History colours Sicily's cuisine

Sicily's cuisine is quite different from that of its neighbour, Italy, thanks to its colourful history. It was in turn colonised, conquered, or ruled by Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Spanish, Norse, French and Italians, all of whom have left their distinctive flavours in the food and produce.

Manuela Darling-Gansser's Spring in Sicily: Food from an ancient island (Hardie Grant, hbk, $65) does it in true coffee-table style, with glorious photographs by Simon Griffiths, a mouth-watering selection of recipes from around the island and an account of her culinary tour.

With recipes for popular dishes such as tuna in many styles, cassata, involtini (rolls) from aubergine to veal, and of course, timbale of baked pasta, it's a titillating treat to browse through.

However, far more interesting to read and cook from is Mary Taylor Simeti's Sicilian Food: Recipes from Italy's Abundant Isle (Wakefield, pbk, $35), first published as Pomp and Sustenance 20 years ago.

Simeti, an American who married a Sicilian, writes with inside knowledge and deep involvement with the culinary history of her adopted home. She has both the scholarship and the ease of earlier British writers such as Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson.

Even though the book is not illustrated, Simeti's descriptive powers and observations on eating habits and culture immerse the reader deep in the heart (and stomach) of Sicily.

The recipes, updated for modern cooks, are a treasure, some dating from the days of Odysseus, such as fava bean soup, and range through simple flavourful peasant fare that allows nothing to go to waste, to the elaborate baroque creations of the 18th- and 19th-century aristocracy's chefs.