L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30 2023 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY G o i n t o a n y bookstore and you'll likely see a well-stocked cookbook sec- tion. There are cookbooks by continent, country, and geo- g r a p h i c r e g i o n . S o m e a r e arranged by meal, by season, or by holiday. Others devote themselves to variations on a single dish such as pasta, soup, or bread. In her debut cookbook, Viola Buitoni has chosen a new approach: arranging her r e c i p e s b y i n g r e d i e n t . I t a l y b y I n g r e d i e n t – Artisanal Foods/Modern Recipes, published in Sep- tember by Rizzoli with food p h o t o g r a p h y b y M o l l y DeCoudreaux, shows how modern chefs can incorpo- rate robust flavors and sim- p l e t e c h n i q u e s i n t o t h e i r cooking. Born in Rome and raised in Perugia, Buitoni has lived in the US for 30 years and c u r r e n t l y r e s i d e s i n S a n Francisco's Mission District with her husband and son. She teaches Italian cooking workshops, in person and online, and leads immersive food tours to Italy twice a year. In 2020, she received the Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Stella d'Italia from the Italian government for her work to enhance the culture and business of Italian food. Recently Buitoni spoke about her background, new c o o k b o o k , a n d u p c o m i n g projects at a presentation at the Book Larder, a commu- nity cookbook store in Seat- tle's Fremont neighborhood. This interview is based on her remarks that evening. This is your first cook- book. Why now? It's one of those things where you throw a few things at the wall and then see what sticks. Six or seven years ago, as I was thinking about my next project, I kept coming b a c k t o t h e i d e a o f t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f i n d i v i d u a l ingredients in Italian cook- ing. I thought it would be fun to create dishes that crossed fresh locally available prod- ucts with traditional Italian ingredients. I started off with 135 recipes and pared them down to 75 that appear in the book. My idea was to simpli- f y t h e p r e p a r a t i o n t o g e t more people excited about c o o k i n g a t h o m e . I n m y recipes, the ingredient list is s h o r t s o i t i s n o t s o daunting. H o w d i d t h e b o o k evolve? I literally lay down on the f l o o r i n m y p a n t r y a n d c l o s e d m y e y e s . W h e n I opened them, I tried to get a fresh perspective on what takes up the most space on m y s h e l v e s . F i r s t , i t w a s pasta. I have a lot of pasta, but you'll notice there is no c h a p t e r o n p a s t a i n m y book. Then I realized maybe it's not how much of one thing y o u h a v e b u t m o r e a b o u t how often you reach for a certain ingredient, how often you include it in your cook- i n g . F o r m e , t h a t m e a n s capers and olives. Nine times o u t o f 1 0 , I g o f o r o n e o f those two ingredients. Other top ingredients for me are anchovy paste and olive oil. How is your cookbook organized? The chapters are divided into sections. One section is d e v o t e d t o c o n d i m e n t s , which include balsamic vine- g a r , c a p e r s , a n d o l i v e s . Another section covers cere- als, primarily polenta, rice, a n d f a r r o . T h e r e a r e t w o chapters on cheese – hard cheeses, such as Pecorino R o m a n o a n d P a r m i g i a n o Reggiano, and soft cheeses that include burrata, moz- zarella, and ricotta. The sec- tion on meats explores salu- mi or cured meats, and there is another on fish. You say it's important t o u s e a l l t h e s e n s e s when cooking. Why? T h e s e n s e s i n f o r m t h e w a y y o u c o o k , h o w y o u choose your ingredients, and h o w y o u f o r m u l a t e y o u r recipes. One of the questions I get asked the most is: how do you know when a dish is ready? And I always answer: use your senses. This means hearing, sight, smell, and touch. I do not include taste b e c a u s e t a s t e s h o u l d n o t come into play until the dish is on the table. For example, when you heat olive oil, you wait for the olive oil smell to come to y o u . D o n ' t p u t y o u r n o s e down in it. When it flows up to you, then it's hot enough. Or, if you hear a sizzle, that means the humidity within the food is being released. Don't wait until the sizzle becomes a screech. That's the food saying: help me! By the time you smell some- thing burning, it's too late. Follow your senses. Touch the food, listen to it, smell it. Is it possible to cook delicious food on a limit- ed budget? I think you can cook well o n a b u d g e t . B u y c a p e r s , o l i v e s , t o m a t o e s a n d anchovies. These will elevate your cooking to a new level. Or buy one expensive ingre- dient that you don't use a lot of, like balsamic vinegar or a g o o d t o m a t o p a s t e . M y pantry and its ingredients make my house a home. T e l l u s a b o u t y o u r food tours to Italy? Twice a year, I organize and lead food tours for up to eight people for nine days. I c h o s e t h i s n i n e - d a y t i m e frame because there's a cer- tain cadence to the week in I t a l y w h e r e f o o d i s c o n - cerned. There is a market day, fish day, pasta day, and so on, throughout the week. On my tours, we visit food producers and growers in the Le Marche region. We cook together and explore the culture and heritage of the area. I offer one food t o u r i n t h e s p r i n g w h e n everything is green and fresh and growing, and a second o n e i n t h e f a l l w h e n w e might dig for our food, such as truffles, mushrooms, and chestnuts. Le Marche has such a long and beautiful history. There i s n o t h i n g s u p e r - b i g o r famous there. But that is good because it means there are not a lot of tourists. The locals have a vested interest i n k e e p i n g t h e i r r e g i o n healthy and productive. N e w c o o k b o o k e x p l o r e s I t a l y , ingredient by ingredient RITA CIPALLA Cooking instructor Viola Buitoni has honed her style of cooking over the years, from her youth in Rome and Perugia and through three decades in the US (Photo courtesy of Viola Buitoni)

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