The Authentic Italian Kitchen: Seafood

REGIONAL ITALIAN SEAFOOD, the English-language translation of La Grande Cucina Marinara, is the second appearance in the United States of Italy's well-known Cartapaglia series of topical and regional Italian cookbooks, which have been published in Italy since 1978. These cookbooks contain authentic recipes that have been used successfully in Italian kitchens for years.

SEAFOOD travels the coastline of Italy, touching every region from Liguria in the Northwest to Venezia-Giulia in the northeast, and then goes on to the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. For each region, it presents representative recipes for the seafood dishes that predominate in these rich coastal waters. The ingredients are all readily available in good seafood markets in the United States. The book includes an introduction with descriptions of the different types of fish and a guide to selecting them and preparing them for cooking.

Like the original Italian editions, SEAFOOD is hand-bound in the same cardboard covers and printed on the same yellow Italian butcher paper. While English translations of the recipes have been substituted for the Italian, the whimsical illustrations, which are integrated into the Italian titles of the recipes, have been retained, giving the book its unique charm.

"SEAFOOD gives those of us who avoid cooking fish a good head start concerning the methods of cleaning and preparing each of the many varieties of fish and shellfish in its pages. It also includes a guide that explains what to look for and what to avoid when browsing the seafood section of the supermarket" -- Voices, 8/30/95