Sicilian Home Cooking Family Recipes from Gangivecchio

Chapter 1 Antipasti (Appetizers) Polpettine in Agrodolce di Gangivecchio(Gangivecchio's Sweet-and-Sour Meatballs) Fuiulate di Lucia(Lucia's Fritters) Frittata di Spaghetti con Capperi e Olive Nere(Spaghetti Omelette with Capers and Black Olives) Bigne' Piccanti(Spicy Beignets) La Bruschetta(Grilled Bread with a Topping) Bruschetta con Pesce Spada e Menta(Bruschetta with Swordfish and Mint) Bruschetta alla Casalinga(Home-Style Bruschetta) La Bruschetta di Peppe(Peppe's Bruschetta) Peperoni di Siracusa(Syracuse-Style Peppers) Melanzane di Concetta(Concetta's Eggplant) Melanzane di Campagna(Country-Style Eggplant) La Cucina Allegra(The Happy Cook) Panini Caldi di Melanzane(Hot Eggplant Sandwiches) I Carciofi alla Maniera di Gangi(Gangi-Style Artichokes) Caponata(Sweet-and-Sour Eggplant Stew) Carciofi"Lasciatemi Sola"(Artichokes "Leave Me Alone") Tortino di Carciofi con Sarde e Ricotta(Artichoke Tart with Sardines and Ricotta) Fonduta di Verdure(Vegetable Fondue) Fagioli Vellutina con la Menta(Beans with Mint) Le Olive della Zia Elvira(Aunt Elvira's Olives) Le Olive dell' Attore(The Actor's Olives) Pecorino Fresco con Miele e Pistacchi(Fresh Pecorino with Honey and Pistachios) Caciocavallo con Mandarini(Mandarins with Caciocavallo) Torta di Gorgonzola e Pere(Gorgonzola and Pear Tart) Torta con Lattuga(Lettuce Tart) La Torta di San Giuseppe(Saint Joseph's Tart) Torta di Ricotta e Nocciole(Hazelnut and Ricotta Tart) Sformato di Peperoni e Cipolla(Pepper and Onion Souffl?) Melone con Aceto Balsamico e Menta(Melon with Balsamic Vinegar and Mint) Mezze Lune di Ricotta(Half Moons with Ricotta) Uno Strudel Mediterraneo(A Mediterranean Strudel) Pizza Calabrese(Calabrian Pizza) Panini di Modica di Nina(Nina's Little Sandwiches, Modica Style) Il Pane del Re(The King's Bread) Il Prologo (The Prologue) Come un innamoramento, un pasto comincia con un flirt, che chiamiamo antipasti. (Like a love affair, a meal begins with a flirtation that we call antipasti.) In Italian, antipasti literally means "before the meal." Appropriately enough, antipasti are small portions of foods that are served as a tantalizing overture to the fundamental courses in a menu. In Old Sicilian, they're calledvucativi, from the Latin vocare, meaning to call-in this case, what we are calling is the appetite. In our Sicilian dialect, we also sayisca i viviri, which is difficult to translate but roughly means something like bait to be drunk or like an almost-liquid bait so light it can be swallowed like water. Antipasti are the most felicitous part of a menu-not too serious, yet extremely seductive. Mamma loves preparing classic antipasti dishes as well as inventing new ones, perhaps because in the past no such course existed in Sicilian homes, particularly in the countryside where we live. In Sicily, until the last several decades, antipasti were served only at special celebrations or large functions like weddings and official receptions. Many Sicilians were too poor and too busy to prepare antipasti. Restaurants really invented antipasti, which were and are often still temptingly displayed on a long table containing as many as two dozen or more dishes. These dishes ranged from stuffed vegetables to marinated seafood, usually served at room temperature. I believe that this enormous offering was developed by clever restaurant owners as a sensible way of satisfying their hungry, demTornabene, Wanda is the author of 'Sicilian Home Cooking Family Recipes from Gangivecchio', published 2001 under ISBN 9780375403996 and ISBN 037540399X.