The Southern Italian Table: Authentic Tastes from Traditional Kitchens - Hardcover

Schwartz, Arthur

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 030738134X ISBN 13: 9780307381347

Publisher: Clarkson Potter, 2009

Synopsis

Southern Italian food—from bruschetta and tomato sauce to spaghetti and meatballs—is the most talked about and home cooked food in America. And the area's sleepy hill towns and rocky coastlines have become "it" destinations for in-the-know foodies and travelers from all over the world.

For more than a decade, award-winning cookbook author Arthur Schwartz delved deep into each region of Southern Italy, inviting himself into rustic home kitchens, making friends, and dining at the best local restaurants. Now, in The Southern Italian Table, he presents 130 recipes that celebrate local ingredients and simple flavor combinations behind authentic Southern Italian cuisine.

Follow Schwartz along country roads and city side streets to discover Neapolitan Pizza, Baked Tomato Sauce, and Walnut Pie from Campania, where tomatoes grow better than anywhere else in the world and walnuts ripen sweet and plump in the winter. From the mountainous region of Molise comes hearty Lamb Stew, and from the dry climate and wheat fields of Puglia hail dishes such as Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Charcoal-Roasted Artichokes. Calabria's diverse landscape inspires Pasta Disks with Shrimp, Fennel Seed, and Arugula and Lamb Chops with Black Olives. Risotto with Sausage and Smoked Cheese showcases Basilicata's famous pork sausages and scamorza cheese, and Sicily's Salt-Seared Swordfish with Garlic and Mint, Ground Pork Ragł with Chocolate, and classic Apple Cake exemplify the island's variety of culinary influences.


The Southern Italian Table is organized from antipasti (appetizers) to dolci (sweets), and written for the American home cook. With beautiful full-color photography, easy-to-find ingredients, and headnotes and sidebars that put the recipes in historical and cultural context, Arthur Schwartz's new cookbook will become a dog-eared favorite and a friendly guide to la vita italiana.

About this title

Review

From The Southern Italian Table: Macaroni with Zucchini and Ricotta

I learned this dish from Gerardina Costanza, one of Cecilia’s amazing cooks and one of the women who assist me in my Cook at Seliano classes. This is a dish of few ingredients and very much about technique. The zucchini is cut two ways, into batons and finely chopped in a food processor. I especially like this sauce on elicone, "helicopters," whose large spirals catch the zucchini strips like no other pasta does. -- Arthur Schwartz

Ingredients

• 4 medium zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 small onion
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely shredded flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound large macaroni, such as elicone, paccheri, or rigatoni
• 1 cup ricotta, at room temperature
• Grated Parmigiano or pecorino cheese

(Serves six)

Directions

Cut 3 of the zucchini into fine strips, about 3 inches long by 1/4 inch. Chop the fourth very finely in a food processor. Slice the onion in half from root to stem end, then cut into fine strips in the same direction.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the zucchini strips until a few are just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and fry another 3 or 4 minutes, until the onion is wilted but still a little bit crunchy.

Add the grated zucchini and toss well with the already fried vegetables. Toss in the parsley. Fry only 1 minute, seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer the vegetables to a large serving bowl.

Cook the pasta in at least 4 quarts of boiling water with 2 tablespoons of salt. Drain well and pour the pasta into the bowl with the vegetables. Add the ricotta and toss well.

Serve immediately, passing grated cheese at the table.

About the Author

ARTHUR SCHWARTZ has written five award-winning cookbooks, including Arthur Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking, the 2009 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) American Cookbook of the Year; Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food, the 2005 IACP Cookbook of the Year; and Naples at Table, which has been heralded as the definitive resource on Neapolitan cooking. He has owned and operated a cooking school in Southern Italy since 2001. Visit him at www.TheFoodMaven.com.

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarkson Potter
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 030738134X
• ISBN 13: 9780307381347
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256