Easy Tasty Italian [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

 

 

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There's actually a very good cookbook fighting to get out here from under the weight of an excruciatingly irritating manner and overly chi-chi style.

The irritating manner can be demonstrated by the example of Santtini's discussion of the umami flavour. She christens the use of umami in Italian cooking as "U-Mamma!" (sic), which coinage she then proceeds to use at frequent intervals throughout the rest of the book.

It's not exactly authentic traditional Italian; ingredients used include Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, barberries, pomegranates, sumac, chemoula, Szechuan pepper, soy sauce, green tea and so on and so forth. A number of recipes even include edible gold or silver leaf (like the "vark" of Moghul cooking); sensibly the small print on the copyright page says "This is a suggestion and not a recommendation, and the use and consumption of such metals is at your own risk. Neither the author nor the publisher accept any liability for any illness, harm or injury arising from the use or consumption of such metals". Moghul emperors wanted to demonstrate their wealth but I'm not sure that I would want to eat such heavy metals.

One of the best parts of the book is the section with numerous recipes for various flavoured mayonnaises, pestos, salsas and relishes, trifolati, flavoured butters, marinades, rubs, pastes, "elixirs" (oils and sauces), crumbs and stuffings and so on, many of which are used in the later recipes.

This is a book packed with ideas and sophisticated flavours, and will be of immense use not just for Italian food lovers. Just a pity about the style.

This magical book brings a breathe of fresh air into cookery by taking a slightly sidereal look at classic Italian food and shows us how to make both new and traditional dishes in a way which will make them stand out and be truly wonderful. With a witty and engaging manner, Laura Santtini distils the elements of Italian cooking down into its basic constituents and illustrates how to combine these to produce wonderfully memorable dishes, adding that touch of magic which separates the cook from a great cook.

It is clear that Santtini has been inspired by the alchemists of old and in a way she stands next to those other culinary alchemists; Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adrià. The difference with Santtini however is that her alchemy can be performed in the kitchen with the equipment which is already there. There is no need to have to borrow the large hadron collider in order to make a perfectly balanced foam such as you might find in a book by Heston or Adrià. That is not to disregard these other two chefs of course; they are brilliant but their techniques make them much harder to try at home. This makes their practice (but not their philosophy) very different from Santtini's and everything in this book can simply be done at home. However I believe that her approach (as we shall see) gives her equal credit to stand as a kitchen alchemist.

Alchemy breaks things down into its component elements; and then using the axiom "Salve et coagula"; divide and recombine; teaches us how to reassemble these components and make gold. This approach is echoed in this book and the elements in Santtini's alchemy are those we would find in any food lovers kitchen. She actually presents three lists; first the Basic Italian larder; secondly the Umami larder and finally the alchemic larder.

The Italian larder contains those good wholesome ingredients that make so many Italian dishes fabulous. There are some long lists here, however I do not feel that we need be intimidated by such details as the eight different Italian cured meats which are listed. Remember that in the past these cured meats are made to last so a good kitchen would have these available all year. However in more modern times we need not worry about this as so many ingredients are available quite easily and can be bought on demand. Looking at the list here practically everything is available in larger supermarkets.

The Umami "Mamma Mia" larder is slightly more exotic, however this is a shorter list. Here we find those flavour enhancing ingredients which add that depth to a dish. These are such treasures as anchovies, truffles and Marmite. They are often so powerful and used in such small amounts that whilst these ingredients can be expensive, a little bit goes a long way so in many ways their expense is often illusionary.

Finally we have the alchemic larder and this is perhaps the one where we need to hunt around to find the ingredients. I know that one previous reviewer criticised this saying that it is not easy to get Amalfi lemons etc. But these are the best ingredients used to make those special dishes. The alchemists believed that to make gold you need gold; and as such we find that these "golden" ingredients such as amalfi lemons are recommended.

