Eat Like an Italian
Recipes for the Good Life
Catherine Fulvio
Gill and Macmillan
€22.99
For the last number of years Catherine Fulvio from The Ballyknocken House and Cookery School has been highlighting all that is good about Italian cuisine, from her first cookery book, Catherine’s Italian Kitchen, to her three television series, two of which focused primarily on Italy.
Her latest offering follows a similar trend, this time celebrating an eclectic selection of popular dishes from the length and breadth of the Apennines. The recipes are divided into sections such as bread, pasta, rice and couscous; fruit; nuts, beans and legumes; vegetables and salads; olives and olive oil; cheese, yoghurt and eggs; fish and shellfish; poultry and meat; sweets; and drinks.
The best of the recipes are those for focaccia with caramelised red onions; Roman-style pizza blanca; farfalle with red pepper sauce; Neapolitan Christmas Eve spaghetti with walnuts; roast pumpkin and red pepper cannelloni; plum and Chianti compote with ginger; field mushrooms stuffed with bacon and spinach; olive oil ice-cream; watercress and hazelnut crumbled goats cheese salad; swordfish with chilli and orange; scallops with prosciutto and balsamic glaze; chicken with prosecco and shallots; and walnut liqueur.
Overall, a friendly informative recipe book with Fulvio injecting much of her own story and personality into what is a well-photographed cookery book celebrating Italy that never uses 10 culinary directions when one will do.
