cover image RUSTICO: Regional Italian Country Cooking

RUSTICO: Regional Italian Country Cooking

Micol Negrin, . . Clarkson Potter, $35 (416pp) ISBN 978-0-609-60944-6

As the former editor of the Magazine of La Cucina Italiana and Italian Cooking & Living, Negrin could have churned out any number of recipes for well-known classic dishes from Italy's 20 regions and left it at that. But Negrin set herself a larger challenge and succeeded admirably. She has bypassed the more familiar regional specialties to focus on lesser-known gems and has made an effort to eschew frou-frou cooking for home-style dishes. In doing so, she points up yet again why Italian cuisine is one of the world's best—it offers a seemingly unending supply of surprising, fresh and delicious traditional dishes. Take a region such as Tuscany, which has been trampled by millions of tourists and has been the subject of so many cookbooks. There, Negrin finds Deep-Fried Sage Leaves, which sandwich bits of anchovy, Chestnut Flour Polenta with Sausage and Scallions, and Braised Squid with Chili, Greens, and Tomatoes. So often in regional Italian books, less glamorous regions are paired with overpowering neighbors, so that it is rare to read about the minuscule region of Molise (about a third the size of Rhode Island), but Negrin has taken the time to tease out the differences and has discovered thrifty specialties such as Hand-Cut Pasta Squares in Asparagus Cream with homemade pasta that finishes cooking in an asparagus purée. Negrin has also avoided the trap of focusing too much on Italy's deservedly famous first courses and offers in abundance antipasti (Spicy Robiola Cheese and Onion Spread from Piedmont), breads (Cheese-Stuffed Focaccia from Recco in Liguria), second courses (the Aeolian Islands' Herb-Stuffed Tuna Bundles from Sicily) and desserts (Nut-and-Fruit "Snake" of the Capuchin Nuns from Umbria). Recipes are lucid and easy to follow, and chapter introductions stylishly and accurately convey a sense of place, while sidebars offer bits of folklore. (Sept.)

Forecasts:This is a truly outstanding take original enough to revive what sometimes feels like a tired subject. With this comprehensive volume—her first—Negrin stands poised to become an Italian expert on the level of Faith Willinger or even Marcella Hazan. Expect robust sales.