Autentico

Unlike so many Italian cookbooks, Autentico goes far beyond pasta. In a world where culinary shortcuts, adulteration, misleading labeling, and mass production of seemingly "authentic" food rule, culinary archaeologist, innovator, importer, and cooking teacher Rolando Beramendi has kept centuries-old culinary traditions alive. Nothing is more authentic than that. In Autentico, Rolando details how to make some classic dishes such as spaghetti cacio e pepe, Tuscan ragu, and eggplant parmesan as they were meant to be made - not the versions that somehow became muddled as they made their way across the Atlantic. Among the 150 recipes, you'll find Baked Zucchini Blossoms filled with goat ricotta, rather than mozzarella; The Greenest Minestrone; Gnocchi with Kale Pesto; Risotto with Roasted Beets, Gorgonzola, and Pistachios; Roast Lamb with Red Peppers; Salt Cod with Prunes, and a Tuscan Stew with spice route flavors that could have been served to the Medicis during the Renaissance. And of course, there are dolci (desserts): Summer Fruit Caponata, Meringata with Dark Chocolate Sauce, and Olive Oil Cake with Blood Orange Syrup.