An A-Z of Pasta
Recipes for Shapes and Sauces, from Alfabeto to Ziti, and Everything in Between: A Cookbook
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
From the award-winning British food writer, the essential book for pasta lovers and fans of all things Italian, featuring a mouth-watering, alphabetical collection of 100 recipes, covering 50 different pasta shapes, from alfabeto to ziti, and everything in between.
"A flat-out joyous celebration of the Italian noodle in all its splendid variousness—personal, deeply-lived, and utterly authoritative. That rare book that you will use for the rest of your life. A gift. Brava! Bravissima!" —Bill Buford, best-selling author of Heat and Dirt
This is the story of pasta. Award-winning food writer Rachel Roddy has lived and cooked in Rome for almost two decades. She has spent years browsing bucolic Italian markets, cooking with fresh and seasonal vegetables, discovering cheeses, and perfecting the art of making Italy’s favorite food: pasta. Now she has condensed everything she’s learned about pasta in a practical, highly entertaining collection of recipes that will ensure authentic Italian meals and take your pasta dishes to the next level. In this cookbook, you will learn the many ways to pair pasta shapes with sauces, how to make certain pastas from scratch and how to best serve them—from Cavatelli with Sausage, Mint, and Tomato to Fregula with Clams; and from Bucatini with Cauliflower, Saffron, and Anchovies to a spaghetti for every night of the week and a Bolognese-style lasagna. Here, too, are short essays that weave together the history, culture, and astonishing variety of pasta shapes from the tip to the toe of Italy.
Featuring the familiar favorites—pesto, ragù, and carbonara—and new twists on classics, as well as tricks and techniques for maximum flavor, An A-Z of Pasta is a glorious celebration of pasta and an excellent addition to any kitchen.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Guardian columnist Roddy (Two Kitchens: 120 Family Recipes from Sicily and Rome) highlights 50 varieties of pasta in this winning collection. Each entry includes a short introduction to and history of the shape being considered, whether anelli, a "factory-made, durum wheat and water dried pastina that comes in various sizes"; penne, which owes its sauce-collecting quill design to a Genovese man who in 1865 patented a machine that cut on the diagonal; or lasagna, which is described in a 14th-century cookbook as dough made into "fingers." Recipes feature traditional pairings as well as Roddy's recommendations—ruote (wagon wheels) matches with ricotta and lemon zest, ziti is drowned in a silky onion and beef sauce—and regional specialties are noted, such as the curly, two-dough gnocchi of Abruzzo and the orecchiette that's handcrafted by women sitting at tables along a street in Puglia's Old Bari. Roddy's knowledge of and passion for her subject are evident on every page, and readers will appreciate the look behind curtain as Roddy recalls her own education, such as honing her ravioli-making skills under Rome chef Carla Tomasi. This would happily complement any collection of Italian cookbooks.
