My Calabria

Additional Details

Description: At the far southern end of Italy's "boot" lies Calabria. It is a beautiful, mountainous region populated by fishermen and small farmers. Rosetta Costantino grew up in this rugged land -- her father a shepherd and cheese maker and her mother his tireless assistant. 

When her family immigrated to Oakland, California, they re-created a little Calabria on their property, cooking with eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers from their garden, making fresh ricotta and pasta from scratch. Like all Calabrians, they are master preservers and continue to transform fresh figs into jam, to can fresh tuna in oil, and to sun-dry peppers for the winter. 

Now Rosetta shares her family's story and introduces readers to the simplicity of Calabrian food with 150 recipes. The first major cookbook of a little-known region of Italy, My Calabria celebrates the region's rich way of life and the allure of its cooking. Rosetta gives us the full range of dishes from antipasti to desserts. Each recipe calls for only a handful of ingredients for a scrumptious meal that comes together quickly. Topping garlic-rubbed pieces of toast with marinated fish for Warm Seafood Crostini couldn't be easier. A casserole layers baby artichokes and potatoes with only breadcrumbs and pecorino cheese for a healthy one-dish feast. Another one-dish meal is a specialty of Calabria, pitta, a pizza stuffed with chard and dill. For meat lovers, there are wide noodles served with falling-off-the-bone baby back ribs. And an ice cream truffle, tartufo, makes for an intriguing finish to a meal. You'll also learn about the cheeses, salumi, and pastas unique to Calabria, illustrated in full-color photographs, and you'll find recipes for curing olives, preserving fresh vegetables, and making fruit jams. 

Among this book's unique features: color photographs shot on location in Calabria and in Rosetta's (and her parents') backyard in Oakland; suggestions for Southern Italian wines with nearly every recipe; valuable ingredient notes and sources on the staples of the Calabrian pantry; and an armchair tour with detailed descriptions of the region's provinces and specialties. This is a cookbook for our time: a reminder of how ingenious cooks can create a delicious local cuisine. 

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Condition: Good condition.