“Gastronomy of Italy” by Anna del Conte, published by Anova Books
“The 20th Century Chinese scholar Lin Yu Tang said, “We are, in the end, loyal to the food of our youth: perhaps this is what patriotism means.” If that is so I am certainly patriotic, even to the extent of hoping that this book will breed many traitors among non-Italians, who may come to love Italian food for all the fascinations it offers, as well as for the eating of it. Although the food itself is in the foreground of this book, it is my hope that reading it will light up the background, so much of which has never before been described in English.”
Anna del Conte in “Gastronomy of Italy”, 2013 edition, published by Pavilion Books, Anova, London.
A new edition of the seminal tome “Gastronomy of Italy” by Anna del Conte has been published by Pavilion, an imprint of Anova Books.
Even more beautiful than the 1987 and 2001 editions, this revised, new work is the classic, must-buy gift for all lovers of Italian food and cookery.
Multi-award winning Anna del Conte is Britain’s most authoritative food writer, and she is the author of my favourite cookery books. My aged copies of her books are disintegrating through layers of butter, cream and oil. Scholarly, intelligent, concise and practical, she leads you gently into the kitchen and shows you how to cook simple, frugal, easy Italian favourites with the minimum of fuss and cost. All other food writers since {Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson included} use her work as the starting point.
This book is structured alphabetically, showcasing individual ingredients, regions, maps, gastronomic history, recipes and terminology. Nearly 500 pages long, it contains 200 recipes from all the peninsula, including risotto, pasta dishes, meat, fish, game, puddings and breads. It is very heavy and very comprehensive.
You will be dipping in and out continuously, because the compendium is so much more than just a cookbook. A truly exhaustive reference manual, it can also be consulted for its minuteness of detail on unusual and even unknown products, Chefs, food writers and folklore. If you enjoy travelling to Italy and want to learn the Italian food terms, they are all laid out for you from A-Z with English subtitles too. There is no excuse for gesticulating to bewildered Italian waiters any more: from now on fluency and confidence will be the goals.
Beautifully photographed by Laura Edwards in a homely setting, and designed with style by Georgina Hewitt, this new edition will encourage you to try to recreate the tastes and textures that have made Italian cookery so loved and copied all over the world.
Further Information
Anova Books: www.anovabooks.com
Follow on Twitter: @AnovaBooks
Laura Edwards: www.lauraedwards.net
