• Eat Your Books

  Beard Best Mediterranean Cookbook Award!
  Child Best International Cookbook Award!
  1998 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award Winner

• Eat Your Books

  1998 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award Winner

• Eat Your Books

  1998 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award Winner

• nicolepellegrini on November 19, 2018

  A book that's taken me a while to truly appreciate...perhaps because my cooking skills have improved significantly in the 20 or so years since this book came out, as has my appreciation for what makes Italian food truly shine. As much as I'd loved Marella's earlier books this one sat unused and unloved on my shelves until recently when I decided to take it back out and look through it, and now I practically want to cook it all, front to back.

• rees.linda on January 15, 2015

  My father's next door neighbour, Annie, who was a cook at the castle where he worked in Wales, gave this to me. First time I ever heard of Marcella and since then I've sought out her books. One of my favourite cooks. Have three other books by her so far. If you haven't tried her recipes, I recommend you do. Some have few ingredients that they initially appear at reading stage to be lacking. But believe me they deliver taste. Good home cooking and authentic, as far as I can tell.

• jdepaula on May 22, 2010

  Simple, yet extraordinarily flavorful recipes. A "must have" in any cookbook collection.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Frittata with potatoes, onion and rosemary

  • DLC on June 12, 2016

    May also layer potatoes to brown, add onions and other sauteed vegetables on top before adding eggs. Flip onto a large dish to serve.

• Mussel soup with cranberry beans, celery and basil

  • mcvl on August 27, 2014

    My rendition was about 50% Marcella, 50% me. Beans -> lentils. Onion -> shallot. Mussels -> very good canned salmon. Cut basil leaves -> whole basil leaves. My version was good everyday fare, fast and easy; Marcella's may be amazing, I just don't know.

• Courgette sauce for pasta with tomato, parsley and chilli pepper

  • twoyolks on July 12, 2015

    The zucchini didn't really have much flavor and neither did the sauce.

• Pasta sauce with peas, ham and cream

  • nicolepellegrini on November 18, 2018

    Classic favor combination. You can't go wrong with this, especially when you've got leftover holiday ham to eat up...

• Quail sauce for fresh pasta

  • thennek on June 29, 2013

    Essential to have good quality quail. Recipe easy to do but takes some time to strip the meat off the quail. Very tasty.

• Venetian-style milk polenta

  • JKDLady on January 25, 2016

    Maybe I did something wrong, but there did not seem to be enough liquid.

• Scallops with tomato, garlic and rosemary

  • L.Nightshade on November 06, 2013

    This was a surprising dish for me. I don't associate scallops with the profound piney aroma of rosemary, and this recipe calls for a good helping of it. Hazan states that the rather liberal use of rosemary here "is an exception to the restraint that most Italian cooks exercise when working with fragrant ingredients." Very simple, tasty, and fragrant. Makes a great weeknight meal, and would also be a nice first course for a dinner party.

• Swordfish-Sardinian style with mint and saffron

  • nicolepellegrini on July 02, 2018

    Quick and super-easy! The tomato-mint-white wine broth is refreshing and a nice twist on the typical tomato-basil or tomato-oregano flavor and the swordfish came out tender.

• Fricasseed rabbit with herbs, tomato and white wine

  • nicolepellegrini on August 19, 2018

    I love cooking rabbit and this is a very nice way to do it, especially when it's summer and fresh herbs and tomatoes are in ready supply.

• Stewed beef cubes with pickles, capers and red wine

  • Bloominanglophile on December 04, 2013

    This recipe is a bit long for a weeknight (browning the beef takes a bit of time in a small pan, as she recommends, as well as simmering the stew for 1 hour). However, it was delicious and hit the spot this snowy day. The cornichons and capers are an interesting twist to this dish--a first cousin to beef bourguignon as it were! I served it over German egg noodles accompanied by steamed cauliflower tossed with butter, a sprinkling of pecorino romano, and topped with toasted breadcrumbs.

• Breaded and fried portobello mushroom cutlets

  • bellatavia on April 09, 2012

    This is a solid recipe. Quick, delicious. Maybe baking the breaded portobellos would make it a bit healthier. (I didn't bake them, though.)

• Sauteed radicchio and Jerusalem artichokes with olive oil and garlic

  • debwfrank on February 27, 2010

    This was bland and lost its color. I liked the technique, so I'll try to think of how to flavor it up.

• Baked cauliflower Tuscan-style

  • Tommelise on August 13, 2011

    A very easy dish. Good comfort food. I used bacon insteed of ham.

• Artichoke and Swiss chard pie

  • Toppermom on May 01, 2012

    This has been a family favorite for years. I usually double the amount of filling as we like a larger tart. I use frozen artichoke quarters when fresh artichokes aren't available.