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One Pot Italian: More Than 85 Easy, Authentic Recipes Reviews
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One Pot Italian: More Than 85 Easy, Authentic Recipes
Featured Review
April 3, 2010 at 2:53 am
Reviewed by JustPJ
Pros: simple , authentic recipes
Cons: not always complete meals in one pot
Cons: not always complete meals in one pot
Written by Pam Grant
I haven’t cooked many Italian dishes. People always look at me funny when I say that. “Don’t you make spaghetti?” they ask. Spaghetti, the way most Americans make it these days, isn’t really true Italian cooking in my humble opinion. True Italian dishes include lots of fresh produce, the finest seafood, poultry, pork and beef, and rarely, if ever, thin dried pasta out of a box.
In fact, if you can believe this, many Italian dishes don’t include pasta at all. Shocking I know, but true none the less. Indeed, in the Italian tradition, pasta is served as a first course, not as a main course or side dish, as it is in America.
Massimo Capra’s book does include pasta; nine different versions. Not one of them resembles the familiar spaghetti in red paste. Indeed, they, along with the 76 others found in One Pot Italian, are variations of the dishes served in his two restaurants, adapted to the needs of the home cook.
One Pot Italian doesn’t waste the readers time with endless editorial comments from its author. There are a few acknowledgements to those who helped create this book, a table of contents, and then straight into the recipes. The recipes include a section on soups, salads, risotto and polenta, and many other areas including many types of seafood and meats. There is a pasta section, but this is not your spaghetti supper at the church type of pasta. These pasta recipes are bright, colorful, fresh looking dishes that in no way resemble the red sauce covered mushy meal I remember from my youth.
Each recipe is accompanied by eye catching photography of the finished product as seen through the lens of Christopher Campbell. Or as in the case of the risotto all’aragosta (lobster risotto) a tempting plate of the main ingredient. The combination of mouth watering pictures and simple fresh ingredients in the dishes make all these dishes look tempting.
The recipes are arranged in a coherent fashion with easy to follow directions. The ingredients are, with a couple of exceptions, common and easy to find at any local supermarket. I say with a couple of exceptions because, while ingredients such as two pounds tiny octopus may be easily obtained in a urban setting it may require a bit more leg work in a rural setting to procure such an item. I am sure, however, that the slight effort required would be worth the time spent after looking at the picture of the ragu di moscardini (sautéed baby octopus).
My only serious complaint about reviewing this book has to be my inability to pick my first recipe to try. I decided to try an Italian variation on one of our families’ favorites, pollo alla fiorentina (florentine fried chicken). This recipe should in no way be confused with the southern fried variety of chicken with its heavy coating and salty flavor. The florentine version is richly flavored with fresh herbs and spices,and has a light coating. This chicken proved to be a lovely fresh take on an old favorite. Next on my list to make was a sautéed pepper side dish recipe called Peperonata Veneta. Very simple to prepare, this lovely side dish made a wonderful accompaniment to the mundane pork chop dinner or the Pollo alla Fiorentina .
I have yet to try the risotto recipes featured in this book but definitely plan to do so. Risotto has always been a dish I was a bit leary to make. Having watched some famous TV chefs try and fail to make a good risotto dish, I had pretty much made up my mind that I was not “good enough” to try it. This book has given me the confidence to give it a go. The recipes sound simple enough and have given me that little engine that could attitude. (I think I can , I think I can)
Over all, this book is a joy to read and to cook from. After reading this cookbook, I wouldn’t hesitate to visit one of this chef’s restaurants. If you want a good, simple to prepare, Italian made easy cookbook, this is the book for you.
Peperonata Veneta
(sautéed peppers)
3 red bell peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
1 green bell pepper
2 medium onions
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic , sliced
8 plum (Roma) tomatoes, peeled and sliced
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 bunch basil, coarsely chopped
1 bunch Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
Preheat the oven to 475F. Roast peppers under the grill turning occasionally, until the skins are entirely blistered and blackened. Remove from oven and place in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until cool. Once the bell peppers are cool, remove the skins and seeds, rinse gently, and cut the bell peppers into wedges. Set aside.
Remove the first layer from the onions and cut them into wedges (about 8 wedges per onion). Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Sauté the onions and garlic lightly for 1-2 minutes. Add the bell peppers and tomatoes. Stir well and simmer , covered, for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add the vinegar. Cook for another 5 minutes, covered. Just before you turn off the heat under the pan, stir in the basil and parsley.
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