Beyond the Pasta – A Book Review

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted about reviewing a book here on Frutto della Passione and while it is not the first time I have received an inquiry of that kind, it is the first time that I have accepted.

The book is Beyond the Pasta – Recipes, Language & Life with an Italian Family by Mark Leslie.

The book was presented to me as a cookbook and a memoir but my fuzzy little mind seemed to only grasp the cookbook part and I jumped at the chance. I LOVE cookbooks. I cannot stress enough how much. I have far too many and I am always seeking out more.

Pollo al Pomodoro e Olive (Chicken with Tomato and Olives) page 83

One a side note, when the antennista (cable guy) came to our apartment to install our satellite hook up, my husband had to move my cookbooks because they needed to run the cables behind those particular shelves, and this young fellow helped my hubby put them back and after a while, once he realized what they all were, he let out a low whistle and said – A voi piace mangiare! (You guys like to eat!).

I immediately loved the title Beyond The Pasta – Recipes, Language & Life with an Italian Family and when the book arrived by post I fell in love with the cover.

Photo taken from www.beyondthepasta.com

Yes, I DO judge books by their covers but then so must many people – otherwise why would the publishing houses spend so much time and money on cover art?

I cried at the end of the prologue – which surprised me, but I guess some things never loose their emotional impact.

And yet, I still didn’t realize what I was in for. You see, I thought I was going to be reviewing a cookbook, I was expecting some light banter and maybe a definition or two of Italian terms or descriptions of products and a paragraph or two introducing each recipe. What I got instead was a love story, with recipes on the side. Mark’s conversational writing style made me feel like I was sitting across the table from him as he told me his story, the story of how he fell in love with a country and a family and how they fell in love with him (the family, not the country!). These emotions come through so clearly that I started to feel like I knew the people on the pages, that if I encountered them on the street I would throw my arms open wide and greet them the way I would greet old friends.

Frittata con Zucchine e Cipolla (Zucchini and Onion Frittata) page 17

Perhaps what touched me most were the emotions in this book, because this book is just full of them: excitement; affection; nervousness; anticipation; curiosity; shame; regret; love, sadness, joy.  

In trying to express exactly what it is about this book that I like so much I have typed, deleted and re-written this sentence a dozen times. I want so desperately to avoid cliches and words like: heart warming; endearing; charming.

But the truth of the matter is that this book drew me in because of the emotions that I felt while reading it, the happiness, the sadness, the surprise, the humour – tutto il resto è grasso che cola – the rest is gravy.

Or rather the rest are the recipes themselves.  The first thing that I noticed first was that these were all rustic, classic dishes. If we were reading about these dishes on the menu of a restaurant in the States, the words home style and authentic would be used to describe them, but I prefer to call them tipici e tradizionali. The kind of meals that you really find in Italian homes, prepared by someone’s Nonna.

Crostata di Marmellata (Jam Tart) page 174

The recipe instructions are clear and easy to follow and I think even a beginner would find these accessible and could make any of these dishes with confidence. More experienced cooks will appreciate the simple, fresh ingredients that go into making these delicious, satisfying meals.

Cuppa, cuppa, cuppa (Yogurt Cake) page 187

I tested 4 of the recipes (pictured above) and all 4 were great. The savory dishes were our lunch this past Sunday and we are still enjoying the yogurt cake (the crostata was brought into the office and disappeared really fast!). I will definitely be working my way through all 29 of them.

Accessible recipes and a great story teller are a pretty unbeatable combination but I think I can make it a little sweeter.

On Monday I will post an interview with the author of Beyond the Pasta – Recipes, Language and Life with an Italian Family and I will be giving away a copy of the book by random draw.

To be eligible for the draw you must comment on either this post or on Monday’s (or both) and I will hold the draw next week.

Be sure to check out Mark’s website and read his blog too. 

Then come back on Monday to read the interview!

Ciao, ciao, ciao.

Some numbers:

Number of recipes: 29

Number of recipes I tested: 4

Number of days spent by author learning to cook and speak Italian: 28

Number of days I spent reading book (the first time): 3

Number of times I cried reading this book: 4

Number of copies available for give away: 1