The Italian Farmer's Table: Authentic Recipes and Local Lore from Northern Italy [Paperback]

Matthew Scialabba (Author), Melissa Pellegrino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2009

150 recipes from northern Italy’s agriturismi, with beautiful full-color photographs. The Italian Farmer’s Table is a sumptuously illustrated cookbook featuring authentic recipes from more than thirty working family farms in northern Italy.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

150 recipes from northern Italy’s agriturismi, with beautiful full-color photographs

The Italian Farmer’s Table is a sumptuously illustrated cookbook featuring authentic recipes from more than thirty working family farms in northern Italy. These agriturismi provide room and board to travelers and offer cuisine that epitomizes the farm-fresh movement underway in the United States, the United Kingdom, and beyond. Visitors come from all over Europe and North America to indulge in such delights as fresh ricotta cheese made the same morning, prosciutto from free-range pigs, and organic vegetables picked minutes before serving.
 
Professional chefs Matthew Scialabba and Melissa Pellegrino have transcribed 150 northern Italian recipes from these family farms—including many that are seldom found in cookbooks outside of Italy. Full-color photographs and anecdotes about the farms and their residents bring Italy’s glorious countryside to life and illustrate such recipes as:

 Swiss Chard and Ricotta Tarts

 Lavender Encrusted Chicken with Pancetta

 Fried Butternut Squash Ravioli

 Goat Cheese Gnocchi with Walnut Butter Sauce

About the Author

Matthew Scialabba and Melissa Pellegrino, a husband-and-wife cooking and writing team, met while living in Italy. Their shared passion for Italian food and culture led them on many culinary journeys, including apprenticeships at a Roman bakery, studying winemaking at a Ligurian vineyard, graduating from professional culinary schools in Manhattan and Florence, and working and cooking together at several Italian agriturismi.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Three Forks; First edition (November 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762752645
• ISBN-13: 978-0762752645
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 8.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > European > Italian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Italian Farmer's Table, February 23, 2010

By 

Ellen P. Lafleche-christian (Vermont, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Italian Farmer's Table: Authentic Recipes and Local Lore from Northern Italy (Paperback)

The Italian Farmer's Table is more than cookbook, it's a journey through Northern Italy. The Italian Farmer's Table is a paperback cookbook measuring 8 1/2" x 8" and contains 320 pages. This cookbook contains 150 authentic recipes and local lore from different areas of Northern Italy. It has eight chapters each of which focusses on a different area in Northern Italy.



The chapters included are Liguria, Piemonte, Valle D'Aosta, Lombardia, Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna. Each of these chapters includes a beautiful colored map so you can see exactly where each area is in Northern Italy. There are several paragraphs at the front of each chapter that describe that region along with a number of beautiful photographs.



The recipe title is written in both English and Italian which lends to the exotic feel of the cookbook. Each recipe offers a list of ingredients with the measurements in both metric and U.S. equivalents. The instructions are well written and very easy to follow. There's a nice variety of types of recipes including main dishes, soups, salads and desserts.



Some of the recipes call for meats that some cooks may not be familiar using like rabbit and duck. There are a few gourmet cheeses that may be difficult for some cooks to find but substitutions (when available) are listed next to the ingredients list. Throughout the cookbook, there are a number of discussions of wines of the region. The photograhs included are not only of the dishes themselves but of the area farms, kitchens, produce and animals.



The 150 authentic recipes include: Swiss Chard and Ricotta Tarts, Fried Butternut Squash Ravioli, Lavender Encrusted Chicken with Pancetta, Rabbit with Olives and Pine Nuts, Frozen Chocolate Ricotta Cream Cake, Carpaccio with Gorgonzola Sauce, Pears and Walnuts and many more succulent appetizers, side dishes, main courses and desserts!



This cookbook is easily a collector's item. The Italian Farmer's Table will wow you for not only the photograhps and articles but for the scrumptous Italian recipes it offers. It's one of those cookbooks I curl up in a chair with to read.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one is a gem, January 4, 2010

By 

R. Boulia "Krazy for Kookbooks" (Old Saybrook, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Italian Farmer's Table: Authentic Recipes and Local Lore from Northern Italy (Paperback)

I recently devoted a day to preparing a 6 course meal from this cookbook for a dear friend and his family whose roots are from this region. While I was a little nervous about throwing a dinner party with recipes I had never tested or tried I am happy to report that it was a great success. The recipes were easy to follow and all were delicious. This is a great addition to anyone's culinary library. Thanks Matt and Melissa for sharing your story. I hope your future plans include a trip to another region of Italy and another volume of equally special recipes.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even More Reason To Visit Northern Italy, October 24, 2010

By 

AliciaRC (New England) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Italian Farmer's Table: Authentic Recipes and Local Lore from Northern Italy (Paperback)

I had put The Italian Farmer's Table on to my wishlist and kept longingly looking at it, wondering if it would be worth purchasing or not. I finally bit the bullet and was pleasantly surprised when it arrived at my home. Being of Northern Italian descent, I was not only enamored by the beautiful photographs, but the intimate stories and cherished recipes that these agriturismos shared with the authors. I have always wanted a core group of recipes from the region that my family descends, but it is difficult finding them online. With this book, you are afforded variety and substance with the many recipes they provide; there really is something for everyone. I am looking forward to making my way through all of the recipes in this book.

If you are a fan of travel, authentic recipes, beautiful photographs and endearing stories and lore, please pick up this book. It is well worth purchasing and makes a great addition to any home library.