Umbria: Regional Recipes from the Heartland of Italy

By Julia della Croce

Book Overview

With food like Fried Chicken Marinated in Sage, Rosemary, and Garlic, and some of Italys most gorgeous countryside, its little wonder Umbria is becoming such a popular tourist destination. Home to beautiful hill towns such as Deruta, Perugia, and Assisi, plus a culinary history that dates back to the Etruscans (Italys oldest and perhaps most fascinating civilization), Umbria rejoices in hearty dishes rooted in vegetables, legumes, grains, and farm-raised meats and redolent of herbs and bold sauces. Acclaimed cookbook author Julia della Croce takes us on a stunning visual and gastronomic tour with recipes for dishes such as Penci with Sausage, Lemon, and Nutmeg Sauce and Lorella Puccettis Lentils with Seafood, which perfectly illustrate Umbrias simple, everyday style of cooking. Her 56 recipes are spiced with photographs of the food, the countryside, the markets, and the people, with local lore and insider tips on the best Umbria has to offer. An invitation to the heartland of Italy, Umbria is a gourmet feast for the eyes and the palate.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811823512
• ISBN13: 9780811823517
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 8.0" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

A Wonderful Vacation Without Leaving Your Kitchen!

The sights, sounds, and aromas of the diverse regions of Italy are the things memorable vacations, travel videos, and cookbooks are made of. When done properly, dishes virtually leap of the page and onto your plate. But when the cooking starts and the unique elements of Umbrian cuisine waft through your home, you realize that purchasing Julia Della Croce's book was a very very good idea. Beautifully illustrated with photographs by John A. Rizzo, this book provides easy to follow recipes and just enough back stories to make any meal you prepare even more special. For a dinner with friends, we prepared the Pasta with Asparagus Sauce as a second course followed by the Stewed Salt Cod with Tomatoes, Raisins, and Pine Nuts served at the table in a large paella pan. For those who wanted meat, we served the Lamb Fricco. Some of the entries are both complicated and potentially impractical for a family with time demands. The beauty of this book, however, is that each dish is placed in a context as if we were invited to a family table in this region to savor this cooking. This allows for a certain level of creativity and substitutions that make virtually every dish approachable even if not exactly prepared according to the recipe. Is this the first Italian cookbook you should buy? No. But because of its exceptional presentation of this region, you should carefully consider it for the second.

Umbria: Regional Recipes - the closest thing to being there

Having just returned from eating our way through Umbria and Tuscany this book was like reliving everything we'd experienced. The recipes were simple, fresh and filling. the photography and text captured the essence of Umbria completely. A joy of a cookbook for those who enjoy cooking with fresh, healthy ingredients.