La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio/Gangivecchio's Sicilian Kitchen: Recipes from Gangivecchio's Sicilian Kitchen [Hardcover]

Giovanna Tornabene opened a restaurant in her home in the Madonie Mountains of Sicily in 1978 because it seemed the only way to hold on to her family's centuries-old estate. In La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio, her daughter, Wanda, who helps run this restaurant on the secluded family estate, shares the history of their family, the estate and the colorful evolution of Sicilian cooking. Michele Evans captures the graceful generosity, spontaneity and charm of both mother and daughter in this work. It features veal and pumpkin stew made with just four ingredients; Swordfish in Umido, steamed with oregano and garlic; cauliflower drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil; a tart filled with sweetened ricotta studded with chocolate chips; and 200 other dishes. This is the simple yet deeply flavored, humbly sophisticated food that makes Sicily a culinary paradise.

The mother-and-daughter authors of this charming cookbook run a restaurant in a restored 14th-century monastery in rural Sicily. Their unique recipes will foil many common preconceptions about Sicilian cuisine: not on the Western part of the island, the Tornabenes exhibit little Arab influence; nor, being inland, do they rely heavily on fish. Rice Balls in Chicken Broth, Milk Croquettes and Quacelle-Style Fava Bean and Potato Casserole all make something delicious out of virtually nothing. A salad of Arugula with Pine Nuts and Pomegranate and the restaurant's signature Veal Rolls Stuffed with Ham, Provolone and Pecorino are more sophisticated. The Tornabenes throw in Sicilian classics like Baked Sardines Stuffed with Pine Nuts and Currants and two types of Rice Ball Croquettes. The company is as spirited as the food as, with help from cookbook and travel writer Evans, the Tornabenes spin engaging tales. On their first trip to New York, they transported a rolling pin and some cheese; occasionally, they've been too softhearted to eat the animals they've raised (including a wild boar named Giorgina); they describe a bread-making experiment conducted with friends who "need wine like cars need gasoline to work." Family photos and recipes from Paolo Tornabene (Wanda's son, Giovanna's brother) and his wife, Betty, who together run a nine-room inn in what was originally the stable, enhance this warm and friendly volume. 35,000 first printing.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In a tiny town in the mountains of Sicily, the Tornabene family runs a restaurant whose authentic Sicilian fare has attracted international attention. In 1978, when the family fortunes were on the wane, matriarch Wanda decided to open a restaurant in the 13th-century abbey that was the ancestral home, serving her treasured recipes and those handed down from her mother-in-law, and her mother-in-law in turn, both talented cooks as well. The restaurant, expanded and thriving, is still serving those dishes today, with contributions as well from Giovanna, Wanda's daughter, and her son and daughter-in-law. Local produce and other ingredients figure strongly in their cooking, but with coauthor Evans, the Tornabenes have succeeded in making these recipes, from Sicilian Potato Croquettes to Gemelli with Aromatic Herbs to Peasant-Style Artichokes, accessible to the American home cook. Particularly because Wanda at first had no intention of sharing her family recipes with a wider public, this is a privileged look at a remote and personal adventure. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

So much has been written, produced, and marketed in recent years about the glories of northern Italian cooking that people have ignored the accomplishments of the cooks of southern Italy, especially those of the island of Sicily. The mother-daughter team of Wanda and Giovanna Tornabene bid fair to overcome that omission with their cookbook celebrating Sicily's achievements. Founded on the cooking done in the family's restaurant in a converted fourteenth-century abbey in the mountains of central Sicily, this intriguing cookbook allows the American cook to reproduce authentic Sicilian dishes rarely tasted and certainly underappreciated in this country. The straightforward simplicity of most of the dishes recalls Marcella Hazan's expert adaptations of northern Italian home cooking for Americans. Highly recommended to round out any collection of Italian cookbooks. Mark Knoblauch

Tucked away on a remote Sicilian mountainside is Gangivecchio--once a Roman outpost, then a fourteenth-century Benedictine abbey, now a world-class restaurant and inn.

Poached Lemon-flavored Ricotta Gnocchi with Sage Butter.  Arancine (the sublime rice croquettes of Sicily) Stuffed with Bechamel, Ham, and Mozzarella.  Veal and Pumpkin stew.  Sofficini (elegant little pastries, filled with warm lemon cream, that defy description.)  These are just a few of the spectacular dishes prepared at Gangivecchio for anyone lucky enough to dine at this magical spot, with its roaring fireplace, blossoming orchards, roaming animals, and acres of wild poppies.  For anyone not able to make this incredible journey, Wanda and Giovanna now have prepared La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio, the ultimate country cookbook, with recipes culled from generations, handed down as part of the extraordinary and charming history of the family, the town, and the island of Sicily itself.

"I have had the exquisite pleasure of eating at this magical abbey, and this cookbook conveys the unique timelessness of Sicily, the extraordinary flavors and smells of its bountiful landscape, and the magnificent ingredients--artichokes, sardines, figs--that I tasted there."
--Alice Waters, owner/chef of Chez Panisse

"I love Italian food, and La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio is the definitive source for wonderful Sicilian recipes. The recipes are simple to understand, easy to prepare, fun to read, and most important--absolutely delicious!!"
--Drew Nieporent, restaurateur and owner of Zeppole at the TriBakery, TriBeCa Grill, Montrachet, Nobu, Layla, and Rubicon.

"After reading this book, which reveals the beauty and succulence of Sicilian food, we were immediately compelled to book a plane to Sicily to eat at Gangivecchio. We were not disappointed."
--Nancy Silverton and Mark Peel, owners/chefs of Campanile and La Brea Bakery

"I am delighted to see that Gangivecchio and its food have crossed the Atlantic so successfully. The Tornabenes' book makes a very special and important contribution to the growing literature on Sicilian food."
--Mary Taylor Simeti, author of On Persephone's Island

Wanda Tornabene and her daughter, Giovanna, live in the interior Madonie Mountains in Gangivecchio, Sicily, in a restored fourteenth-century Benedictine monastery, where they have operated a restaurant since 1978.  The Tornabenes opened a nine-room albergo with a second restaurant, called Tenuta Gangivecchio, on the property in 1992.  Tenuta Gangivecchio is run by Wanda's son, Paolo, and daughter-in-law, Betty.

Michele Evans is the author of thirteen previous cookbooks, and is also a travel writer.  Her Caribbean Connoisseur: An Insider's Guide to the Islands' Best Hotels, Resorts, and Inns is in its third edition.  She and her husband, Tully Plesser, are residents of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.