Truly Italian by Ursula Ferrigno

Ursula Ferrigno, a former principal tutor at Cordon Vert, the hot seat of vegetarian learning, has pushed the boat out with this truly excellent book. She learnt her cooking skills from her grandmother and uses many of the recipes that she picked up in her formative years in Truly Italian. The recipes will surprise the reader; they are hearty in a meaty sort of way. But meat you will not find, nor nut burgers. Instead, the pages are full of authentic Italian dishes that have the reader drooling in anticipation. It is food to fill you up and keep you going.

Ursula Ferrigno aspires to a meat free diet, as it is healthy. The Mediterranean diet, which consists principally of vegetables, grains, fruit with seeds and nuts and of course, copious quantities of that amber nectar, olive oil, is in part responsible for the low rate of osteoporosis in Italy.

The nutritional information on each recipe, along with interesting snippets, are invaluable. This all sounds very sensible but is it fun? Yes, without doubt. She has been able to inject her vivacious character into the food she loves to cook. You can just imagine her pounding the dough whilst chattering away. This is vegetarian food at its best, purely inspirational and it is difficult not to recommend every recipe.

Pizza, pasta and risotto play a big part in the book but take a moment to imagine zucchini a scapece, sun-dried courgettes with mint and garlic. It is very simple. Slice courgettes lengthways, put them out in the sun and cover them with a cloth. Let them dry for about three hours and then fry in a pan with olive oil. Dress with vinegar, olive oil and chopped mint and garlic. Cover and leave for four hours or overnight, if you can wait. The pessimists amongst you are saying that we won't have any sunshine to speak of as we lose sight of summer. Hold on, as you can dry the courgettes out in a very low oven, which takes about an hour. You will never want to eat this vegetable any other way.

For something more filling, try lasagne di radicchio alla trevisana. Ursula suggests you buy radicchio from Treviso, which is long and thin but its beauty is that is has more flavour than the round one and is not as bitter.

The cakes are mouth trembling. Torta alle susine e nocciole is a plum and hazelnut concoction and with the plum season drawing to a close, it would be churlish not to try it.

To date, Truly Italian is one of the best vegetarian cookbooks on the shelves.

Why not try Ursula's version of apple cake?

Torta di Mele d'Maria
Apple Cake

Serves 6 - 8

1 tbs demerara sugar
125g unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
2 large free-range eggs,
separated
2 drops of pure vanilla extract
125g ground almonds
55g self-raising flour
150ml soured cream
175g Cox's Orange Pippin apples

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 20 cm
Round cake tin with baking parchment, then sprinkle with demerara sugar.

2. Cream together butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in
egg yolks and vanilla extract, then fold in almonds, flour and soured cream.

3. Whisk egg whites until they hold their shape then, using a metal spoon, fold into the creamed mixture.

4. Peel, core and slice apples, and arrange in base of prepared tin. Spoon creamed mixture over apples and level the surface. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes until golden and firm to the touch.

5. Invert on to a warmed serving plate, and serve warm with whipped
cream.

This works well with other soft fruit: with blackberries and plums.

This recipe is reproduced by kind permission of Ursula Ferrigno and Mitchell Beazley.


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Publication Details:
224 pages. Photography by Jason Lowe. £20.
ISBN 1840001496. Published by Mitchell Beazley
1999

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