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Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook
A luscious cookbook of little known Venetian specialties from one of London's hottest restaurants, accompanied by luminous photographs.
Tucked away in London's edgy Soho district, Polpo is one of the most irrepressibly buzzing restaurants in town. Critics and food aficionados have been flocking to this understated bacaro where Russell Norman serves up small dishes-think tapas-from the back streets of Venice. A far cry from the tourist-trap eateries of the famous floating city, this kind of cooking is unfussy, innovative, and exuberantly delicious. The 120 recipes in this book range from salads and snacks to small main courses, drinks, and desserts, including asparagus with Parmesan and anchovy butter; warm duck salad with beets and walnuts; crispy baby pizzas with zucchini, mint and chilli; scallops with lemon and peppermint; soft-shell crab in Parmesan batter with fennel; fizzy bellinis and glasses of bright orange spritz; panacotta with poached rhubarb; and warm autumn fruits with amaretto cream.
The recipes are accompanied by luminescent photography within a dazzling design, including a distinctive stripped-away spine to reveal colorful Japanese stitching--a feature that also allows the book to lie open flat on a chef's workstation. Polpo captures the unfrequented corners, bustling bacari, and sublime waterways of Venice as they've never been seen before.
Tucked away in London's edgy Soho district, Polpo is one of the most irrepressibly buzzing restaurants in town. Critics and food aficionados have been flocking to this understated bacaro where Russell Norman serves up small dishes-think tapas-from the back streets of Venice. A far cry from the tourist-trap eateries of the famous floating city, this kind of cooking is unfussy, innovative, and exuberantly delicious. The 120 recipes in this book range from salads and snacks to small main courses, drinks, and desserts, including asparagus with Parmesan and anchovy butter; warm duck salad with beets and walnuts; crispy baby pizzas with zucchini, mint and chilli; scallops with lemon and peppermint; soft-shell crab in Parmesan batter with fennel; fizzy bellinis and glasses of bright orange spritz; panacotta with poached rhubarb; and warm autumn fruits with amaretto cream.
The recipes are accompanied by luminescent photography within a dazzling design, including a distinctive stripped-away spine to reveal colorful Japanese stitching--a feature that also allows the book to lie open flat on a chef's workstation. Polpo captures the unfrequented corners, bustling bacari, and sublime waterways of Venice as they've never been seen before.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2012
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772 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 13, 2016
As Polpo is absolutely my favourite restaurant of the last year (and a bit), of course I was so excited about their cookbook. Other fans of their food will not be disappointed, I found many dishes I recognised from the menu that I can now recreate at home. The only thing I was very disappointed not to see were the delicious chickpea, spinach and ricotta (non-)meatballs, which I'd been planning to cook as a treat for my mother, who loved them when I took her to Polpo.
However, one of the main reasons that I love Polpo is because it's a 'small plate' place, where you mix several dishes between everyone. But while I love eating out that way, it's certainly not very easy to recreate at home. I have managed to put together mezze meals before with the help of a friend or two, but it's always rather stressful. So while I'm very happy to try out a lot of the recipes in this book, I think I'll enjoy leaving the complete Polpo experience to the experts...
(Any one who liked this cookbook should check out Bocca: Cookbook - another very good London trendy Italian restaurant cookbook.)
However, one of the main reasons that I love Polpo is because it's a 'small plate' place, where you mix several dishes between everyone. But while I love eating out that way, it's certainly not very easy to recreate at home. I have managed to put together mezze meals before with the help of a friend or two, but it's always rather stressful. So while I'm very happy to try out a lot of the recipes in this book, I think I'll enjoy leaving the complete Polpo experience to the experts...
(Any one who liked this cookbook should check out Bocca: Cookbook - another very good London trendy Italian restaurant cookbook.)
