Easy Tasty Italian by Laura Santtini

If you enjoy Italian food and let's face who doesn't, why not give Laura Santtini's new book a go. This is sexed up Italian food with recipes that are presented in bite size nuggets. Staying true to its Italian roots, with a foreword by Gillian Riley of the Oxford Companion to Italian Food to boot, Laura injects pzazz into her recipes with magic tricks that transform them into dishes that you'll remember.

From a cursory glance, you might think Easy Tasty Italian is a quick fix book with its Top 10 Classic Pasta Sauces and Seren-dip-ities, four dips to get your guests dancing. However, the recipes have substance and with Laura's thorough grounding in Italian cuisine, she has been able to depart from the norm and be slightly whacky, without losing sight of the true meaning of Italian food.

Laura is good on umami, the art of combining flavours and you'll find examples of this throughout the book. The black chocolate elixir is delicious with T bone steak and radicchio. The Parmesan ice cream with Balsamic strawberries and black pepper sounds startling but there is literally no turning back once you've tried this.

Make up a jar of Renaissance Stardust, a combination of cinnamon, salt and sugar that can be rubbed onto white meat and fish.

Rather than shake, rattle and roll, read the section on Roll, Wrap and Splash where you roll either chicken or fish, asparagus or bocconcini in Parmesan, wrap in Prosciutto and splash with wine or stock. Great for suppers and equally good as canapes during the party season.

And on that subject, why not try frozen grapes. Put a bunch of grapes in the freezer for a few hours and then remove them just before serving. Serve with good chocolate, strong espressos and iced liqueurs.

This is Italian food with bling, Easy Italian Food might look gimmicky but the recipes have depth and for some festive sparkle, it would be churlish not to give some of them a go.

Publication Details:
Quadrille
£20
ISBN 1844007553
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