Pomp And Sustenance: Twenty Five Centuries Of Sicilian Food

by Mary Simeti Taylor

Pomp and Sustenance is a celebration of one of the oldest, most varied, and best-loved cuisines of Europe, at once frugal and extravagant, robustly simple yet often handsomely ornate. For twenty-five centuries, the people of Sicily have been creating what is perhaps the basic cuisine of Europe on the beautiful island in the heart of the Meditteranean. Beginning with the oldest and most elementary components in the Sicilian diet, Mary Taylor Simeti surveys the bounty of the Sicilian table and Sicilian history. Simeti provides authentic recipes as well as evocations of the dishes' from the simple glories of vine, olive, and wheat to the culinary innovations of Arab and Norman invaders; from the plain but mouth-watering dishes prepared by peasants in the Middle Ages to the ritual luxuries of Sicily's aritocracy; from the succulent delicacies made in monasteries and covents to the street-food pleasures that have become favorites all over the world. With more than 100 photographs and illustrations, this comprehensive volume is a book to cook from, a book to read, and a book to treasure as a testament to one of the finest cuisines in the world.

Genres: Food, Cookbooks, Cooking, Travel, Italy, Italian Literature

356 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 1989

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.75* of five

How good it feels to immerse myself in the warm, welcoming world of Sicilian cooking and food ritual. It's a place I love going to, and this book gave me a lot of historical insight into things that left me verschmeckled on my visit.

The recipes, oh goodness, the recipes! They sound like food porn, they are so good. I am not the first to experience this, as the following quote from an 18th-century French traveler shows:

"Almost all the ragouts {sauces} of the Syracusans are composed of pork meat, an indigestible food {!}, which can do no other than whip up the blood, heat it and render it into a state of orgasm and continual effervescence." (p157)

Now I have eaten a lot of pork (bad, nasty pun at your own risk) over the past 50 years and I have YET to have errrmmm this particular experience. What in Heaven's name are they feeding these pigs, and how do I get some?!

When I was through fanning myself, I continued into the joyously brimming recipe sections that followed, describing cannoli, pasta alla carrettiera, and a timballo di maccheroni bianco, which features in a superbly sensual passage of The Leopard, that delightful Sicilian novel. I want to see if I can reproduce the "...masses of piping hot, glistening macaroni, to which the meat juice gave an exquisite hue of suede."

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book on some history of Sicily and how it's people and food came to be. Some yummy looking recipes too.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is both an historical treatise on Sicily and a cookbook. Thick and scholarly, but readable and enjoyable. I tried some of the recipes with excellent results!

[Sylvia Tedesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. She can put the whole history of the island of Sicily into her recipes, pictures, discussions of food. One of my favorites!

[Tom Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent tour of Sicilian food and its history over 2500 years!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful celebration of the food of Sicily, from its history to the recipes of today. I love that way that Mary Taylor Simeti provides such detailed information about the origins of many of the dishes' ingredients, as well as the many cultures who have inhabited the island and contributed to a very rich Mediterranean cuisine. This book is accompanied by old engravings and drawings evocative of the history of the food and agriculture. A beautiful book, full of great information and great recipes!

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A recipe book with long, wonderfully helpful introductions to the various categories of Sicilian food. I recommend reading it together with Simeti's companion book on Sicily On Persephone's Island: A Sicilian Journal. (Read my review of both books there.)

I don't envision myself actually making any of these dishes (but then, who knows?), but I certainly know what I am going to order on my next visit to Sicily's many wonderful restaurants. Heartily recommended as reading material for any planned trip to Sicily.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great cookbook that touches on Sicilian history and gastronomy, while providing very traditional recipes from the island. :)