Southern Italian Desserts: Rediscovering the Sweet Traditions of Calabria, Campania, Basilicata, Puglia, and Sicily

313 Pages·2013·8.02 MB·English

by  Rosetta Costantino

To my children, Adrian and Danielle
Copyright © 2013 by Rosetta Costantino
Photographs copyright © 2013 by Sara Remington
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a
division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com
Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House,
Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Costantino, Rosetta.
Southern Italian desserts / Rosetta Costantino ; with Jennie Schacht ; photographs by Sara
Remington.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Desserts. 2. Cooking, Italian—Southern style 3. Cookbooks. I. Schacht, Jennie. II. Remington,
Sara. III. Title.
TX773.C6366 2013
641.86—dc23
2012046952
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60774-402-3
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60774403-0
Food Styling by Katie Christ
Prop Styling by Dani Fisher
v3.1

Contents
Acknowledgments
An Introduction to Southern Italian Desserts
A Southern Italian Dessert Pantry
Sicilia
1
Campania
2
Calabria
3
Puglia and Basilicata
4
Master Recipes
5
Sources
Bibliography
Conversion Charts
About the Authors
Index

Acknowledgments
I would never have written this book if not for my agent, Carole Bidnick,
who asked me to write it. Many thanks to Celia Sack, owner of
Omnivore Books on Food in San Francisco, California, who planted the
idea for this cookbook in Carole’s head. Special thanks to my editor at
Ten Speed, Jenny Wapner, who believed in this book from the moment
she first tasted my cannolo gelato, and to Andrea Chesman for her
careful copyediting, and Betsy Stromberg for her enticing design.
Many thanks to Jennie Schacht for helping me with all the writing and
for sharing her valuable knowledge of baking. Thanks to Randy Hicks,
my cooking class assistant, for helping with editing the recipes and
assisting with some challenging desserts. Thanks to photographer Sara
Remington, who spent days driving with me all over Southern Italy to
capture its beauty. She worked so hard with her food stylist, Katie
Christ, and prop stylist, Dani Fisher, to make the food look gorgeous.
Thanks to Holly Bern, Lisa Hanson, Rita Croda, Cyndi Wong, and
Christina Kaelberer for testing my recipes and providing their
constructive feedback.
I could not have written this book without the encouragement of my
husband, Lino, and my children, Danielle and Adrian. My husband drove
us thousands of miles all around Southern Italy during our summer
vacation to whatever little town I requested in search of unknown
sweets, keeping his sense of humor all the while. My son Adrian helped
with testing all the recipes, tasting the desserts and providing his honest
and constructive feedback, then bringing them to share with the
wonderful teachers at his high school. I also thank my sister-in-law,
Giuseppina Costantino, a physician in Palermo whose favorite hobby is
baking desserts. Giuseppina shared many of the recipes that have added
so much to this book.
I offer special thanks to the many Southern Italian people who offered
their time, warm hospitality, and recipes: Pasquale Marigliano of San
Gennariello di Ottaviano (Campania) allowed us to photograph him in
his shop and demonstrated how to shape a sfogliatella. Manuela
Piancastelli of Terre del Principe Agriturismo in Castel Campagnano
(Campania) shared her recipe and introduced me to Pasquale. Antonio
Cafiero of Gelateria Primavera in Sorrento (Campania) and his pastry
chef, Silvana Parlato, showed me how to make the delizie di limone of
Sorrento. Angie Cafiero introduced me to Antonio and shared her
knowledge of the history of Neapolitan desserts. Massimiliano
Avagliano, the pastry chef at Pasticceria Pantaleone in Salerno
(Campania), shared his famous cake, the scazzetta del cardinale. Antonio
Belcastro of Café Ninì in Diamante (Calabria) shared his tartufo recipe.
Gaspare Abbate of La Cubana pastry shop in Palermo (Sicily) permitted
us to photograph pastry chef Salvo La Porta making cannoli and
cassatelle. Pasticceria Paradise in Palermo allowed us to take pictures of
all their pastries. Maria Grammatico of her eponymous pastry shop in
Erice (Sicily) spent time with us in her tiny shop and let us photograph
her making her special almond pastries. Pietro Lecce of San Lorenzo Si
Alberga and La Tavernetta restaurant in Camigliatello Silano (Calabria)
shared his fig syrup recipe. Mary Taylor Simeti took time out of her busy
schedule to share her vast knowledge of the history of Sicilian desserts.
Patrick O’Boyle shared his family pastiera recipe. Many thanks to Rita
Callipo of Agriturismo Casa Janca in Pizzo (Calabria), Margherita
Amasino of Dattilo Ristorante in Strongoli (Calabria), Francesco
Abbondanza of L’Abbondanza Lucana in Matera (Basilicata), Vincenzo
Altieri of La Dolce Vita B&B in Matera, and to Laura Giordano, Antonello
Losito, Roberto Bonanno, Giusi Di Benedetto, Silvana Bruno, Salvatore
Germano and Anna Papa, and Italian food importer Rolando Beramendi.
Many thanks to my cousins in Calabria: Vincenzo and Umberto Celia,
Maria and Rosetta Torrano, and their families.
Finally, I thank my parents for giving me the greatest gift: teaching me
everything they know about cooking.