The Classic Food of Northern Italy (Great Cooks) [Paperback]

'Anna is the queen of Italian cookery, and this is as far removed from the ghastly spag bol ( made with cheap mince, burnt onions and ketchup) as it can be, This is a slow-cooked classic'. --Tom Parker Bowles, Countrylife magazine, December 2010

Winner of the Guild of Food Writers Award in 1996 and the Accademia Italiana della Cucina's Orio Vergani prize, The Classic Food of Northern Italy has become a well-thumbed bible on the shelf of every discerning cook. In this revised and updated edition, Anna Del Conte celebrates the cooking of northern Italy - both rustic and sophisticated, ancient and modern. As Delia writes in her Foreword "Anna is a purist. She will not countenance anything that isn't in the strictest sense authentic." In this collection of over 150 recipes Anna has chosen the very best ideas sourced from acclaimed restaurants, elegant home kitchens, rural inns and country farmsteads. Many of the traditional dishes may not be familiar, such as flatbread made with chickpea flour, Ligurian Ciuppin or macaroni pie in a sweet pastry case, but she also presents definitive versions of popular dishes such as Pesto, Ragu and Ossobuco. Her recipes are thoroughly researched and tested; she provides the home cook with a trusted and essential companion. Her numerous practical tips are the result of a lifetime's experience.

Anna Del Conte was born in Milan. Her first book, Portrait of Pasta, was published in 1976. In 1987 she was awarded the prestigious Duchesssa Maria Luigia di Parma prize for The Gastronomy of Italy. In 1994 Anna received the Premio Nazionale di Cultura Gastronomica Verdicchio d'Oro prize for her contribution to the dissemination of authoritative knowledge on authentic Italian cooking. She lives in Dorset.