A new book created by Montrealers with origins in Molise is bringing together stories of tradition, family and cooking. Dalla valigia alla tavola: A journey through Molisan culinary heritage, published by the Federazione delle associazioni molisane del Québec, came together thanks Cassandra Marsillo.
A public historian and educator, 32-year-old Marsillo first thought up the idea in 2018.
“Mainly I was procrastinating from writing my thesis,” Marsillo muses.
Marsillo was born and raised in Montreal – as were her parents – and yet she still remains quite attached to the country her grandparents left. And nothing confirms attachment more than participating in activities organized by the Italian community associations her grandparents belong to. Both groups host annual feasts that center around dishes from il paese. The Associazione di Fraternità Santa Maria Del Molise’s feast is all about pasta e fagioli. The Associazione Sant’Anna di Cantalupo serves up a variety of baccalà dishes at its event.
“Pre-COVID, both of these feasts would get 300 people in the basement hall of Mont Carmel Church. The nonnas in the kitchen. The younger people serving dishes. All the generations are there. Why is this the party that everyone wants to come to? And that’s where the idea came from, exploring the significance of the dishes for all the generations,” she explains.
When Marsillo heard rumors that the Federazione – an umbrella group made up of 17 Montreal associations from the Molise area – was thinking of creating a similar project, she approached them about a collaboration.
“Turns out we both wanted to do a cookbook, so we decided to come together. By the time we were ready to get started it was 2020 and then the pandemic started. But we worked on the project despite the lockdown,” she continues.
The first step was contacting all the Molisan associations to let them know about the project and to rally them to ask members to submit traditional recipes from the hometown.
“It’s not just a cookbook. What was important to us was getting the stories behind the recipes. The family story, the town story, what it was like growing up in Molise. Or, if they didn’t grow up there, what was their connection to the town. And then finally to today. Every interview ended with asking, why do you still make this recipe,” Marsillo explains.
Marsillo, wearing the researcher and writer hats, brought together photographer Vee Di Gregorio, chef Joseph D’Alleva and pastry chef Erica Marsillo to create the book. The foursome all boast roots in Molise as second- and third-generation Italian-Canadians.
The team collected 80 recipes, of which 40 made it into the book. The recipes have origins in 21 different towns in Molise. They cover all aspects of a meal and special holiday dishes. It was important for Marsillo and for the Federation that all the Montreal-based associations were represented in the book.
The biggest challenge was not finding recipes, but rather making them ready for publication.
“You know how the old recipes are. They are not exactly clear and precise. Some of the recipes only had the ingredients, no measurements. If we were lucky there were instructions, but not always.”
“In one recipe we received, flour was the key ingredient. The ingredients list read ‘Farina, quanto basta.’ Another recipe used a glass of wine as a measurement,” Marsillo recalls with delight.
It would take the team two years to make the recipes user-friendly. The chefs tested the recipes until they got them right. Marsillo researched published Molisan cookbooks for guidance.
Funding for the book came via private donors, a grant from the Molise Region, and presales.
“Our biggest worry was, after all this work, all this time and all this money, will anyone actually buy the book? We got almost 900 presale orders! We have to give a shout out to the Molisan associations. They made this happen.”
“Dalla valigia alla tavola is not just about the food. It’s a snapshot of our community and its history, the link between Molise and here over the three generations.”
The book is currently available for sale. To learn more about Dalla valigia alla tavola, please visit famq.net/cookbook.
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