Introduction

“Donne, ricette e mode, chi li capisce gode.”

“Women, recipes, and fashions, who understands them, enjoys them.”

~ ITALIAN PROVERB

Recipes have always been an integral part of my life. Much more than just technical instructions, both oral and written recipes have the power to create cultural bridges between ourselves and others. They narrow the distance between time and space and give us the opportunity to be in touch with people and places that we may not be able to physically reach. Whether we are preparing recipes of those loved ones who are no longer with us or those who live on another continent, the act of doing so brings us closer to them.

It was the desire to be with those I could no longer be with, and in places that I couldn’t travel to, that fueled my passion for recipe reading, writing, and collecting as a young girl. Growing up in a family with Southern Italian (Calabrian) roots in New York state, food was our main link to our culture. Like many Italian-American families, and families of immigrants during those times, we lost many aspects of our culture due to the erroneous belief that assimilation was necessary for the good of our nation.

It is often said that food is the last component of a culture to be lost when people emigrate, and, in the case of our family and community, that is definitely true. I apprenticed under my grandparents on both sides of my family and my mother since I was three years old. Making bread, meatballs, cookies, pastries, and holiday recipes with them was the highlight of my life growing up. Later, I learned that the very same Cuzzupe di Pasqua (Calabrian Easter Bread), Petrali (fig cookies for Christmas), and other recipes that my beloved Nonna Angela taught me, were the same recipes that our family in Crotone, Calabria, still make for the same holidays. In fact, we often prepare them at the same time on the same days without knowing it! This means that a century after my great-grandparents emigrated to the United States, those recipes acted as edible time capsules that kept our family’s culture connected in a way that’s hard to explain. The Riolo family in the U.S. lost contact with their Italian relatives for more than four decades, yet our recipes lived on. What a joy it was to discover that we still had an edible connection to one another when we reunited.

Twenty-seven years after I first stepped foot in Italy and rediscovered my family in Calabria thanks to my cousin, Joyce Riolo, I am proud to say that I have lived and continue to work there. I am the Brand Ambassador for Ristorante D’Amore in gorgeous Capri, Italy. I lead cuisine, culture, and wellness tours to the majestic (yet still relatively unknown to tourists) regions of Abruzzo, Molise, and Calabria. I have a line of Amy Riolo Selections products that come from genuine single-estate producers in Italy, and I have maintained beautiful relationships with my relatives there. I also have formed a marketing company for Italian products called Italian Sensory Experience, LLC. I speak fluent Italian and often travel to Italy for personal reasons, for work, and to attend conferences on olive oil, wine, and other products. In the United States, I am the Brand Ambassador for the Pizza University and Culinary Arts Center, which enabled me to get pizzaiola certification with Maestro Pizzaiolo Enzo Coccia. I am also the chef at Casa Italiana Language School in Washington, D.C., and am very involved with Italian and Italian-American organizations throughout the world. Recently I became a founding member of the Italian non-profit association called A.N.I.T.A (Accademia Nazionale Italiana Tradizione Alimentari, or Italian National Academy of Food Traditions) whose vision is to promote healthful and sustainable Italian cuisine, traditions, and agriculture in the world.

After spending so much time in Italy, researching the recipes, and seeing how “Italian” food is served around the world, I knew there was a need for a book with mass appeal that would help demystify genuine, regional, Italian cuisine and culture, and so my eleventh book, Italian Recipes For Dummies, was born. The contents of this book are based on my Mastering Italian Certification Series that I have taught in cooking schools and institutions. The idea behind the book and the series is to give cooks the knowledge, tips, and strategies they need to create the best Italian foods.

While recipes are the easiest entry point into Italian cuisine, preparing them with passion and integrity can lead to a lifelong case of Italophilia, or love of all things Italian. Eating a traditional Italian diet, of mostly plant-based ingredients dressed with healthful doses of quality extra virgin olive oil and artisan vinegar, is as good for the body as it is for the palate and the psyche. May the recipes in this book bring you closer to those you love and connect you to your past and your future, as they do for me.

About This Book

You don’t need to live in Italy to create great Italian food. You do, however, need to understand Italian meal patterns, some history and culture, and why foods are eaten and paired in a specific way. You’re in luck! Italian Recipes For Dummies provides not only the recipes needed to make authentic dishes, but also many of the often unexplained strategies that housewives and restaurant chefs have employed and passed down for years. These strategies make even the most labor-intensive Italian recipes accessible for home cooks everywhere, and this book reveals them.

I understand that some days are busier than others, so this book outlines how to fit cooking into your life. Most importantly, though, it discusses the deep-rooted misconceptions about getting to cook (not just having to cook) that have deprived us of one of life’s greatest pleasures. You learn why Italians, myself included, are so passionate about food, and you may be inspired to adopt some of the fervor! Whatever your cooking skill level, you will find recipes and tips that are perfect for you.

This book is a reference, which means you don’t have to read it from beginning to end or commit it to memory. Instead, you can dip in and out of the book to find the information you need. Use the table of contents and the index to find the subjects you’re looking for. If you’re short on time, you can skip sidebars (text in gray boxes) and anything marked with the Technical Stuff icon.

When it comes to the recipes, keep in mind the following:

• All temperatures are Fahrenheit. For conversion to Celsius, see the Appendix.
• Vegetarian recipes are marked with the tomato icon () in the Recipes in This Chapter and Recipes in This Book lists.
• I call for high quality extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and unrefined sea salt in many recipes throughout this book. I recommend these varieties because there is a big difference among the types on the market today, and using the best quality ingredients ensures that they are better for you. Be sure to check out Chapter 5 for more info about why these items are important to me and, I feel, to Italian cooking.
• If your budget allows, use organic ingredients whenever possible. But no matter what, buy the best-quality ingredients you can, from as close to where you live as possible — and enjoy them to the fullest.

• In this book, my dear friend, Dr. Sante Laviola, Italian research scientist, Sommelier, and official wine-taster of the Slow Wine Guide (published by Slow Food Editore) has paired his wine suggestions with my recipes. I truly appreciate his opinions because he has a very unique and highly informed perspective on wine pairing. With a PhD in Physics of the Earth System, Dr. Laviola uses a distinct form of wine pairing that promotes natural wines and protects our environment while pairing wines with the proper terroir (or natural environment including soil, topography, and climate) to each plate. He uses a geo-sensory wine-tasting approach when pairing; instead of smelling a wine’s aroma, he tastes it and senses the tactile properties in order to pair it with the territory, which is an increasingly popular method of evaluating natural wines.

  Of course, the wine pairings in this book are mere suggestions. You may opt to not drink with your meals, to pair your own favorite wines, or use different pairing parameters. Note that Dr. Laviola has shared the properties and characteristics of the wines he’s paired with the recipes to make it easier to find a suitable substitute if needed.

Finally, within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you have it easy—just click the web address to be taken directly to the webpage.

Foolish Assumption

In writing this book, I made a few assumptions about you, the reader:

• You’ve probably already fallen head-over-heels for classic Italian recipes such as pasta, pizza, and simmering sauces.
• You have a desire to prepare and enjoy genuine Italian food.
• You want to achieve great results in the kitchen without a lot of trial and error.
• You are willing to put in a bit of effort to experience mouthwatering and nutritious meals.

If any of these describe you,...