Italy in Small Bites - Hardcover

Field, Carol

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688111971 ISBN 13: 9780688111977

Publisher: William Morrow, 1993

Synopsis

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner may mark the beginning, middle, and end of the day, but for centuries Italians have eaten two small informal meals that come in between. Italy in Small Bites is the first-ever collection of recipes for these bite-size treats, known as spuntini and merende, the soul food of Italy.

Spuntini, the midmorning snack, can be as simple as a sublime walnut-and-raisin-studded coffee cake, while merende, which are enjoyed midafternoon, might be a wedge of onion frittata or artichoke tart, a crunchy pillow of fried dough served with figs or prosciutto, a puree of fava beans, or sweet peppers mounded on a slice of rustic country bread.

The best-known merende in America are pizza and focaccia, but there's an entire universe of appealing food revealed in this book. Though the recipes are tied to centuries of tradition that go back to a time when merende reinvigorated laborers in the fields, they're singularly perfect for contemporary eating in America and are as versatile as they are delicious.

Merende make perfect impromptu meals because they are stunningly simple foods meant to make life easy. Some -- bruschetta with various toppings, frittate, vegetable tarts, polenta crostini -- may be familiar, while others are welcome new discoveries. Served individually or in combination, they can become a meal -- any meal -- and they are healthy, inexpensive, and casual, perfect for the way we live.

About this title

About the Author:

Carol Field is the author of four cookbooks, In Nonna's Kitchen, Focaccia, Celebrating Italy, and The Italian Baker, as well as The Hill Towns of Italy and Mangoes and Quince, a novel. She has won two IACP Cookook Book Awards, a James Beard Award, and the Gold Medal for Cookbooks at the World Media Awards in Australia. She lives in San Francisco with her architect husband and continues to travel back and forth to Italy.

Synopsis:

Focuses on the Italian tradition of merende, a between-meals meal that includes such favorites as pizza and focaccia, and offers more than 150 recipes for "little meal" dishes.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0688111971
• ISBN 13: 9780688111977
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304