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March 11, 2015Stunning book design - courtesy of the UK design firm Praline - gives this book an incredible boost. An essential cookbook that deserves a spot on every kitchen shelf, especially for those who not only have a love of inventive book design, but for everyone out there with an interest northern Italian cooking, focusing on simple, fresh ingredients, and the liveliness of quintessentially Italian flavors.
November 21, 2022
Excellent, authentic 👏
January 19, 2021
An extraordinary book with beautiful photographs, fantastic recipes and a lot of interesting background information. Already the recipe for ‘John Dory with orange, fine herbs and pink peppercorns’ is a little miracle!
July 5, 2024
Beautiful travel cookbook. Got in Venice, so fun to relive through the food. Need to go back to try his recommendations, while also making his recipes at home to help satisfy the desire to go back now.
December 31, 2017
Gorgeous, sumptuous. So many incredible recipes.
September 7, 2020
Enjoyable read
Not merely a cookbook but a Venitian adventure with a close look at classic Venetian cuisine. Looking forward to preparing some of the recipes.
Not merely a cookbook but a Venitian adventure with a close look at classic Venetian cuisine. Looking forward to preparing some of the recipes.
December 13, 2020
Much more than a cookbook. This inspires you to experiment in the kitchen then get on a plane............ ❤️ The recipes, the narratives and the photos were spectacular.
January 1, 2021
Wonderful recipes, beautiful photos and stories, and this lovely cookbook was from one of my dear cousins who also enjoys the love of cooking. I will surely turn to this many times in the future.
April 13, 2025
Low rating because it’s not formatted for kindle so it makes it a real pain in the ass to see if I want to buy it
August 8, 2012
Was lucky enough to score a copy of this before it was released in the States (thanks to some wonderful friends). Really excellent cookbook for food that is representative of Venetian cuisine. Gorgeous photos...fantastic ingredients. Now holds top honors on my (heavily weighted) cookbook shelf.
April 5, 2013
The food is excellent and the philosophy great - a celebration of the amazing local cheap food to be found off the main tourist trails in Venice. I visited one of their London restaurants, however, and was appalled at the high prices 7.50 for an Aperol Spritz for example. The bill for two came to over 70.00 and all this from exponents of cheap street food. Outrageous.
September 6, 2013
Beautiful Venetian cookbook (exposed binding! lush photographs of seafood) with accessible recipes (cod with lentils, butternut squash with prosciutto and ricotta). As the intro says: “There is no show-off cooking or complex technical artistry.” Just a chance to indulge in the fantasy of Mediterranean life (while cooking).
June 4, 2015
Super yummy and easy recipes - with lots of delicious photos. It's the whole concept of only a few ingredients. Russell Norman introduces each recipe with witty comments. He also has a lot of Italian nonna moments - like pour a couple glugs of olive oil. Then he's super strict with the portions in the perfect negroni. This book makes me want to go to Venice!
April 13, 2014
A simply beautiful cookbook. Exposed binding, and quite wonderful photography. I read it like a novel and I'm now looking forward to getting in the kitchen! Simple Venetian food, some recipes with as few as four ingredients. It's about easy cooking and the enjoyment of the food.
October 6, 2012
Not bad - very nice design and good photography. It's no 'Bocca di Lupo", but it has a good set of recipes.
May 28, 2013
Sono felice che questo libro abbia successo. I Bacari sono in via di estinzione ed é una tragedia!!! Che bella sorpresa trovare tutto questo a Londra :-)
June 28, 2013
The book is beautiful and lovingly produced. It is a pleasure to handle, with its lovely binding. The recipes are fun, but the book is even more fun. It makes me smile.
July 9, 2013
Gorgeous cookbook! A meal in itself, just to hold it and look at the illustrations.
As food porn goes, this is a winner.
As food porn goes, this is a winner.
December 29, 2014
Nothing too surprisingly new here, though the recipes all look good.
August 3, 2015
Looking forward to try out the recipes!
June 25, 2013
A stunner of book design and production. Simple, evocative recipes.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews