The discovery of pasta : a history in ten dishes

The discovery of pasta A history in ten dishes

Luca Cesari

Book - 2023

"In this hugely charming and entertaining chronicle of everyone's favorite dish, acclaimed Italian food writer and historian Luca Cesari draws on literature, history, and many classic recipes in order to enlighten pasta lovers everywhere, both the gourmet and the gluten free. What is Italy without pasta? Come to think of it, where would the rest of us be without this staple of global cuisine? The wheat-based dough first appeared in the Mediterranean in ancient times. Yet despite these remote beginnings, pasta wasn't wedded to sauce until the nineteenth century. Once a special treat, it has been served everywhere from peasant homes to rustic taverns to royal tables, and its surprising past holds a mirror up to the changing fo...rtunes of its makers. Full of mouthwatering recipes and outlandish anecdotes--from (literal) off-the-wall 1880s cooking techniques to spaghetti conveyer belts in 1940 and the international amatriciana scandal in 2021--Luca Cesari embarks on a tantalizing and edifying journey through time to detangle the heritage of this culinary classic."--

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Subjects
Noodles > History.
Cooking (Pasta) > History.
Informational works.
Genres
Informational works
Published
New York, NY : Pegasus Books, Ltd 2023.
Language
English
Italian
Main Author
Luca Cesari (author)
Other Authors
Johanna Bishop (translator)
Edition
First Pegasus Books cloth edition
Item Description
Revision of: Cesari, Luca. A brief history of pasta. London : Profile Books Ltd, 2022.
Physical Description
362 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781639363162
  • Introduction
  • 1. Fettuccine Alfredo
  • 2. Amatriciana
  • 3. Carbonara
  • 4. Gnocchi
  • 5. Tortellini alla bolognese
  • 6. Ragù alla napoletana
  • 7. Ragù alla bolognese
  • 8. Lasagne
  • 9. Pesto alla genovese
  • 10. Spaghetti al pomodoro
  • Endnotes
  • Acknowledgements
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

Bologna-based food historian Cesari delivers a thoroughly researched narrative crafted around the evolution of ten beloved staple dishes from the Boot, disabusing the world of the myths of famous pasta origin stories. For instance, Fettuccine Alfredo--the ubiquitous Italian-American dish whose very existence in Italy every Italian will deny--originated in Rome born out of Alfredo di Lelio's resolve to fatten up his pregnant wife. Cesari relies on articles and cookbooks to investigate the reasoning behind the sharp outcry against now-verboten ingredients--onions, garlic, cream--in classic sauces such as amatriciana and carbonara. One may take glee in the written records showing that many of these ingredients actually helped make the dishes into what they are today. Although frequent references to historical documents and a stream of endnotes occasionally lean academic, the prose of the translation flows like water. An excellent read for those willing to set food-purist notions aside in order to see the bigger picture and enjoy what is nearly always the nuanced evolution of a recipe.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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