Pasta Modern: New and Inspired Recipes from Italy

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. (Nov.)