This does not mean that one must cook with Amalfi lemons all the time, or that one needs to add gold flakes to every meal one makes (in fact the book warns against too much use of these edible metals in food). But it is nice to use the best when it is available and when the household budget stretches that week. In the case of Amalfi lemons, they are only in-season for a short period of the year but when they are available one can get them in the UK in places as far apart of London and Bristol. Speaking personally I use them when I can get them and my dishes are better for them; however when out of season they are impossible to obtain and this makes them all the more special for when they are.

Sometimes it is nice to spend a bit of time and energy hunting down that rare specialist ingredient and treat this is a part of the pleasure in cooking and eating that particular dish. As a food lover I find that hunting down obscure and not readily available ingredients is not too expensive (the internet is a wonder here). And whilst good food does cost, I do wonder how many people spend more money on "junk food and instant nutrition" eating such nasties as pre-packaged lasagne from which they can obtain no pleasure and only basic sustenance in its eating. This book in contrast echoes the Italian way. Food is meant to be enjoyed, in good company and it is worth going that extra mile to make some meals memorable - and that is exactly the magic of the great cook which Laura teaches on to become.

After discussing her tools and ingredients, Lara begins the coagula phase of the great work discussing how to make the basic preparations which form the heart of the flavour bombs of taste in her food. These are the rubs, the pestos, the pastes and the butters which are used as a basis of many dishes. Then after these preparations, the elemental magic begins proper with four sections of recipes.

Taking each of the classical four elements of alchemy, Santtini splits her recipes up, classifying them under the appropriate element. This technique is nice, and truly alchemical in that true alchemy when discussing the four classical elements sees these elements as processes to be applied rather than as simple elemental constituents. With this in mind the discourses of the alchemists begins to make sense and we can finally see a path for the magical transformations they speak about. This is true here too with Laura Santtini showing us how we can elevate and transform base ingredients into gastronomical gold.

Under Air, we find raw foods, anti pasta (hopefully not made of antimatter), carpaccios and dips. These really are all starter dishes (although they make excellent snacks) and are well worth exploring for their simplicity, elegance and flavour.

Under water, we find recipes involving boiling, reduction and poaching. Here we also find the Banio-Maria (or Baine Marie) an alchemical term named after Maria the Jewess a noted 1st (or maybe 3rd) century alchemist who invented it (its not just the chemists who benefited from alchemical research). The recipes in this section include soups, risottos, pasta and pasta sauces - included the perennial favourite bolognase (of Bologna) sauce - but under its proper title Ragu.

Moving on to fire we examine those recipes which need grilling, frying or baking, and those given here include various delicious looking fish and meat dishes cooked using such methods. As with all these techniques, Santtini spends time succinctly discussing the methods behind them so that one understands the process and how to adapt it in different ways. This is vital and takes us beyond what so many cook books teach us. We can all shop for a list of ingredients and combine it as specified, however to take what is in the store cupboard and combine it with mastery and flare is a rare and special talent. In a sense this makes the book into a grimoire of Italian cooking showing us the "grammar" of the art and how to use it in new and unique ways.

Earth completes the circle and brings us home. This section focusses on slowly cooked foods and vegetable dishes; some which take a bit more effort but in turn rewards us with those homely marvels we all remember from our childhoods. There also are enticing delights here which I am just itching to try such as "leg over lamb" and "sweet lavender parsnips" which show us that if there is a muse of food she is certainly friends with the author and whispering such secrets in her ear.

Finally, we are tempted with the abyss with some beautiful desserts. I was sure that the church had made all these desserts illegal back in the time of the inquisition. They are so beautiful, so decadent, so easy to prepare that I can feel the defences of my soul crumbling as a I take another step over to the dark side. This is clearly no alchemical nigredo stage but rather one of the many crowns of this book.

I absolutely love this book and feel sure that in 4-5 years time my copy will be well thumbed, stained and annotated. Laura Santtini has written such a beautiful approach to Italian cookery, containing such wonderful themes, recipes (none of which are difficult) and approaches that I feel that should any of the classical Italian sorcerers and alchemists such as Cagliostro be alive today they would be sure to have a copy on their shelves.

Don't get me wrong, Ms Santtinis' cookbook is beautiful and if I had recieved it as a Christmas present I would have been well chuffed, but once you start to read it!!!

