Leading Italian food authority Julia della Croce offers 125 mouth-watering, toe-curling, comforting dishes in this enticing book.

Linguine with Fresh Clam Sauce; Juicy Meat Loaf with Red Wine and Tomato Glaze; Winter Squash Stew with Green Olives and Garlic; Orange-Almond Ring Cake… From Welcoming Dishes and Bowlfuls of Soup to Pasta by Heart and Everyday Sauces; from Meat, Fish, and Seafood Entrees to Vegetable Accompaniments; from Sunday Treats to Baby's First Meals – all your family and friends are accounted for in this wonderful recipe collection.

Illustrated by beautiful full-colour photography, “Comfort Food from the Italian Table” is a must-have for home cook.

Review by Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. There remains a central difference between home cooking-comfort food-and professional cooking, notes Croce (The Classic Italian Cookbook). “Cucina casalinga is casual and relaxed, designed to sustain the body and uplift the spirit.” The James Beard-award winner puts her money where her mouth is with a lively focus on the sustaining, casual, even homely appetizers, pastas, entrees, and desserts discovered during her time in Italy or handed down from her Italian antecedents. Christopher Hirsheimer's sen­suous photography makes recipes as diverse as Carrot and Fennel Soup and “Angry” Lobsters pop off the page. Wide-ranging enough to be comprehensive yet focused enough to be selective, Croce organizes her effort into 10 chapters, ranging from “Welcoming Dishes,” like Sage Leaves and Zucchini Blossoms or her Pissaladella pizza-like flatbread, to “For the Love of Vegetables,” such as Potatoes Schiscionera from Sardinia, to the especially notable “Baby's First Food,” making it a great choice for parents. Croce often brings family lore into the mix, reminding readers that her knowledge comes from the source: Italians cooking authentic Italian food. Her latest is a keeper.

SAMPLE RECIPE
The Authentic Spaghetti alla Carbonara (pictured bottom left)

Serves 4

Most versions of spaghetti alla carbonara outside of Italy include cream, but there is no cream in the genuine recipe, which dates from World War Two. By some accounts, Italian women invented the new sauce for pasta when presented with bacon and egg rations by their American GI lovers. In any case, the sauce ingredients and method here are considered by Italian culinary historians to be the original and authentic version. While carbonara sauce was designed for spaghetti, I find fusilli are also a pleasant cut to use because the sauce collects nicely in its grooves.

1. In a bowl, combine the beaten eggs with the grated cheese and season with salt and pepper.
2. Select a serving bowl for the pasta and keep it warm.
3. Fill a saucepan with 4.7 litres water and bring it to a rapid boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti or fusilli and the kosher salt together and stir. Check the packet instructions for cooking time. Cook, stirring frequently, until the pasta is 2 minutes away from being al dente.
4. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, warm the olive oil. Add the pancetta or guanciale and saute over medium heat until nicely coloured and crispy. Set aside.
5. When the pasta is ready, drain it, reserving about 250ml of the cooking water. Transfer it to the frying pan with the pancetta and toss over low heat. Add 125ml or so of the cooking water to moisten. Simmer until the water is nearly evaporated.
6. Remove the frying pan from the heat, transfer the pasta to the serving bowl and immediately add the egg and cheese mixture, tossing vigorously to distribute the sauce while making sure it does not coagulate into scrambled egg. It should not exceed 70.C. If the pasta seems dry, add more of the reserved cooking water. Serve at once, passing the pepper mill and the grated cheese at the table.

5 eggs, beaten
75g freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus extra to serve
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
450g imported Italian spaghetti or fusilli
2 tablespoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
225g pancetta or guanciale (cheek bacon), thickly sliced and diced

Author Biography

Julia della Croce is the author of 13 cookbooks, has been broadcast extensively on British, American and Canadian radio, and has made many appearances on national and regional television, including The Today Show and Food Network. She has also been featured on Italian and Japanese television. Her work has appeared in newspapers and magazines including The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The New York Times Magazine, Food & Wine, and Cook's Illustrated.