• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Flavor of Italy

  • HOME
  • PODCAST
    • Subscribe Now
    • Food & Wine Episodes
    • Travel Episodes
    • Lifestyle & Culture Episodes
    • Artists & Artisans Episodes
    • All Episodes
  • TRIPS & TRAVEL
    • My Top Travel Picks
    • When in Rome
    • Day Trips in Italy
    • Weekend Trips in Italy
    • Week-long Trips in Italy
    • Discover the Italian Regions
  • RECIPES
    • Trending Recipes
    • Antipasti (Appetizers)
    • Primi (First Course)
    • Pasta (First Course)
    • Secondi (Main Course)
    • Contorni (Side Dishes)
    • Breads
    • Desserts
  • ABOUT
  • Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
  • HOME
  • PODCAST
    • Subscribe Now
    • Food & Wine Episodes
    • Travel Episodes
    • Lifestyle & Culture Episodes
    • Artists & Artisans Episodes
    • All Episodes
  • TRIPS & TRAVEL
    • My Top Travel Picks
    • When in Rome
    • Day Trips in Italy
    • Weekend Trips in Italy
    • Week-long Trips in Italy
    • Discover the Italian Regions
  • RECIPES
    • Trending Recipes
    • Antipasti (Appetizers)
    • Primi (First Course)
    • Pasta (First Course)
    • Secondi (Main Course)
    • Contorni (Side Dishes)
    • Breads
    • Desserts
  • ABOUT
  • Connect

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
  • ×

    October 19, 2021

    Sicilian Food & the Monsù Cuisine

    The history of the monsù cuisine in Sicily dates back to the 17th century when French nobility traveled to Sicily, along with their chefs (the monsù), who created a fusion of elegant and refined French food with luscious, agriculturally based Sicilian dishes. 

    About Angela Macaluso

    Angela is Sicilian born and has been living in Cefalù for the past 20 years. She is a travel designer and her company, Sicily by Experts, creates out of the box custom experiences for visitors to Sicily. In Palermo Angela organizes visits to noble palaces from the 15th and 16th centuries, with the opportunity to get to know the noble family and their Sicilian monsù cuisine. Visitors prepare local dishes with the noble family and then sit down to enjoy a meal with them.
    Angela is originally from a small Sicilian mountain town near Palermo, Polizzi Generosa. It's also the hometown of Martin Scorsese's grandmother, and Dolce & Gabbana owner Domenico Dolce.
    Find Angela on the Sicily by Experts website and Facebook.

    The Leopard by Lampedusa 

    Lampedusa lived from 1896 to 1958, and The Leopard was published posthumously just a year after his death. Lampedusa was a prince and during the war his noble palace was bombed and destroyed.
    The Leopard is considered to be the best of 20th century historical fiction. Throughout The Leopard Lampedusa imparts a strong sense of Sicily and its culture during the Risorgimento, from the second half of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th-century.
    It's possible to visit the opulent and elegant Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi where the grand ball in The Leopard was filmed and spend time with the palazzo princess, Carine Vanni Calvello Mantegna di Gangi.

    Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi in Palermo, where you can meet the palace princess and learn to prepare Sicilian food and the Monsù cuisine

    She shares her insights into The Leopard, the history of Sicilian nobility and the monsù culinary tradition. Here’s a 2015 interview with her in Elle Magazine.
    The family mansion in the film is the gorgeous palazzo Villa Boscogrande, located in Mondello, a seaside resort north of Palermo.

    Palazzo Villa Boscogrande, Palermo, used to film The Leopard

    You can rent this gorgeous palazzo for weddings and other events, plus their fabulous chef prepares wonderful meals for major holidays, as well as delicious Sicilian monsù cuisine dishes.

    Delicious rustic dish at Villa Boscogrande

    Have a look at Villa Boscogrande on Instagram.

    Sicilian Cuisine

    Angela loves this quote from an Italy travel book she ran across that says “If you know Italy but you have never been to Sicily then you don't know Italy at all.”
    Historically Sicily has been a cultural and culinary crossroads of civilizations: the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Normans, and the Arabs who brought the sweet and sour culinary tradition to Sicily.
    Southern Sicily has a baroque culinary heritage, Agrigento is a Greek town, central Sicily is Roman. Palermo is a blend of Baroque, Norman and Byzantine.
    Sicily is a blend of all these cultures and that’s reflected in the island’s gastronomic heritage and dishes.
    One example is caponata, the wonderful Sicilian sweet and sour dish made with eggplant, tomatoes, olives, celery, capers.

    Sicilian vegetable-based, sweet & sour Caponata
    Photo courtesy of thespruceeats.com

    In southern Sicily near Modica (famous for its chocolate production) locals add chocolate to the dish.

