Going Veggie, Italian Style

 Over the ages, resourceful Italian cooks have devised countless ways to prepare vegetables—all incredibly flavorful and simple. In this rich collection of traditional and contemporary Italian recipes for vegetarian and nearly vegetarian dishes, cooking authority Michele Scicolone shares recipes that she gathered during years of traveling in Italy.


Some, like Green Fettuccine with Spring Vegetable Ragu and Easter Swiss Chard and Cheese Pie, came from talented home cooks. Others, such as Stuffed Cremini Mushrooms, were passed down through her family. She encountered still others, in- cluding One-Pot “Dragged” Penne, in restaurants and adapted dishes like Romeo’s Stuffed Eggplant from the cookbooks she collects. Many recipes display the Italian talent for making much out of little: Acquacotta, “Cooked Water,” makes a sumptuous soup from bread, tomatoes, and cheese. In keeping with Italian tradition, some dishes contain small amounts of pan- cetta, anchovies, or chicken broth, but they are optional.


Simple desserts— Rustic Fruit Focaccia, Plum Crostata—finish the collection.

Already well known to the world of foodies and lovers of fine Italian eating, Michele rose to a quasi-celebrity status when she wrote (with Allen Rucker) two best-selling cooking books inspired by David Chase’s multi- award-winning HBO dramatic series “The Sopranos”: The Sopranos Family Cookbook (2002), and Entertaining with the Sopranos (2008), both published by Grand Central Publishing.


Last but not least, nearly 40 years ago Michele married wine expert Charles Scicolone, and since then they have been woring together, travelling to Italy several times a year, either to visit winemakers, research for books and articles, with groups on culinary tours, or simply to explore and enjoy. Michele and Charles are leading food and wine bloggers for i-Italy’s online portal and have appeared in this magazine and its companion TV show from the very beginning.



The Italian Vegetable Cookbook

Michele Scicolone

Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

➤ pages 224 ➤ $ 23.10