Wanda Tornabene refers to the food processor as the “grinder wizard.” (That is not a compliment.) The word processor that spits out her recipes is the “computer monster.” Don’t even broach the subject of a microwave oven.
For Tornabene, everything must stand the test of time. Since the early 19th Century, the Tornabene family has lived at Gangivecchio, a monastery built in the 1300s in the Madonie mountains of central Sicily. It’s a world where technology is not given an automatic blessing; like a new recipe, it has to prove itself. (Thus, in the postal nether world of Italy, it’s no surprise she calls the facsimile machine “St. Fax.”)
This allegiance to tradition yields wonderful results, as demonstrated in “La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio” (Knopf, $35). In it, Tornabene and her daughter, Giovanna, share with writer Michele Evans more than 200 recipes that have been in her family for years–some dating back to Tornabene’s mother-in-law and even her mother-in-law’s mother-in-law.
Wanda, who married into the Tornabene family in the ’50s, is not averse to change if it suits her. She turned Gangivecchio into a restaurant and small hotel when financial crises threatened to take it from her. And she was talked into a cookbook only when assured that because the cookbook would first be published in the U.S., it would take a while before her Sicilian neighbors could get hold of her closely held recipes.
Anyone who thinks Sicilian cuisine is identical to that of the coastal southern Italian mainland is in for a surprise. The tomato sauce and meatballs are there. So is the seafood associated with an island culture. But the recipes the Tornabenes offer present more than that: an array of vegetables, grains, meats and nuts. Even Evans, a cookbook author in her own right who spent two years with the Tornabenes working on the book, found her assumptions challenged.
“Like many other people, I misunderstood Sicilian food,” Evans said. “I thought of it as a heavy, southern Italian cuisine. But it really is a Mediterranean cuisine. The unusual lightness of the dishes will surprise people.”
“The only thing that links everybody (in Italy) is the pasta,” Giovanna says, translating for her mother. “Everything else is different.”
All of the colors in the Tornabenes’ repertoire spring from Sicily’s turbulent past. It has been invaded or inhabited by Turks, Greeks, French, Spanish and Romans. Now part of Italy, Sicily’s multi-ethnic history lives on in its cuisine. The array of ingredients and flavors is further nurtured by a hospitable climate and soil.
And, in Gangivecchio, further shaped by Tornabene’s commanding presence. She speaks little English but communicates a personality that is larger than life, happily domineering, as ready with a command as with a laugh.
Her perfectionism was evident during a visit to the Tribune test kitchen. As Giovanna executed the simple task of slicing an artichoke tart, Tornabene hovered behind, watching warily. When the wedge safely made its way to a plate, she nodded in relieved approval.
Usually, one item takes a starring role. “They want you to taste what the major ingredient is, be it cauliflower or artichokes,” Evans said. “It’s getting back to good, honest cooking.”
The book’s color photographs attest to the beauty of these dishes, but their rustic simplicity is mostly felt in their implementation.
In the book Tornabene writes, “Our simple rules are that all food should be as fresh as possible and that it be respected, thoughtfully prepared, and never wasted.”
This is true for Wanda and Giovanna even in a brief visit to a kitchen thousands of miles from home.
But the smile that lights up Tornabene’s face turns to a militaristic scowl as soon as she notices somebody — anybody — doing something — anything — wrong with that food.
As Giovanna says with a knowing smile, “Mama is always the mama.”
SFORMATO DI CARCIOFI (ARTICHOKE TART)
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Cooking time: 45 minutes
1/2 recipe pasta frolla piccante
Olive oil, flour for coating pan
Filling:
10 medium artichokes, see note, or 2 cups frozen, thawed artichoke hearts
1/2 cup olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
Salt, freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup freshly chopped Italian parsley
2 cups bechamel sauce, recipe follows
1. First, prepare the pasta frolla. Form into a ball, cover and refrigerate until needed. (If making whole recipe, freeze second half for later use.)
2. Clean and prepare the artichokes and chop into small pieces. Put into a saucepan with the olive oil and onion, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Barely cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, or until the artichokes are very tender.
3. Drain the artichokes and onion and transfer to a bowl. Mix in the parsley and set aside.
4. Prepare the bechamel sauce. Fold the artichokes into the sauce and taste for seasoning.
5. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform tart pan with olive oil and lightly coat with flour.
6. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry into a 10 1/2-inch circle that is 1/4-inch thick. Fit the dough into the center of the pan, pressing evenly halfway up the sides. Turn the filling into the pastry shell and smooth the top across evenly.
7. Take small pieces of the remaining dough and roll them into little ropes about 1/3-inch thick. Place these ropes across the top of the artichoke filling in 5 or 6 rows about 1 inch apart, pressing the ends into the edge of the tart’s dough. Make more little ropes with the remaining dough. Turn the tart one-quarter turn. Place the ropes on top of the other ropes in the same manner, forming a lattice design. If you have any left over, make tiny balls and fit them in between the ropes on top of the filling.
8. Bake the tart on a baking sheet for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Remove the cooked tart and let it cool. It’s best served at room temperature.
Soft bechamel sauce (salsa besciamella morbida): Melt 1/4 cup sweet (unsalted) butter in a saucepan. Stir in 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and cook over low heat, constantly stirring until the flour has “cooked” for about 2 minutes. Slowly pour in 2 cups hot milk, whisking constantly, and turn the heat to high. Whisk until the sauce has thickened and season to taste with salt.
To clean and prepare artichokes: Fill half a large bowl with cool water, add the juice of 1 seeded lemon, then drop in the lemon halves. To prepare artichokes, cut all but 1 inch off the stem ends and about 1 inch off the tough tops. Remove the inedible outer leaves by pulling them downward. Trim away the top end’s prickly little leaves and the fuzzy choke center. Also, evenly trim the uneven sides of the artichokes, taking care not to cut away too much of the heart. Peel off the skin of the stem ends. As the artichokes are cleaned, drop them into the lemon water. This prevents the artichokes from turning brown. When ready to use, drain and pat them dry.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories …… 575 Fat ………… 38 g Cholesterol .. 140 mg
Sodium ….. 595 mg Carbohydrates .. 51 g Protein ……… 9 g
PASTA FROLLA PICCANTE
(PASTRY DOUGH FOR VEGETABLE TARTS)
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Yield: Dough for two 8- or 9-inch tarts
Chilling time: 1 hour or overnight
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups sweet (unsalted) butter, melted, then brought to room temperature
1. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix together with a pastry blender or the blades of two knives. Little by little, incorporate the butter. Knead the dough, only enough so that the dough sticks together. Coat your hands with a little flour, but take care not to overwork the dough or it will toughen. (The dough can also be made in a food processor. The procedure is as follows: Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter into the bowl of the processor and blend until coarse-crumb consistency. With the machine running, add the eggs and vanilla through the feed tube. Process just a few seconds, until the dough is combined.)
2. Form the dough into two balls, cover each with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight, if possible. It must be refrigerated for at least 1 hour. The dough also freezes well for future use. Instructions for using the dough are given in individual recipes. The recipe is easily divided in half.
Test Kitchen note: This recipe produces a very sweet dough that also can be used for desserts.
Nutrition information per 1/16th of recipe:
Calories …… 340 Fat ………… 18 g Cholesterol .. 120 mg
Sodium ….. 475 mg Carbohydrates .. 40 g Protein ……… 6 g
