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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Review: Cucina Provera

Cucina Povera: Tuscan Peasant Cooking

About the Book:
Italian cookbook authority Pamela Sheldon Johns presents more than 60 peasant-inspired dishes from the heart of Tuscany inside Cucina Povera. This book is more than a collection of recipes of "good food for hard times." La cucina povera is a philosophy of not wasting anything edible and of using technique to make every bite as tasty as possible. Budget-conscious dishes utilizing local and seasonal fruits and vegetables create everything from savory pasta sauces, crusty breads and slow-roasted meats to flavorful vegetable accompaniments and end-of-meal sweets.

The recipes inside Cucina Povera have been collected during the more than 20 years Johns has spent in Tuscany. Dishes such as Ribollita (Bread Soup), Pollo Arrosto al Vin Santo (Chicken with Vin Santo Sauce), and Ciambellone (Tuscan Ring Cake) are adapted from the recipes of Johns' neighbors, friends, and local Italian food producers. Lavish color and black-and-white photographs mingle with Johns' recipes and personal reflections to share an authentic interpretation of rustic Italian cooking inside Cucina Povera.
My Comments:
No Kindle version of this NetGalley was available so I have only been able to view this on my computer.  It is a beautiful hard-covered book that would be as at home on a coffee table as in the kitchen.  There are photos of the food, but also photos of the Tuscan countryside.  There are over forty pages of information about Tuscany and its food before the recipes start.  The recipes appear very do-able, with a minimum of unusual ingredients not found in the average kitchen.  I have not made any of the recipes--I'm not able to print them from the NetGalley and computers and kitchens don't go together in my opinion. 

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