2 replies to this topic

[slkinsey]

For a variety of reasons I've found myself on airplanes a lot recently, and as light airplane fare have been reading some detective books by Sicilian author Andrea Camilleri. One thing that is very interesting about Italian popular fiction is that the authors often spend significant time describing what the characters are eating, and the characters are often great lovers of food. Camilleri's stories are set in the Sicilian town of Vigàta, and his protagonist, commissario Montalbano, eats fish and seafood almost exclusively (one gets the impression this is true of most everyone there). Many wonderful dishes have been described, and I find myself in serious need of guidance and inspiration in making these dishes and others like them for myself.

Ideally what I'd like is a Southern Italian fish and seafood cookbook. Failing that, a comprehensive Italian fish/seafood cookbook or a fish-heavy Sicilian cookbook would be just the thing.

Recommendations?

[weinoo]

Not the greatest recommendation, Sam, but two books in my collection that I really like are Pomp and Sustenance, Twenty-Five Centuries of Sicilian Food, by Mary Taylor Simeti, a history lesson and cookbook rolled into one, and Sicilian Home Cooking - Family Recipes from Gangivecchio, by Wanda and Giovanna Tornabene.

While I doubt either book fulfills your wishes totally, Sicilian Home Cooking has a good number of seafood recipes, and Pomp and Sustenance is a great read, with some very old, as well as more up-to-date, Sicilian recipes.

[anzu]

How good is your German?

There is a cookbook in German, which came out in 2005, giving recipes for each and every dish appearing in Andrea Camilleri's books. Here's a link to the book on German Amazon Andrea Camilleris Sizilianische Küche

I suppose it might get translated into English at some point, though I suspect the chances are slim - Andrea Camilleri's books are extremely popular here, so the market for people wanting a cookbook showcasing the recipes is most probably greater here than elsewhere.