Made In Italy: Food and Stories
By Giorgio Locatelli
The 'made in Italy' part of this book's title refers as much to the author as his cuisine. Giorgio Locatelli was born in a village near Lake Comabbio, in Lombardy, a region in northern Italy known for its refined cuisine, myriad rice dishes and use of butter, rather than olive oil. Locatelli has worked at restaurants in Italy and France, and is now the chef and owner of Locanda Locatelli, a Michelin-starred restaurant considered to be one of London's best for authentic Italian food.
The book, which is full of anecdotes about the author, is not one you can read comfortably in bed while sitting propped up on pillows - with more than 600 pages, it's just too big and heavy. It fares better on the kitchen countertop. Many of the recipes are for restaurant-quality dishes that are time consuming and/or use expensive ingredients - it would probably be better to save recipes such as lasagne, pheasant ravioli and homemade pasta with beef ragout for the weekends, when you have more time to cook. But with a little advance preparation, there are plenty of dishes that can be made easily enough after a hard day in the office: risotto, grilled or roasted fish and meat, calves liver with balsamic vinegar and duck breast with broccoli.
