.
It’s here, and it’s yours now.
This morning, before anyone else was awake, I patted Teo on his sleeping head and silently came downstairs. Vegetables the Italian Way was there, on the living room table that doubles as a desk, among papers, notebooks, a vase with lilacs, mugs of herbal infusions, and random watercolour sketches.
I’ve been leafing through this actual copy for a couple of months now, showing it during our cooking classes, but I still have a respectful reverence for it, as if it were still the only printed copy available in the world. I held the book and read the title on the cover as if I hadn’t written it myself. Just holding it, I felt a swelling sense of pride and expectation.
Outside, the garden is doing what it always does in April. The fava beans and peas are growing fast, climbing the canes we put there to help their growth, and tulips are giving way to buttercups. The light is different: longer, softer, that particular spring quality that makes everything look like it’s just about to happen. It didn’t escape me that this is exactly where the book begins.
The first recipe you find in Vegetables the Italian Way is indeed an asparagus salad with an anchovy dressing. Inspired by that umami rich dressing we usually pour over a plate of puntarelle, this recipe brings that winter anchovy sauce into spring, awakening your taste buds, answering your new cravings for light, bright dishes.
When I first imagined Vegetables the Italian Way, I wanted it to work the way a good cooking lesson works. I wasn’t planning to share a list of instructions to follow obediently, but a set of tools you can take into your own kitchen and use however you need.
Last week, for example, I made the Roman-style artichokes from the Braised, Boiled & Stewed chapter: the globe artichokes are slow-cooked in white wine and olive oil until they collapse into something tender and deeply savory, then piled onto toasted bread with mozzarella and anchovies. It’s one of my favourite recipes in the book, and one I’ve cooked in front of dozens of students over the years.
But instead of using the artichokes to make a crostone, I finely minced them, warmed them in a pan with their precious braising liquid–a deep green, flavourful oil–, and tossed them with homemade pasta. Another day, I stirred them into a risotto at the end, letting them melt into the rice. Both times, the result was extraordinary, the kind of meal that makes you stop mid-bite.
None of that is in the book. And that’s exactly the point. The recipes in Vegetables the Italian Way are a starting point, not a destination.
Think of them as a grammar: once you understand why the artichokes are cooked the way they are, what the slow braising does to their texture and bitterness, you can take them anywhere. Into a pasta sauce. Into a risotto. Spread on bruschetta. Folded into an omelette the next morning.
I’m not precious about it. I’d rather you cook from this book freely, messily, confidently — adapting, improvising, making it yours — than follow every recipe to the letter and feel like you’ve done something wrong when you don’t.
This book has lived in my head for two years, its lessons taught during my cooking classes for more than a decade.
Today it moves into your kitchens. What happens next is up to you. Vegetables the Italian Way is out today. Find it wherever books are sold, or purchase your copy here:
If you preordered it, expect it to be delivered very soon. I can’t wait to see what you will be cooking from it and how you will make it yours.
And now, I’d love to let three friends and colleagues speak. They were generous enough to read the book early and share their thoughts.
Thank you Hetty, Sarah, and Regula!
“Giulia Scarpaleggia’s warmth and generosity spills forth on every page of Vegetables the Italian Way. There is a beautiful rhythm to the way Giulia cooks, with simple preparations that allow the vegetables to sing, in harmony with the seasons and in concert with the time-honored traditions of cucina casalinga, Italian home cooking.”
Hetty Lui McKinnon, cookbook author and food writer
“Giulia puts her whole heart and soul into every recipe, every time; Vegetables the Italian Way is no exception. To sit at Giulia’s table is to know the best of Italian cooking–and to honor the flavor of every ingredient. Vegetables the Italian Way is like a delicious rambling through the Italian countryside, from north to south and back again, with every treasured vegetable and technique accounted for – never fussy, absolutely authentic and undisputably delicious.”
Sarah Copeland , author of Every Day is Saturday, Feast, and Instant Family Meals
“Bursting with original, wholesome Italian vegetable recipes that truly work every time, this book radiates warmth. Giulia’s heartfelt guidance makes each dish a joy to prepare, ensuring it becomes a trusted kitchen companion you’ll return to for inspiration, comfort, and delicious meals for many years to come.”
Regula Ysewijn MBE, food writer
Read more about Vegetables the Italian Way here
Vegetables the Italian Way: cover reveal & the story behind the book
Laura Itzkowitz shared a recipe from Vegetables the Italian Way—my creamy, rich fennel gratin—and afterwards we had a lovely chat about the book. You can listen to our conversation here.
Cooking Vegetables the Italian Way. I was a guest in Wendy Holloway’s Flavor of Italy podcast. You can listen to the episode here.
Kathy Slack & Giulia Scarpaleggia discuss vegetables the Italian way, at Tales from the Veg Patch by Kathy Slack - Live from a Cotswolds greenhouse and a Tuscan kitchen, we talked about putting vegetables centre stage.
Vegetables, the Italian way. Meryl Feinstein shared two recipes from Vegetables the Italian Way—Roasted pepper pasta salad and Roasted tomato orzotto—along with a long interview.
Vegetables with a Tuscan view. Melina Hammer shared two recipes—Zucchini Carbonara and Doubled-Cooked Artichokes and Potatoes—along with an interview focused on photography.
An Easy, Springy Frittata. Jenna Helwig shared the recipe for Grilled Asparagus Frittata in her newsletter today!
Upcoming live events
Friday, April 17th, 9:00 pm CEST | 8:00 pm BST | 3:00 pm EDT | 12:00 pm PDT, let’s celebrate the launch of Vegetables the Italian Way with my friends and colleagues Flavia Giordano and Enrica Monzani. Join our party live on Substack here.
Monday, April 27th, 6:00 pm CEST | 5:00 pm BST | 12:00 pm EDT | 9:00 am PDT. Live chat and cook-along with Nicki Sizemore. Join us here.
Monday, May 4th, 6:00 pm CEST | 5:00 pm BST | 12:00 pm EDT | 9:00 am PDT. Live chat with Laurel Evans. Link coming soon!
