I’m happy.
I’m happy in that calm, steady way that fills your heart with contentment when you look back at the path that brought you here. Our latest cookbook, Vegetables the Italian Way, came out 15 days ago, and your feedback has been generous, enthusiastic, and genuine. I feel like you really understand the reasons why we wanted to bring this book to life, and have appreciated the recipes and the stories behind them. It is everything an author wishes for during those long months (or even years) of work that take you from the first glimpse of an idea to the printed book sitting snugly on your bookshelf, or, even better, open on your kitchen table.
On this subject, if you have time and feel like doing it, we’d really appreciate it if you could leave a review on Amazon, even if you bought your book from an independent bookshop (good choice!). This really helps us reach more people, and eventually it might allow us to write more cookbooks (something I would absolutely love, as I already have a couple of ideas queuing up, waiting for their turn to be put into words on paper).
But at the same time, I’m overwhelmed.
The cooking class season is in full swing, I’m working on new menus weekly, joyously picking what looks fresh and inviting at the market. We’re learning again to deal with leftovers, so at the moment our dinners consist mainly of (delicious) reheated food. Not that I am complaining, but my creativity is so often poured into the classes that there’s little left when it comes to cooking for us, or for the newsletter.
We’re also supporting the launch of the book, and even though we’re not touring the country promoting it through in-person events (one day we will do that, promise!), it is still taking up time and energy to organise online events, be present, and show up with the right energy.
So it happened that I got the time zones wrong, and on Sunday I was wondering why there weren’t many people during the cook-along… My fault, and again, I am so sorry! So here I am with the recorded video that you can rewatch if you tried to join the cook-along when I was already washing the dishes! Life happens…
I’ll be a bit inconsistent with the newsletter in the upcoming weeks, but I’ve lined up the recording of our live with Domenica Marchetti and her recipe for alchermes tozzetti, the recording of the live with Nicki Sizemore and her recipe for miso maple glazed asparagus, plus (hear! hear!) a new podcast episode with Melina Hammer about her pantry.
[In the meantime…]
🇮🇹 Order Up! A Conversation with Giulia Scarpaleggia, Cookbook Author, Cooking Instructor and Mother of a Very Opinionated Five-Year-Old. I had a lovely chat with Abby from Hello @ One Potato and we touched a lot of subjects, from my love for vegetables to how I cook for my five year old Livia.
Farm Steady shared the recipe for Ricotta & Broccoli Rabe Tart from Vegetables the Italian Way. They are also running a give-away, you can learn about it here.
Julia Busuttil Nishimura shared my recipe for Roasted Tomato Orzotto on her newsletter.
Vegetables the Italian Way is the May selection for Leslie Brenner’s Cooks Without Borders Cookbook Club, and I couldn’t be happier. We had a fun chat yesterday, you can watch it, or listen to it, here.
On Monday, May 4th, I’ll be chatting with Laurel Evans about Spring Vegetables in Italian cooking. Read more about it here and save the link and come hang out with us on Monday!
What we cooked during our cook along
Frittata trippata, Frittata stewed in tomato sauce. Cooking a frittata in tomato sauce meets two needs: on one side, it gives flavor to the eggs, celebrating the summer season and the abundance of tomato production. On the other side, the frittata soaks up the tomato sauce like a sponge, and what would have been a dish apt to provide for just a couple of people, turns into a dish to feed a large family, with some bread to mop the sauce left in the pan. Get the recipe here.
Potato frittata. Compared to a Spanish tortilla, the Italian frittata di patate is usually less thick, even though it really depends on family habits and ingredient availability. We serve this as a main course, along with a refreshing salad - lettuce and arugula simply dressed with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice -, some sliced tomatoes, or steamed green beans. Get the recipe here.
An Italian cooking masterclass
I finally created a page where you can find the updated list of all the past cook-alongs—a special bonus for all paid subscribers—, so if you’d like to explore some of the earlier sessions, you can add even more delicious recipes to your Italian cooking repertoire.
