The Duke's Table

March 15, 2013
In 1930, a Sicilian nobleman published a book of Italian vegetarian cooking. Although vegetarianism had not attained the status it enjoys today, Alliata recognized that his fellow Sicilians could scarcely afford to eat red meat on a regular basis. The abundance of fruits and vegetables on the Mediterranean island made vegetarianism a logical and viable alternative, and Alliata set out to document this cuisine. Contemporary cooks may be inspired by his pizzas and mozzarella pies, which make for ideal first courses or cocktail nibbles. He exhibits a puckish sense of humor in presenting a dessert fried egg surprise concocted in a frying pan from apricot halves atop rounds of whipped cream. Recipes have been updated to reflect modern measurements, but Alliata's instructions still need some interpretation, even by a reasonably adept and experienced cook. A novel system of serially numbering recipes makes cross-referencing a breeze and deserves to set a new model for cookbook organization.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)