Product Description

Inspired by the family meals cooked by his mother and grandmother, Alvaro Maccioni presents recipes that capture all the goodness and robust flavors of real Tuscan country cooking. Typical of the savory dishes are "Agnello in Salsa"--lamb flavored with garlic, parsley, red chilies, and rosemary, simmered with white wine and tomatoes, and "Pasta d'Estate"--a pasta salad with pine nuts, cherry tomatoes, "dolcelatte," and baby spinach. Alvaro's memories of Italy are woven throughout the book, evoking a vivid picture of Tuscan country life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2388646 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Alvaro Maccioni is the owner and chef at La Famiglia restaurant, the popular Chelsea eatery which in 1996 became the first restaurant outside Italy to win the Academia Della Cucina Italiana prize. This is Maccioni's first book, which is a surprise as he has been cooking for over 30 years and is reasonably well known in England, having been described as the "Godfather of many a London trattoria".

In Alvaro's Mamma Toscana he offers 150 authentic--and sometimes historical--Tuscan recipes. You'll find anguilla marinata (marinated eel), pappardelle con la lepre (pasta with hare sauce), pollo ai semi di finocchio (chicken with wild fennel sauce), and fegatini con funghi frifolati (chicken livers with porcini). A description of where the dish originated or a personal anecdote about Maccioni or a member of his family accompanies each recipe.

Tuscany is enchanting and Maccioni's tome to the region's food certainly is too. It's a worthwhile purchase for aficionados of Italian food. --Dale Kneen