Rustic Italian Food: [A Cookbook] [Hardcover]

From acclaimed Philadelphia chef Marc Vetri comes a celebration of handcrafted, regional Italian cooking that advocates a hands-on, back-to-the-basics approach to cooking.

Slow-cooked meats, homemade breads, and flavorful pastas are the traditional comfort-food classics that Italians have been roasting, baking, curing, and making in their own kitchens for generations--dishes that people actually want to cook and eat.

Home cooks of every skill level will revel in the 120 recipes, such as sweet Fig and Chestnut Bread, rich Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi, savory Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder, and fragrant Apple Fritters. ButRustic Italian Foodis much more than just a collection of recipes. With detailed, step-by-step instructions for making terrines, dry-cured salami, and cooked sausage; a thorough guide to bread and pasta making; and a primer on classic Italian preserves and sauces,Rustic Italian Foodis also an education in kitchen fundamentals.

In this book Marc Vetri connects us directly to the essence of Italian food.

Foreword by Mario Batali, ix
Introduction: A Return to Real Cooking, 1
 
Bread and Pizza, 8
Flour, 11  
Measuring, 12  
Yeast, 12  
Water, 13  
Salt, 13  
Starter, 14  
Mixing and Kneading, 15  
Proofing and Shaping, 18  
Baking and Steaming, 19  
I Want It Burnt!, 26  
Think Outside the Wine Bottle, 41  
Part Skim Is Part Insane, 43
Biga Starter, 22
Rustic Loaf, 24
Ciabatta, 28
Parmesan Bread, 29
Durum Focaccia, 30
Rosemary Durum Bread, 31
Blueberry Schiacciata, 34
Chocolate Bread, 35 
Fig and Chestnut Bread, 36
Brioche, 37
Romana Pizza Dough, 39
Napoletana Pizza Dough, 40
Margherita Pizza, 42
Mortadella Pizza, 48
 
Pastas, 52
Flour, 54  
Extruded Pasta, 55lƒ½