Published: 2011-08
Total Pages: 91
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More than a dish, it’s a flagship food. Pizza is the symbol par excellence of Italian cuisine around the world. It dates back to 18th century Naples, and has spread all over the world since then. The same is true for focacce, schiacciate and crescente, as well as all the other oven-baked grain derivatives, which the ancient Romans once used as a plate upon which they ate their meals. Similar to Arabian pita, the Indian nan and the Hispanic tortilla, pizza and focacce are by far the most popular of their kinds in the world. Whether it’s pizza, pie or focaccia, here are 40 recipes whose numerous versions from north to south of the Belpaese (with a couple of forays into foreign cuisine) all have the same mix of flour and water as a base. Beginning with the preparation stage, the many different ingredients and the various cheese, vegetable, spice, meat and fish dressings are all laid out in 40 different possibilities: from the most traditional of pizzas with tomato to focacce and focaccette, pies, plum-cakes and quiche, from the simplest recipes to the most complicated. All are explained, step by step, with ingredients, preparation and cooking times. And all are faithful to the one general rule: crispy on the outside, soft inside. iCook Italian is a series of cookery eBooks, each one containing 40 illustrated recipes. From appetisers to pasta, from rice to soups, from second courses of meat and fish to ice-creams, desserts, puddings and cakes as well as pizza, focacce, egg dishes and salads, iCook Italian is a genuine feast of Italian gastronomy. All dishes were chosen by taking a peek at the recipe books in grandmother’s kitchen along with those of the most creative and talented chefs in the country, marrying tradition with modernity and putting regional specialities alongside the cuisine of other countries. All were chosen with an eye on their nutritional value, something which has made Mediterranean cuisine such a success. Each recipe is accompanied by a photo of the finished dish and step by step instructions on how to make it. We haven’t forgotten about the ideal wine either, which helps bring out the very best in flavours and aromas, and some simple, but practical, advice about the pleasures of food and how to choose the right ingredients for that final touch of class. Secrets stolen from the best kitchens in Italy.