyed about this book.

Once I had the cheese I was ready to tackle the ravioli. The recipe has a certain casual decadence that is both lush and impulsive. Which seems to sum up the entire cookbook in my mind. Lush. Impulsive. Romantic. It also feels very typical of the cooking I recall when I visited the island. Sicily has an identity all of its own. That’s because geographically speaking it’s closer both in distance and topography to Tunis than Naples. In fact, parts of it are closer to several African ports than to any part of mainland Italy. These facts helped Sicily’s food to develop separately and distinctly from the rest of Italy. It’s a hot, dry, predominately flat landscape. It seems more reminiscent of North Africa than most parts of Italy, and that is another determinate factor in its culinary past.
This partly explains why almonds are another rather frequent visitor to the cooking of Sicily. They grow all over the place. It’s not unusual to see almond trees growing in the wild right alongside other trees, like date and citrus. All of which found their way there on ancient trading ships and have established themselves quite nicely. They also work as a terrific foil to the lush and impulsive quality of sticky-sweet balsamic sauce drizzled on top succulent ravioli– filled with an unusual cheese. GREG
Yowza these ravioli are fantastic looking. I have to get my hands on some of that cheese and try this.
It’s been too long since I’ve made ravioli — this has inspired me! Love your photos!
I enjoy cookbooks that challenge me, and it sounds like this one certainly would! I have a whole collection of books in my kitchen. I don’t honestly cook from them very often. Instead I find reading them to be the most pleasurable part. This dish looks delicious though. So who knows…maybe I would get out my pots!
Simple perfection.
I’ve noticed how Italian cookbooks tend to be not only focused on the food but the region or family style. There’s always some kind of love story with each recipe. I have David Rocco’s book and it’s the same…I wish I was Italian (sigh) Love your choice of recipe you pulled for this!
I love seeking out unfamiliar ingredients that I’ve never worked with or tried. Beautiful ravioli, and this book must be added to my collection asap.
This book sounds perfect for dinner party fare…the stuff you pull your hair out trying to make but it’s so impressively worth it in the end!
Yes. I thougfht the same thing. Still, many of the recipes are quite approachable and appropriate for everyday. I tend to gravitate to the recipes with unusual (to me) ingredients. GREG
A beauty of a recipe — and the cookbook looks terrific. A visit to Sicily is definitely on my wish list.
Ciao amico!
Che piatto bello. That is some fine looking ravioli. I love Sicilian cuisine — and history. Even to Italians it seems foreign. The island itself is, as Pamela Sheldon Johns wrote:
Like the layers of a timballo, its characteristic baked pasta dish, the essence of modern Sicilian cuisine has evolved from layer upon layer of the history of this island. It was a strategic location when the Mediterranean was the centre of the world, and each new conqueror – Greeks, Arabs, Normans, French, Spaniards – left their seeds to create the composite we have today: sun-drenched produce from the land, an abundant sea, and aromatic and flavourful dishes.
I have a suggestion for sourcing hard to find Italian ingredients. Check out Gustiamo.com. They sell Noto almonds, Pianogrillo oil, capers in salt, caperberries — all from Sicily, not to mention hundreds of the products from the other 19 regions of the country.