Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home

From Publishers Weekly

It takes a kind of genius--or obsessive personality--to open five successful restaurants, host two Food Network shows and write three cookbooks, and Batali's manic energy comes alive on every page of this fourth book devoted to dishes for the home cook. With over 300 recipes, the volume is an overstuffed celebration of the rustic local fare Batali loves, organized by course (antipasto, soup, pasta, fish, etc.). Fans will find repeat renditions of signature Batali dishes found in his earlier volumes, such as Short Ribs in Barolo, and Bucatini all'Amatriciana, but can also discover tantalizing new ones, such as Malloredus with Fennel, Game Hen with Pomegranate, and Lamb Shanks with Orange and Olive. Batali excels when he translates complex traditional dishes for the modern kitchen, such as Pork Loin in the Style of Porchetta. But in his desire to keep things "simple," he sometimes goes astray, as in the case of homemade sausage, which is reduced to two not-very-simple steps of instructions. Such compression threatens to undermine Batali's true passion for teaching Americans to savor the intense flavors of local ingredients simply prepared. All in all, the book tries to pack in too much; the two pasta sections would make a book in themselves. What the home cook really needs is more Mario, fewer recipes. Photos, drawings. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description

Easy to use and simple to read, many of these recipes come from ten years of Molto Mario television programs, including Mediterranean Mario, Mario Eats Italy, and Ciao America with Mario Batali. Batali's distinctive, often humorous, voice provides a historical and cultural perspective to demystify the more elaborate Italian dishes. He also shows ways to shorten or simplify everything from purchasing good ingredients to prepare-ahead tips. Informative headnotes offer up enticing bits about the provenance of the recipes as well as fascinating facts regarding Italy and its cuisines.

Molto Italiano features dishes from many of the twenty-one regions of Italy and many side dishes, each of which can be served as a light meal. With a section on desserts and a foundation of basic recipes, Molto Italiano is the only Italian cookbook a home cook's shelf needs.

Highlights from Molto Italiano:

67 antipasto recipes, with special sections for vegetable, seafood, and meat antipasti Informative sidebars, where Mario provides background color about the recipes, including the places, people, and history behind various dishes More than 50 pasta recipes, from classic comfort food like Baked Ziti to an elaborate Ricotta Gnocchi with Sausage and Fennel A wealth of seafood, fowl, and meat recipes, featuring simple everyday dishes and tasty regional specialties 34 vegetable recipes that can be served as either antipasti or side dishes A comprehensive dessert section, filled with gelati, crumbly cakes, fruit tarts, pies, and more