Pasta Modern

October 7, 2013
In this collection of over 100 authentic recipes, Segan, cookbook author and culinary historian, gathers the newest twists on the traditional dish from kitchens of home cooks, renowned chefs, hand-crafted pasta makers, and popular Italian food bloggers. The innovative recipes reflect updated interpretations of Nonna-inspired dishes and contemporary culinary trends such as vegetarianism and pasta-based desserts. Chapters feature appetizers/soups, fruit, nuts, and vegetarian fare; fish, meat, and savory uses of chocolate and coffee; fresh, holiday, and dessert pastas. Apple Ravioli with Farro-Pistachio Pesto and wood-chip Smoked Spaghetti with Charred Tomatoes are meatless. Pasta Sushi is created with seafood-stuffed shells, and there’s a chef-inspired dish of glazed leeks and pancetta over Verrigni, a spaghettini extruded through gold. Desserts include Sweet Crispy Pasta Nests and Chocolate-Stuffed Shell. Recipe notes share Segan’s pleasure of hands-on cooking with locals, village food festivals, and working with chefs. Sega encourages adopting a “taste-as-you-cook” approach and letting go of precise measurements. She explains how to use fresh herbs based on season, advises using the highest quality ingredients, and reveals secrets of boiling and saucing pasta perfectly. There’s a photographic chart of basic and unique pasta shapes. Segan’s “cutting edge” recipes demonstrate that pasta is truly Italy’s “vibrant, ever-changing” staff of life.

Starred review from August 1, 2013

To research this unusual pasta cookbook, food historian Segan (Dolci: Italy's Sweets) traveled all of Italy consulting home cooks, chefs, journalists, pasta companies, and other experts. In these ten chapters (e.g., "Fruit," "Vegetarian," "Savory Chocolate & Coffee," "Holidays"), pasta is not only boiled but also smoked, baked, and deep-fried. Linguine simmered in red cabbage juice becomes vibrant purple pasta, and pureed macaroni forms the base of maccheroni souffle. Pasta (mostly store-bought but some homemade) is also used as a vehicle for handheld appetizers and desserts, such as pasta sushi and chocolate-stuffed shells. VERDICT Meticulously researched, thoughtfully curated, and artfully designed, this unique collection will inspire readers to try new preparations and flavors.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2013
Generally, a good cookbook is one with traditional and contemporary recipes, quality color photography, and clear instructions anyone can follow. A great cookbook includes all the above and educates us on every page, making us more knowledgeable culinarians. In her fifth cookbook (see also Dolci, 2011; The Opera Lover's Cookbook, 2006), Segan not only fulfills the great vision but also enables us to virtually visit Italy's 20 regions and savor its pastas. No piece of information is too arcane to omit. She'll inform us about the passive cooking trend and different shapes of pasta, about the uniqueness of the Jerusalem artichoke and the richness of Carnevale foods. Segan will also not stint on the prefatory details (i.e., the basics) that quite a few authors rush through. She takes time to explain the how-to's, selection process, and skill-building. But, oh, the pastas you'll experience! Not content with the same ol' same ol', she identifies the ones most guaranteed to please American palates, whose names alone will seduce: ricotta bites, bucatini dome, trout and snails, meat and pear open ravioli, pancake pasta, and chocolate-stuffed shells. She lives up to her own billing, well demonstrating a fierce, profound, and zealous reverence for Italian pastas. Pasta glossary (in photographs) appended.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)