In addition to the eponymous travel guides, Lonely Planet occasionally publishes cookbooks. From the Source: Italy is the third such cookbook I’ve owned and enjoyed cooking from.
Like the travel guides, the Lonely Planet cookbook range is concerned with a genuine experience. This is not ‘watered down Italian food featuring universally available ingredients.’ This is an authentic book, celebrating produce throughout different regions of Italy, then providing a recipe featuring that item. Each recipe is accompanied by a story about the ingredient, region or chef and weaves together a tale. It is a beautifully readable book, a great gift for anyone who loves either travel or food.
I found the book inspiring and it set off a burst of pasta-making. I forgot how easy it is to make pasta, especially now that my children are old enough to use the pasta roller!
The recipe I decided to make first was Tortelli di zucca (Pumpkin tortelli), traditionally served on Christmas Eve in the Mantua region. I used the last of my summer crop of pumpkins and loved the final product – gorgeous dumplings of pumpkin, cheese, amaretti biscuit crumbs and relish. I knew that the recipe would produce a good result, so doubled the recipe and have some frozen for another night.
Review by Emma Wong-Ming
From the Source: Italy
by Sarah Barrell, Susan Wright and Lonely Planet
Published by Lonely Planet
ISBN 9781743607619
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