Pasta Fresca

by Viana La Place, Evan Kleiman

In 1985 two young women chefs with enormous, vitality and imagination published their first cookbook, Cucina Fresca. For many readers it was more than a cookbook; it was a love affair.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Italian Literature, Italy, Food

270 pages, Hardcover

First published November 18, 1988

About the author

Viana La Place is the author or coauthor of eight other Italian cookbooks, including Verdura: Vegtables Italian Style, Cucina Fresca, and Pasta Fresca. She lives in San Francisco.

Reviews

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a cookbook full of sometimes foods. There aren't many recipes in here that you could make without at least some planning ahead. (More than a quick trip to the grocery store to get the things you were missing.) In addition, many of the recipes seem to assume you are growing your own herbs, or buying them in sufficient quantities that you are using fresh ones daily, or able to buy them in very small quantities.

I like the fresh sauce recipes, but a lot of them are somewhat labor intensive. (Or maybe I'm the only one who thinks that de-seeding fresh tomatoes is kind of tedious?) Also, many of the recipes in this book call for pancetta to add flavor, so it's not exactly the most vegetarian friendly cookbook I've ever seen.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple. Delicious. Pasta the way it ought to be. If you love pasta that is simply prepared and completely delicious, try this book. And absolutely make the scallops and fedelini with lemon.