TEST REPORT
TASTE TEST WORDS: DAISY MEAGER
THE COOKBOOK
Flavours of Sicily: Fresh and Vibrant Recipes from a Unique Mediterranean Island by Ursula Ferrigno (£18.99; Ryland Peters & Small)
TESTED BY Susan Low
Like mainland-Italian food with the volume turned up, Sicilian cooking is simple at heart but flavour-packed, distinguished by an abundance of sun-ripened flavours and a love of sweet-sour contrasts. The book’s Brit-alian author, Ursula Ferrigno, is a reliable guide to exploring the huge island’s characteristic tastes and regional recipes. She knows its history of invasion and traces Arab, North African, Greek and Spanish influences in what have become typically Sicilian recipes.
SWEET AND SAVOURY Sicilian almond pastries and, below, pasta with sardines
There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about this book. The dishes are mostly classics, plus a few gathered in the course of Ursula’s travels. They’re divided into chapters for appetisers and stuffed vegetables; salads; soups and pasta; meat and fish; breads; and desserts. In between are a few short essays on Sicilian food culture: the island’s citrus groves, wines, the fish, bread and so on.