For a start, the typical Italian larder!!, maybe for her and her family that ran a restaurant, but in my house and all my Italian friends who we lived near in Streatham we didn't have seven different italian cheeses, eight types of cured meats and sixteen!! different herbs and spices along with all the rest, and then she starts to talk about 'UMAMI'! if this was a book by Heston Blumenthal I would not blink but I suspect that MY Mama and MY Nonno would be muttering some pretty dark words by now.

Then we have the Alchemic Larder, which has edible gold and silver in it, many dried flowers, Amalfi Lemons (not just any old lemons but Amalfi Lemons) I'll send my private jet for those! Rose Grappa (never heard of it) Mexican Chocolate Powder (again, specified, not sure where in Sainsbury's I'll pick that up, perhaps they have it at ASDA!

We get 'Elixirs and Potions', Elemental Recipes, Air being raw, with the basic recipes looking pretty good, but then she says stuff that just irks me, like when she talks about a white bean and pomegranate dip and she says "I like to add a sprinkle of gold flakes to give a new dimension to this dip" Gold flakes in a dip? ITS A DIP for Gods' sake, get a flippin' grip!

I read about Pasta and get a quote KC and the Sunshine Band! many of the recipes are classic Italian, and then you get a recipe that's got a salsa made from mango, mint, grappa and lime, the only thing that's Italian about this is the grappa, take that out, put in tequila and it's a mexican dish!

Another is a cooked artichoke the BIG surprise is the edible gold sprinkled on top....yum!

Many of the recipes are tasty and look lovely but the book is wrapped up in such fanciful pretension that it actually makes me itch reading it!

I'm sorry, I can't go on, I can hear My mum shouting in my ear, "Gold Flake!?" Porco Dio!!

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3.0 out of 5 stars Tasty, sure. Easy? Hmm...
I love Italian food so when amazon Vine offered this up I jumped at the chance. I am not exactly a skilled cook, I'm more a throw it all in a pot and let's see what happens sort... Read more

Published 2 months ago by William Barber

2.0 out of 5 stars Nonna would not be happy!
I should start by saying that this book is incredibly `Italian' in terms of design; it is stunning to look at and the pictures are worthy of a coffee table book - which is perhaps... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Sarah Durston

4.0 out of 5 stars The thinking cook's cook-book
This is a sumptuously presented book by Laura Santtini, which provides a thought-provoking, if somewhat pretentious, approach to the planning and presentation of Italian cuisine... Read more

Published 12 months ago by Steve Benner

3.0 out of 5 stars Easy
As the title suggests, the book is full of easy and tasty Italian recipes. We've made a number of them at home and found the book inspiring and straightforward. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Richard Hammond

1.0 out of 5 stars Product not received
I am sorry to say that I have not received this book. The only communication I have had with the seller is this past December, they said that the book is slow in transit because... Read more

Published 13 months ago by Robert Young

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as easy as advertised
I'm not particularly skilful at cooking and had hoped for a book of easy-to-follow recipes, as the title seemed to promise - unfortunately, as other reviewers have described, this... Read more

Published 15 months ago by Laura

2.0 out of 5 stars Pretty pictures, not easy cooking
This book looks great, but I don't find it all that helpful as a cookery book. Squid ink? Where do you find that at your local supermarket? Read more

Published 15 months ago by Cat

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent addition to any cookbook collection.
I found this cookbook provided easy to make recipes which were delicious. It is set out in a lovely format and it makes an excellent addition to any cookbook collection.

Published 16 months ago by M. Gibbons

3.0 out of 5 stars A lily well gilded
There's no doubt that this book is beautifully presented. In fact, glossy presentation of both the food and the equally glossy life of Laura Santtini seem to have been the main... Read more

Published 17 months ago by bomble

3.0 out of 5 stars Style over substance
This cookbook has been somewhat disappointing, and seems to be an example of style over substance. I enjoy Italian food and hoped this recipe book would be one I would use time... Read more

Published 18 months ago by R. W. Mackenzie

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