Autentico: Cooking Italian, the Authentic Way
Autentico is an introduction to the true flavors of Italy. From the bright notes of fresh olive oil to the hearty warmth of slow-cooked ragú, Rolando Beramendi, importer and connoisseur of the finest ingredients from Italy, has crafted a perfect guide to authentic Italian food.
Unlike many Italian cookbooks, Autentico goes far beyond pasta. In a world where culinary shortcuts, adulteration, misleading labeling, and mass production of seemingly "authentic" food rule, culinary archaeologist, innovator and cooking teacher Rolando Beramendi has kept centuries-old culinary traditions alive. That's authentic! In Autentico, Rolando details how to make classic dishes from Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe to Risotto in Bianco and Gran Bollito Misto as they are meant to be - not the versions that somehow became muddled as they made their way across the globe. Among the 120 recipes, you'll find Baked Zucchini Blossoms filled with sheep's milk ricotta; Roast Pork Belly with Wild Fennel; Savoy Cabbage Rolls made with farro and melted fontina; Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe; Risotto with Radicchio; and a Lamb Stew with ancient Spice Route flavors that have roots from the times of Marco Polo and could have been served to the de' Medici during the Renaissance. And of course, there are dolci (desserts): Summer Fruit Caponata, Meringata with Bitter Chocolate Sauce, and a simple, moist, and succulent Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cake. Colored by the choicest ingredients from the shores of Italy and beyond, the pages of Autentico offer a rich taste of the Italy's history, brought to life in the modern kitchen.Earn by promoting books
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"Authentic" does indeed define this first cookbook from a longtime importer of Italian fine foods to the U.S. Even better, Beramendi is generous with credits, clear about his preference for simplicity (for instance, avoiding overcrowded plates and recipes with too many disparate ingredients), and forthright about his likes and dislikes. Expect great information about the basics, from deciphering important labels like DOP and IGP, to explicit instructions for the selection, use, and care of anchovies, capers, garlic, and other ingredients ... Autentico--and magnifico.
--Booklist Magazine
"Perhaps because he loves to entertain, the author's tone is not so much that of a chef (although he is a chef) as that of a congenial host always at play in the kitchen. . . . The recipes are accessible and, true to the book's title, authentic." --Publishers Weekly
"Rolando Beramendi has had an enormous impact on American food. His fingerprints are all over our business here at Zingerman's, and I know we're not alone." -Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman's
"Rolando Beramendi brings the bounty of Italy to our tables with recipes that celebrate the vibrant ingredients and fresh flavors of his home country. A true talent in the kitchen, Rolando tantalizes us with everything from vegetable-friendly contorni to fruit-forward, rustic desserts. Autentico is bellissimo! - David Lebovitz, author of L'appart and My Paris Kitchen
"Rolando Beramendi has an unrivaled passion for the Italian foods he sells...With unbridled and infectious joy, Rolando speaks of their history, explains how to use them, even how to eat them. I truly believe that if it weren't for Rolando, the Italian food products available in America would not nearly be at the high level of quality they are now. Cooks and diners alike in America owe Rolando a debt of gratitude." -Nancy Silverton, chef/co-owner of Mozza Restaurant Group
"Rolando has an amazing eye (as well as a nose and a palate) for the very best in food and drink, and he is as apt to find it in a peasant farmhouse in Tuscany as he is in an aristocratic palazzo in the Veneto. " -Nancy Harmon Jenkins
"Rolando arrives at my house like a gust of spring, laden with new ideas, recipes and flavors. Bolstering his enthusiasm is a profound knowledge of Italian food, based on experience in the kitchen as well as at the table of Italy's greatest cooks. The idea that all of this will be encapsulated in a book that I can consult at will is very exciting." -Mary Taylor Simeti, author of On Persephone's Island: A Sicilian Journal (Vintage) and Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty Centuries of Sicilian Food
"Americans should be thankful to Rolando for the wonderful products that he has introduced to this country." -Rosetta Costantino
