The Inspector Montalbano’s series of books and his favourite dishes were the brainchild of the Sicilian director and author Andrea Calogero Camilleri, born 6 September 1925; died 17 July 2019.
The entire nation is in mourning: RAI 1 news, the state broadcaster, dedicated 80 per cent of its time slot to this news; writers, intellectuals and the highest representatives of the Italian state have expressed their condolences. Even his arch-enemy, Matteo Salvini, minister of the interior and leader of the xenophobic Northern League party — with whom Camilleri had several heated exchanges over the years — has paid tribute to the popular Sicilian writer.
The paragraph above is from an article published in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald on July 20. It is written by Barbara Pezzotti, a lecturer in Italian Studies at Monash University. She is the author of three monographs dedicated to Italian crime fiction and has extensively published on Andrea Camilleri.
Camilleri is the author of numerous books, but in Australia he is perhaps best known for his Montalbano novels and has become one of the most-loved crime fiction writers in the world.
His books have been published worldwide and translated into 32 languages, including Catalan and Gaelic. The highly successful television series, inspired by Montalbano’s books, became an international success and was broadcast in Australia by SBS. The series’ depiction of beautiful Sicily has undoubtedly encouraged many travellers.
Following the death of Andrea Camilleri last week, a relative from Ragusa, Sicily, sent me an article from Ragusa News. This online publication covers news and interest stories from the Ragusa Province and nearby towns, including Vittoria, Modica, Comiso, Scicli, Pozzallo and Ispica.
The article is called Domenica a pranzo onoriamo Camilleri con la pasta ‘Ncasciata (On Sunday for lunch let us honour Camilleri with pasta Ncasciata).
Sunday lunch is still an important family occasion in Sicily and Pasta ‘Ncasciata is a Sicilian version of oven baked pasta; it is one of Montalbano’s favorite things to eat. It is prepared for him by his housekeeper, Adelina.
In his Montalbano series, Camilleri describes almost every dish that the character consumes, all of which are traditionally Sicilian.
Sicily has many variations of Pasta ‘Ncasciata, each with distinct ingredient combinations. The most notable is from Messina, and the recipe in this article appears to be the Messinese version. It is made with commercial, short-shaped pasta layered with tomato meat sauce, mortadella or salami, fried eggplant, caciocavallo cheese, salami and hard-boiled eggs.
Apart from Pasta ‘Ncasciata, Montalbano has other favourites, which I have also written about in my blog and first book, Sicilian Seafood Cooking.
Spaghetti con ricci di mare:
SEA URCHINS – how to clean and eat them (RICCI DI MARE)
SPAGHETTI CHI RICCI – SPAGHETTI CON RICCI DI MARE (Spaghetti with sea urchins)
Rice or Pasta with Black Ink sauce:
MONTALBANO’S PASTA WITH BLACK INK SAUCE
Pasta con le sarde:
PASTA CON LE SARDE, Iconic Sicilian made easy
PASTA CON LE SARDE, an iconic Sicilian recipe from Palermo. Cooked at Slow Food Festival Melbourne
Arancini:
GREAT BRITISH CHEFS, GREAT ITALIAN CHEFS, Feature articles by Marisa Raniolo Wilkins
ARANCINI (where else… but in Hong Kong!)
ARANCINI, Rice Balls at Caffé di Lido
Caponata:
CAPONATA Catanese (from Catania) made easy with photos
CAPONATA FROM PALERMO (made with eggplants)
A MOUNTAIN OF CAPONATA – two days before Christmas
Sarde a beccafico:
SARDE A BECCAFICO (Sardines stuffed with currants, pine nuts, sugar and nutmeg)
Cassata:
SICILIAN CASSATA and some background (perfect for an Australian Christmas)
SICILIAN CASSATA and MARZIPAN AT EASTER (Food and Culture in Sicily, La Trobe University)
CASSATA DECONSTRUCTED – a postmodernist take on Sicilian Cassata
CASSATA (It is perfect for an Australian Christmas)
CASSATA ( Post no. 2) Calls for a celebration!!!
love the show, my husband and I just started watching this year, have to make the pasta ncasciata! I don’t see the recipe here
No, no recipe for this. I have recipes but have never made it, therefore I do not provide a recipe on my blog. There are plenty of versions n the web.The series is wonderful, isn’t it?
I found the programme whilst teaching in China and just loved it. I watched it again when going back to Australia on holidays and am now in the UK and watching all the programmes again. It’s one of the best programmes on the box, far better than all the trashy so called reality programmes. I just wish I could cook some of those dishes that Montalbano eats at Enzo’s