Truly, Madly Pasta: The Ultimate Book for Pasta Lovers [Hardcover]

Ursula Ferrigno (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2003

Elegant or simple, humble or classic, the infinite variety of pasta has made it a contemporary staple and the original five-minute meal. With more than 150 truly authentic recipes, this comprehensive cookbook covers everything the pasta fanatic needs to know--from dough and shapes to sauces and stuffings. Eating pasta is meant to be a sensual experience--with each of the various textures awakening the palate--and this book evokes this experience like no other in mouthwatering photographs that accompany each recipe.

The book opens with an informative chapter on making your own fresh pasta, including specialist needs such as wheat-free pastas. Following are chapters on Pasta Soups, Instant Pasta, Everyday Pasta, Light and Healthy Pasta, and Pasta to Impress. Throughout the book are master class recipes built to lend themselves to myriad variations, according to taste and seasonal availability; you could develop a new and delicious pasta meal for every day of the year. Innovative methods for cooking pasta, such as baking in parchment paper, simmering in broth, poaching in a roll, deep frying, and baking in a sweet tart are presented in stunning stylish photography that demonstrates how to prepare and serve pasta.

With an enthusiastic Italian chef as your guide, Truly, Madly Pasta offers up a treasury of authentic recipes that are sourced from every region of Italy, as well as from the author's own family and friends.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Frequently leaving her London digs to teach cooking in her native Italy, Ferrigno (Risotto) assembles more than 150 recipes in this oddly titled book based on the ingredient she extols as "a complex-carbohydrate food" that "isn't high in calories at all," although she concedes that sauces often are. Not exactly "ultimate," this is more suitable to cooks new to the joys of pasta, because it is heavily weighted toward such mainstays as Pasta with Garlic and Oil, Farfalle with Gorgonzola Cream, and Spaghetti with Mushrooms. Recipes are arranged in six sections-"Soups," "Instant," "Everyday," "Light and Healthy," "Cook Ahead" and "Pasta to Impress"-and nearly all are within easy reach of cooks at any level. Among the most appealing are Conchiglie with Roasted Vegetables, Roasted Bell Pepper Pesto with Penne Rigate and Lasagne with Meatballs. The pastas to impress include Cheese Cappellacci with Bolognese Sauce (egg- and cheese-stuffed morsels shaped like bishops' miters) and Spinach, Ricotta and Tomato Pasta Roll, which is a long stuffed roll, wrapped in cheesecloth and boiled for 30 minutes, then sliced and broiled for five more. As expected from Rizzoli, the 175 color photos are sumptuous, including an 18-photo sequence demonstrating the steps for making pasta by hand.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The staple food of Italy and now a worldwide favourite, pasta lends itself to every situation - a quick 5 minute supper for those on the run, baked for family gatherings, in soups for a light snack. Combined with fresh vegetables, fish or rich red meat, it is a guaranteed choice for satisfying every palate. Celebrated Italian chef Ursula Ferrigno departs from her usual vegetarian-only recipes, including a meat-lovers to-die-for array of recipes - pappardelle with rabbit sauce, veal meatballs and chicken strangozzi with courgette flowers. For vegetarians Ursula shares her exquisite pasta concoctions such as pizzocheri della valtellina, pasta con calabrese and fish dishes galore. Tantalisingly photographed by Peter Cassidy, the book presents a visual feast of sumptuous ideas, each page offering fresh ideas on how to use this versatile ingredient. From fresh homemade pasta to dried, she shares her innate experience of this Italian speciality now so easily available. Gleaned from all corners of Italy, her dishes are redolent of the climate and the people, providing a healthy style of living so amenable to our everyday lives. - Lucy Watson --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli (May 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847825477
• ISBN-13: 978-0847825479
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 0.8 x 10.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,949,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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