annieb123's Review of Jewish Flavours of Italy

by Nacamulli, Silvia

'Glorious food from an engaging family - informative, fascinating, moving and delicious' - Claudia Roden

'Food and family stories are the best way, perhaps the only way, to begin to unravel the intricate history of the Jews of Italy. This is a brilliant book to cook from and, as you do that, get a glimpse into a community more than two millennia old' - Yotam Ottolenghi

"Silvia lives and breathes the Italian food of her family and their forbears, she has carefully researched the provenance of each dish, and lends great authenticity and exuberance to every single page of this book. Brava!" - Joan Nathan

"Don't buy one copy - buy two (that caponata is to die for)!" - Gil Hovav

"Once you set foot in Silvia's Italian Jewish kitchen, you will never want to leave. Much more than a cookbook, this is a delicious deep dive into heritage, family and the Italian Jewish soul." - Lisa Goldberg, Monday Morning Cooking Club

"A joyous celebration of the history and culinary heritage of Italian Jews. Silvia Nacamulli beautifully weaves together personal stories of family, friendships and, of course, delicious food." - Linda Dangoor, author of Flavours of Babylon

"Silvia's stunning book is a fascinating and delicious journey into the Italian Jewish kitchen." - Victoria Prever, food editor of The Jewish Chronicle

"Cooking in itself is a creative and fulfilling activity, and the results of your efforts can satisfy not only your taste buds but also your soul. This is my aim: cooking for the soul." - Silvia Nacamulli in Elle a Tavola

Jewish Flavours of Italy is a culinary journey through Italy and a deep dive into family culinary heritage. With more than 100 kosher recipes, Silvia offers readers a unique collection of authentic and traditional Italian-Jewish dishes, combined with stunning photography, practical tips, and clear explanations. With a delicious mix of recipes, family stories and history, Silvia offers a unique insight into centuries' old culinary traditions.

Discover recipes from everyday home-cooked meals to special celebration menus for Jewish holidays. Highlights include recipes such as pasta e fagioli (borlotti bean soup), family favourites such as melanzane alla parmigiana (aubergine parmigiana), as well as delicious Jewish dishes such as Carciofi alla Giudia (Jewish-style fried artichokes), challah bread, and sarde in saor (Venetian sweet and sour sardines).

Silvia's extensive cooking repertoire combined with her life experiences means that her recipes and family stories are one-of-a-kind. She introduces the reader to soup, pasta, matzah, and risotto dishes, then moves on to meat, poultry, fish, and vegetable recipes. Silvia finishes with mouth-watering desserts such as orecchie di Amman (Haman's ears), Roman Jewish pizza ebraica (nut and candied fruit cakes) and sefra (aromatic semolina bake). Even the most sweet-toothed readers will be satisfied!

Each recipe is introduced by Silvia in a friendly and conversational tone that will get readers involved before they even get the chance to preheat the oven. Throughout the book, in-depth features highlight ingredients such as artichokes, courgette flowers and aubergines. A personal touch shines through and provides a connection with the author. Silvia's enthusiastic and charming personality transforms this collection of recipes into a culinary experience that will be cherished by generations to come.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Jewish Flavours of Italy is a lovely cookbook filled with family recipes collected and curated by Silvia Nacamulli wrapped in a rich tapestry of diaspora history of the Jews in Italy. Due out 23rd May 2023 from Pen & Sword on their Green Bean Books imprint, it's 336 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

There are undeniably quite a lot of wonderful recipes here, but for me the biggest value was in the background history of the Jewish diaspora in Italy; the food was almost secondary. The author writes accessibly and authoritatively on the subject and I learned a great deal about the immigration of Jews in the area as well as how they adapted to local ingredients whilst still remaining true to their religious and cultural identity at the same time they built a strong rapport in their new homes.

All of the recipes include commentary and background history such as where the dish originated and regional specifics. Recipe ingredients are given in a bullet list in a sidebar. Measurements are provided in metric measures with imperial (American) measurements in parentheses. The cooking directions and tutorials are written clearly and many are accompanied by multiple photos which are in colour and easy to understand. The photographers have done a stellar job of providing clear action shots without obscuring hands or utensils in the way.

Most of the ingredients will be easily found at a well stocked grocery store. Some few specialty ingredients may need to be acquired from international type food stores or sourced online.

The author has included some conversion charts for measurements in the back of the book as well as an abbreviated bibliography and comprehensive index. Much of the book is written in Italian on one column and translated side by side in a column of English on the right side of the page. All of the recipes are written in English with only the dish names in both languages.

Five stars. A wonderfully well written, solidly useful book which would be a superlative choice for public or home library acquisition, as well as gift-giving.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

21 December, 2022: Started reading

21 December, 2022: Finished reading

21 December, 2022: Reviewed