Sicilian-style vegan cuisine

MENTION SICILY TO PEOPLE WHO ARE FAMILIAR with it, and you'll hear about ancient landscapes, a rich history, and ... lots of food! You can't visit a Sicilian household or business and have only a "little taste." The "taste" could be a glass of hearty wine with crusty bread, a delicate dish of olives, or a bitter, bracing, steaming hot espresso accompanied by anisette toast or candied figs.

Over the years, many conquerors left their culinary mark upon this Southern Italian region. For example, carciofi alla Guida (artichokes done in the Jewish way) dates back to Roman times. Thought to be from Jerusalem by way of Rome, this popular dish is prepared by flattening artichokes and sauteing them in olive oil and bread crumbs.

This history has left a legacy upon today's Sicilian pantry, where you would find pasta and rice, sausage (vegan Soyrizo works well), cheeses (soy Parmesan and mozzarella are terrific substitutes), eggplant or melanzane, capers, olives, cauliflower, artichokes, and onions. Flavorings include fennel, oregano, mint, and sesame seeds for savory dishes and nuts, syrups, and sweet wine for desserts.

Wheat is the grain crop in Sicily, and you'll find pasta, pasta, and more pasta. We've seen sweet pasta, angel hair tossed with raisins and pine nuts; seasonal pasta, ravioli stuffed with pureed winter squash or pumpkin; and flied pasta or pastachiutte (pronounced "pasta-shoot-te"), leftover pasta with sauce that is quickly stir-flied in olive oil for a second-day meal.

With the wheat comes lots of crusty bread and rolls and unleavened bread, eaten dipped in olive oil. San vito pizza is a pizza dough topped with savories, such as chopped olives and minced garlic. Scacciata, or bread pie, is made from two dough rounds that have tomatoes and cheeses sandwiched in between them. You can reproduce these with dough made from scratch or with frozen, thawed pizza dough.

There are lots of pasta dishes that incorporate seafood. The sea figures in the life of Sicily, and fish is an important ingredient. One such recipe is pasta con sarde, a layered pie of pasta with a sauce flavored with fennel, sardines, pine nuts, and white raisins. You can make this dish vegan by using smoked tofu or Tuno, a canned vegan product, instead of sardines.

Also, when you think Sicilian cuisine, you must think of lots of olives! Olive trees provide the shade, the cooking oil, and the "vegetable" for Sicily. Olives are often used to make tapenades, which are traditional, flavorful, and usually vegan! For this dish, the olives are hand-minced into a paste and may be flavored with flesh garlic, onions, basil, sage, thyme, or pepper for variety. The result is served as a coarse dip or to replace oil or butter on bread. (If ordering tapenades in a restaurant, check to ensure that some minced anchovy did not find its way into the dish. Anchovies are plentiful in Sicily and are often used as a flavoring ingredient.)

Southern Italy shows the marriage of the olive and the "golden apple." Tomatoes, or pommodaro (literally "apple of gold"), have been a Sicilian staple since they were introduced from the New World. Combined with the traditional olive, fresh tomatoes can be served as a salsa cruda, or flesh sauce. The tomatoes are chopped and thrown into a saute pan with olive oil, chopped olives, a little garlic, and perhaps some basil. This combination is quickly cooked until the tomatoes are lightly wilted and then the sauce is served over pasta. Olives and breadcrumbs are used to stuff tomatoes that are then either baked or braised until soft.

Classic Sicilian flavoring combinations include basil, olive oil, garlic, and pine nuts (also known as pesto or pistou), or a savory mix of olive oil, parsley, and garlic. These combinations can be used to dress pasta, risotto made with short-grained arborio rice (the pearly-looking variety that is the basis of risotto), seasonal cooked greens, roasted potatoes, and breads. Walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts are plentiful. Often these are used to season sweet and savory dishes or served with fresh or dried fruit.

Sicily has warm summers, and many types of citrus fruit, prickly pear, cactus fruit, melons, and figs grow in season. These fruits are eaten fresh, served simply with a syrup, or dried or canned in syrup or wine for eating year-round. Marsala is a sweet dessert wine, served as a dessert and used as an ingredient in many sweet dishes.

Sicilian cooks take their desserts seriously. It's believed that, in the 800s, the Sarracins introduced Sicily to sophisticated sweets, such as cannoli and cassata, creamy custard studded with raisins. Throwing sugar-coated almonds at weddings for a sweet and fruitful life was thought to originate in Sicily, by way of the Sarracins. Some Sicilian monasteries still compete annually, using closely guarded recipes for candy, confections, and ice creams.

RECIPES

SOUPE AU PISTOU (BEAN SOUP WITH BASIL) (Serves 10)