“Cucina povera, Italian peasant cooking, is the way people have been cooking in Italy for centuries,” says Tuscan blogger, podcaster and cooking school teacher Giulia Scarpaleggia.
Her latest cookbook, “Cucina Povera: The Italian Way of Transforming Humble Ingredients into Unforgettable Meals,” is full of inviting writing, interesting little history lessons and plenty of tips to make the most of those simple ingredients. Of course, there are also 100 recipes accompanied by beautiful photographs from Tommaso Galli, Scarpaleggia’s husband.
Recipes with this story: Sicilian Almond-Milk Pudding
Scarpaleggia says the book offers “an authentic and sustainable approach to food, along with recipes to make the most of less-expensive cuts of meat and ideas for cooking simple ingredients and seasonal produce with Italian flair.”
“Cucina Povera” starts with the contents of the Italian pantry, where Scarpaleggia talks about the different types of olive oils, herbs and spices, dried legumes, canned tomatoes and more that she likes to always have on hand. The back of the book covers basics that are often used as components of other recipes (bread, stock, tomato sauce and how to preserve tomatoes). The heart of the book is nine chapters organized by ingredient.
The vegetable chapter includes an explanation of the historic role of a garden in cucina povera, noting that “long before the farm-to-table movement became trendy on restaurant menus, it was the only way Italian peasants and farmers ate.” Standards like minestrone are found here as well as less-known dishes like Bread-and-Anchovy-Stuffed Sweet Green Peppers.
The chapter on beef, pork and lamb dishes focuses on affordable cuts of meat and includes a little history lesson about the quinto quarto. “The first quarter was intended for the nobles, the second for the clergy, the third for the bourgeoisie, and, finally the last quarter for the soldiers. The head, tail, and all the off-cuts (offal), making up a fifth quarter, were left to butchers and poor people. And that is where the Italian cucina povera found a fertile soil for inventive and nutritious dishes,” Scarpaleggia writes.
Cheese is an element of territorial and cultural identity in Italy today, but in the chapter on dairy-based meals, we learn that in the Middle Ages it was the food of poor people and how Christianity played a role in cheese’s rise to prominence.
And since “Cucina Povera” focuses on Italian peasant food, it has a chapter I haven’t seen in cookbook before: “Potatoes, Corn, and Chestnuts: Staples From the Mountain Regions.” Scarpaleggia writes, “Until a few decades ago, living in the Italian Mountains meant relying on a subsistence diet: chestnuts, potatoes, and polenta, along with grains such as rye, buckwheat, and barley.” This chapter offers options from Polenta With Butter and Cheese to Chestnut and Potato Gnocchi With Gorgonzola and Walnut Sauce.
There’s even a chapter devoted to leftovers, where Scarpaleggia notes, “Stale bread is as precious as gold.” These scraps can become breadcrumbs, gnocchi or dumplings. She touches on the environmental benefits of making use of leftovers and points out how cooking a large batch risotto to make arancine the next day can simplify how you cook.
A chapter on desserts includes cakes, tarts, puddings and cookies. The Bread Pudding Cake is dotted with hazelnuts and dried figs. The Sicilian Almond-Milk Pudding is simply flavored with lemon zest and topped with pistachios. And along with the more traditional desserts, you’ll find surprises like Elderflower Fritters.
From her days teaching cooking classes, Scarpaleggia says, “What I want to pass on to my students is not just a set of recipes to add to their cooking repertoire but also a deep respect for seasonality, a new consideration for humble pantry staples, clever ideas for repurposing leftovers, and the belief that everyone can be an excellent cook, especially when provided with the right ingredients.” “Cucina Povera” brings all of this to a much wider audience.
— Mims Copeland
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