By Scott Ferguson
It's hard to believe that it's been 17 years since Lidia Bastianich's first book, La Cuciana di Lidia, was published. In that time, she's grown from a well respected restaurateur in New York City to one of the most successful figures in the fiercely competitive world of American food. She has four bestselling cookbooks, multiple restaurants, and long-running PBS television shows in her resume. Now, with the publication of Lidia's Italy, she confirms the reason for her celebrity: She's so easy to be with, and her style is so accessible. Not only can she write recipes that make you want to get up and start cooking, but also she tells you more—a touch of autobiography, a tidbit of history, the story of the discovery of a dish for the first time, an odd fact about an ingredient. It makes you feel like you're sitting in Lidia's kitchen with her and a few of your best friends, a glass of wine at hand, a dish of appropriate antipasti being passed around, and, even better, you're cooking right along with her.
Lidia's Italy is written in 10 sections, each one devoted to a specific culinary region of that amazing country. It's a companion to her new PBS series of the same name, which begins airing in April. Starting in Istria, the region of Croatia where Lidia was born and only 10 miles from Trieste, she travels loosely from north to south on a journey that will have you wishing you were right there by her side.
An important feature of this book is that each chapter ends with visitors' tour notes. These are written by Lidia's daughter, Tanya Bastianich Manuali, who has a Ph.D. from Oxford University in Renaissance history and leads food, wine, and art tours of Italy. Don't skip over these sections, because you will find them becoming more and more essential as you get further into the book. You're going to find yourself wanting more. A book on Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily and Jerusalem, and his castles will appeal immediately to anyone who has read "Castel del Monte: The Emperor's Octagon" in the chapter on Puglia.
As long as we're in Puglia, I must mention the recipe for Bucatini with Toasted Bread Crumbs. Sounds kind of dull, right? I read this on a rainy, gloomy, Michigan winter afternoon while waiting for an auto repair to be finished (and dreading the cost). This is an economy recipe at the ultimate level: eight ingredients, with the most expensive being one pound of bucatini pasta. I must have read it about six times, each time with increasing awe at its simplicity: so easy, so simple, and so savory. Dinner that evening was that dish (and the repair turned out to be minor: the best of both worlds!).
Readers may be surprised to learn from Lidia how strongly the cooking of the Austro-Hungarian Empire influenced the food of far northeastern Italy. But when you consider that Trieste was ruled by Austria-Hungary for more than 500 years, the presence of paprika in its food is not really out of place. A recipe for beef goulash in an Italian cookbook now makes sense, and if you try it you'll be convinced that at least one good thing did come out of all those years of foreign occupation.
A few other recipes from the tour are especially fascinating to me: Sandy Cake (from Padova and Treviso), Ziti with Tomatoes, Eggplant, and Salted Ricotta (Sicily), Velvety Cornmeal-Spinach Soup (Friuli), Sausages with Fennel and Olives (Rome), and Vermicelli with Clam Sauce (Naples). These and many others are on my list of recipes that must be tested soon. As you read this book, you, too, will find yourself rabbit-earring pages with the same anticipation.
Traveling through the country with Lidia, you'll notice that the meals seem to get lighter and somewhat simpler as you move to the south: the potatoes of the north are replaced by the pasta of the south. But, for the health conscious, seafood and olive oil are essential elements in all regions. If you have access to the white truffles of the Piedmont, don't miss Scrambled Eggs with Truffles or Tajarin Pasta with Truffle Butter. (The slow, gentle, egg-scrambling technique—even without the truffles—could become the way you make them from now on. As Lidia says, it's her "favorite way to cook eggs." Try it. You may well be convinced.)
Two special features in the book will make using it easier. I love the "Recommended Equipment" note that appears at the end of the ingredient list. Though the items are probably common to most modestly equipped kitchens, having the proper pot or pan can be as essential to the success of the recipe as having the proper ingredients. (Having one 9-inch springform pan is no big deal, but the recipe for Cookie Crumble wants two. Quick, run to your pantry and check.) A feature I don't recall ever seeing before is the inclusion, in the Introduction (you do read introductions, don't you?), of a "Recipe Finder by Course." As this book is organized by region, if you saw a recipe for bean soup that appealed to you, you may not remember where it's from, or its name (Pork, Sauerkraut, and Bean Soup). Most books do include recipes in the appendices, of course, but reading a full index is not something I'm likely to do. Here, in one easily scanned list you will find it in seconds.
As with the earlier books by Lidia, this is a book both to learn and cook from. As I've already read it, I'm a bit envious of your opportunity to savor it. It's now almost become an old friend to me—for you, it's a new friend still to be discovered. Buon appetito!
Recipes from Lidia's Italy:
Ziti with Tomatoes, Eggplant, and Salted Ricotta
Crêpes with Chocolate and Walnuts
Frico with Apples
Fennel and Orange Salad
Sausages with Fennel
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