“Cucina Romana,” by Sara Manuelli (Interlink, $20)
“Cucina Romana” is a cookbook written by a Rome native. Sara Manuelli takes us on a tour of Rome’s nine districts, telling us the rich history of each. We stop at little-known restaurants, bakeries, markets and specialty shops, and we leave with their best recipes.
From her home district of Campo de Fiori, we learn about simple, sustaining pastas and a rich ricotta-cheese cappuccino. In Piazza Navona, the landmark square at the center of Rome, we taste the hard, sweet cookies that are dunked in a glass of chilled white wine.
We learn that Italians never order meatballs in a restaurant lest they be made of yesterday’s meat – except at the Osteria della Frezza in Campo Marzio e Piazza de Spagna, where they are made with fresh ground veal.
This is an authentic Italian cookbook, rich with recipes for food that only the locals know.
In addition, it is the perfect traveling companion for anyone making the trip to Rome – the addresses for Manuelli’s secret destinations are included.|Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service
