My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy's Undiscovered South

Recipes for easily accessible, fresh-from-the-garden Italian food from a Calabrian native and "bountiful good cook" (The Atlantic).

At the tip of Italy's "boot" lies Calabria. It is a beautiful, mountainous region populated by fishermen and small farmers. Rosetta Costantino grew up in this rugged landscape―her father a shepherd and wine maker and her mother his tireless assistant.

When her family immigrated to California, they re-created a little Calabria on their property, cooking with eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers from their garden, fresh ricotta made from scratch, and pasta fashioned by hand. A frugal people, Calabrians are master preservers, transforming fresh figs into jam, canning fresh tuna in oil, and sun-drying peppers for the winter. Now Rosetta shares her family's story and introduces readers to the fiery simplicity of Calabrian food. The first cookbook of a little-known region of Italy, My Calabria celebrates the richness of the region's landscape and the allure of its cuisine. This is a cookbook for our time: a reminder of how ingenious and resourceful cooks can create a gorgeous local cuisine. 100 color photographs

Born and raised in Verbicaro, Calabria, Rosetta Costantino teaches cooking classes and lives in Oakland, California.

Janet Fletcher, a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, is the author of numerous books on food and wine. She lives in Napa Valley.