Ingredienti: Marcella’s Guide to the Market

This practical guide to selecting and cooking with high-quality ingredients is an indispensable reference volume for professional and home cooks. Published posthumously, it is the last in a series of books by the Italian-born Marcella (Essentials of Italian Cooking), and her husband, Victor. In this volume, Marcella, an authority on Italian cuisine and winner of the James Beard Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, steers clear of recipes, instead offering instruction on how to shop for, store, and cook ingredients. Emphasizing seasonality, she says to reveal, rather than add to, flavors inherent in quality produce from artichokes to zucchini. In the straightforward, authoritative tone that drives all of her classic cookbooks, she explains how to assess ingredients by look, weight, color, and smell while at the market. Along with tips about procuring the best produce, pantry items, salumi, olive oil, and cheese, she shares a list of online sources for specialty items from truffles to the traditional Christmas treat of panettone. The simplicity and purity of Marcella’s approach has rightfully earned her the distinction “godmother of Italian cooking” in America. Perhaps best known until now for her classic sauce consisting simply of tomato, onion, and butter, this book links her forever to the value and integrity of ingredients in general. Illus. (July)