The Italian Vegetable Cookbook

January 1, 2014

Taking a break from the slow cooker, the subject of her last few books, veteran author Scicolone (The Mediterranean Slow Cooker) turns her attention to the oven and stove top. Like Domenica Marchetti's The Glorious Vegetables of Italy, Scicolone's new title draws inspiration from travel and includes plenty of enviable anecdotes. Recipes organized by course (antipasti, soups, pasta, side dishes, etc.), from elegant roasted tomatoes on the vine with burrata to easy two-berry tiramisu, are home cook friendly, calling for mostly easy-to-find ingredients. VERDICT Recommended for readers interested in another solid collection of mostly meat-free Italian vegetable dishes.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2014
Italian cooking has ascended to the very summit of American taste. Pastas, breads, and meats rank as favorites with American eaters, but they aren't always familiar with Italian approaches to vegetable cookery and don't feel competent to cook much beyond eggplant parmigiana. Scicolone's book may change all that. Her methodology for vegetable cooking strives to extract the greatest amount of flavor and texture from every plant. Potatoes and fennel roast with garlic for a side dish. Beets dye gnocchi for dramatic punctuation under rich Gorgonzola cream. Ambitious cooks will love the challenge of Scicolone's Swiss chard and ricotta pie. Some recipes call for typical Italian flavor enhancers, such as anchovies or pancetta; nevertheless, vegetarians will find lots to savor here, and meat eaters will deem many of the pasta sauces perfectly satisfying. And both camps will delight in the host of rich and sweet dessert offerings.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)