    Tasting chocolate at Bonajuto in Modica, Sicily
    Sampling chocolate made in Modica

    Find out all about Modica’s chocolate here.
    If you travel to Etna locals add almonds and pistachios to their caponata.

    Monsù Cuisine

    Two events occured that changed the trend of European cuisine and gastronomy. New foods started to arrive from the New World, like tomatoes and potatoes. This, coupled with the growing political influence of France within Europe, paved the way for French cuisine to take over as the symbol of refined and elegant cuisine.
    Sicily, Naples and Italy in general, began to follow and emulate France and its cuisine and gastronomic tradition.
    In the 17th century princes who visited Sicily and Naples brought along their chefs, called monsieur, which translated to monsù in Sicilian dialect and monzù in Neapolitan dialect.
    Sicilian (and Neapolitan) nobility looked to the French chefs, or monsù, to re-interpret Sicilian and Neapolitan cuisine with a French twist and create a fusion of the very best of these cuisines. Both Sicilian and Neapolitan cuisine are based in a rich agricultural tradition and this was combined with the elegance and refinement of French dishes.
    One example is the French gateau made with potatoes from the New World. The French made a light and fluffy mashed potato dish and the monsù kitchen combined this dish with Sicilian and Neapolitan ingredients like peas and other vegetables, a ragù sauce, eggs, ham and other meats to create gattò. Here's a recipe.
    Another well known Sicilian monsù cuisine dish is Timballo del Gattopardo. Timballo is a baked dish made with maccheroni, a ragù meat sauce, peas, fried eggplant, zucchini, and sometimes a béchamel sauce. It's then topped with breadcrumbs and baked. Here's a recipe.

    Sicilian Monsù cuisine: Timballo del Gattopardo
    Photo courtesy of https://www.marcoskitchen.it/it/timballo-del-gattopardo-2/

    Many regions throughout Italy, including northern Lazio where Rome’s located, refer to lasagna and other baked pasta and rice dishes as a timballo.

    Delicious baked lasagna, also known as timballo, especially in Sicilian monsù cuisine

    One of my favorite Sicilian cookbooks is Cucina Siciliana: Fresh and vibrant recipes from a unique Mediterranean island, by Ursula Ferrigno.

    Cucina Siciliana by Ursula Ferrigno

    Here's a book of traditional monsù recipes, in Italian.

    More about Sicily & Sicilian food

    Read (and listen): Eating Your Way through Sicily and The Best Palermo Street Food.
    If you'd like to take a deep dive into Sicily check out this Flavor of Sicily weeklong culinary and cultural trip.
    If you love Italian hand-painted ceramics one of the best spots is in Caltagirone, Sicily.

    De Maio hand-painted Italian ceramic floor tiles from Vietri

    I make a small commission on purchases made through links on my website. Prices are identical for you, but purchasing through my links helps support my work to bring you great recipes, podcast episodes, culinary and travel information.

    You may also be interested in:

    Share On:
    « Calabrian Citrons, ancient and aromatic
    Culinary Walking Tour of Rome »

    Reader Interactions

    Trackbacks

    1. A Sicilian Food Guide says:
      February 22, 2022 at 11:56 am

      […] noodles. Baked pastas, with or without a pastry crust, pay nod to Sicily’s aristocratic monsú tradition which dates back to the 17th century. French nobility traveled to Sicily along with their chefs and […]

      Reply

    Please leave your comment here. Your feedback is important! Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    About

    Wendy at Roscioli
    I’m American and I’ve lived in Italy for nearly four decades with my Italian family. My passion and strength lies in sharing Italian stories, recipes and unique travel insights on my blog, my Flavor of Italy trips and tours, newsletter and podcast. Continue Reading...

    Follow Flavor of Italy

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Latest Additions

    • Eggs in Italy - what you need to know
    • Venice: insider's guide to the best wines + 4 wineries to visit
    • The Apollo and Daphne myth reimagined in The Latinist
    • In-Person or Virtual Regional Italian Cooking Classes
    • Italian Designers: 5 artisanal designers you need to know
    • Pastiera Napoletana – Traditional Easter dessert from Naples, Italy
    • Jacobini Winery, Lazio
    Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content

    Footer

    Flavor of Italy

    Email: flavorofitaly@gmail.com

    • Home
    • Trips & Travel
    • When in Rome
    • Italian Cooking Classes
    • Privacy Policy

    Enter your email to receive our latest posts direct to your inbox. You can also subscribe to our newsletter for more insights, news and promotions by clicking here.

    © 2005–2022 Flavor of Italy

     

    Loading Comments...
     

      We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok