Pomp And Sustenance: Twenty-five Centuries of Sicilian Food

From Publishers Weekly

While restoring her husband's family farmhouse in Sicily during the 1970s, American-born longtime Sicily resident Simeti ( On Persephone's Island ) discovered the "very ancient past"--specifically, culinary--of peasant culture in a maritime land. "Bookish browsing" led her "far afield" to an "eccentric vision of food" unveiled in this chronicle of the island's rich heritage, bequeathed by invaders, exacted by the hunger of the poor and marked by the aristocracy's "ability to transform the extraordinary" and make it their own. In a lighter tone, the expatriate celebrates street food, convent confections and ice cream--adored by Sicilians and descended from a sort of ur-sherbet ("sarbat") made by the Saracens. Simeti writes exquisitely of the foods of Odysseus and the cult of Aphrodite, of capers "trailing long sprays of coin-shaped leaves." Cups and tablespoons may appear foreign at such moments, but classic recipes are presented as meticulously as historical data. Readers may be moved to follow the example of Alexis of Tarentum, who in the fourth century B.C. "learnt to cook so well in Sicily" that he caused "banqueters to bite... the plates for joy." Illustrated. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

From the author of On Persephone's Island (Knopf, 1986), this is a delightful mix of culinary and social history, with mouth-watering Sicilian recipes included as an added bonus. Simeti begins with the classical era (with Odysseus himself, and a recipe for fava bean soup) and concludes with a chapter on Sicily's special ice creams and gelati; her wit and pleasing style make her observations on food, eating habits, and culture as addictive as some of the dishes she describes. Unusual, and strongly recommended. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.