Marcella's Italian Kitchen

Special thanks to Knopf for reissuing Marcella’s Italian Kitchen to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Marcella Hazan’s birth.

I read Hazan’s The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking last year, and loved it, of course. That book would be accessible to all kinds of cooks, from newbies to experienced chef wannabes.

The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking combines two volumes previously released separately, and so many recipes that it will likely overwhelm a novice cook. I had hopes that this cookbook, the last one released by Marcella Hazan, the self-taught godmother of Italian cooking in America, with its more manageable 250 recipes, could be a less daunting read.

Alas, no. Marcella’s Italian Kitchen contains a number of show more ingredients that depend on access to prosciutto (never bacon!), French or Italian food mills, bronze-cut pasta, Italian canned tuna, sole fillets, real Parmigiano-Reggiano — well, you get the idea. Cooks in rural areas might find fewer suitable ingredients than Brooklynites. But do not give up! Hazan still has recipes even for cooks trapped in food desserts. Especially for some trapped in food desserts, as some of her delicious recipes rely on pasta and canned tomatoes. (Even using common pasta, a mediocre extra-virgin olive oil and dried spices, Hazan’s recipes will still be special. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.)

Newcomers to Hazan will find her strongly opinionated. “In Italian cooking there is no cream of anything soup.” No adding Parmesan to sauces cooked with olive oil. “Chopped parsley in a recipe means chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley leaves.” Don’t chop parsley when wet. Pressed garlic “is not suitable to careful cooking.” Ouch!

Listen, readers, Hazan knows of what she speaks! Her writing can occasionally seem a bit crochety, but there is no cooking advice that’s better or recipes that are more exquisite. The first recipes in the cookbook might strike American cooks as odd; if so, just skip them. I promise there are wonderful recipes to come if you don’t like the initial ones, no matter where you live.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor in exchange for an honest review. show less

I was looking for a recipe. I found it in Marcella's Italian Kitchen, which I checked out of the library. The recipe, for a fruit sorbet, helped clarify my thoughts on the use of acids to bring out the flavors of fruits. Then I spent some time perusing the book, which was fun, but more like a trip down memory lane than a new discovery. I've used her formula for seafood risotto for years. I'm not sure if this book is worth acquiring in addition to the several other books by the same author I own, unfortunately all in storage at the moment. I might have to revisit this book at a later date.