Years ago when I was a young Mom just starting to find my way around the kitchen, I discovered Food Network and stumbled upon Nigella Lawson’s show. I was instantly taken in not just by the stunning shots of food, but from Nigella’s unabashed love of food as well. “Who cares about what society dictates,” was the message I gleaned from her attitude, “when you want to stand in front of an open fridge and grab a snack?”
Nigella’s books were some of the first real "foodie" books I read and tried before the term "foodie" was coined-and so when Nigellissima came out, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy.
Fans of Nigella Lawson won’t be disappointed. There’s plenty of her lovely prose to read, along with a large selection of recipes to choose from, with the more daring squid ink spaghetti for the adventurous to a more simple figs with honey, cream, and pistachios for the more timid cook. There are plenty of photographs, which I always love in a cookbook. In fact they are often so beautiful I’d likely keep the book from any workspace to save it from becoming splattered.
Nigella’s books, I’ve always thought, are ones that you read more of than cook from. Oh, I do cook from them, but there’s much to read in the blurbs before we get down to the actual food, and Nigella does a wonderful job of explaining unfamiliar ingredients or what you should serve this or that with.
The only drawback I can see from this book is that there are some unfamiliar ingredients, or ones that could be hard to find unless you know what to look for. The average home cook could be quite intimidated, but if you have an adventurous streak in you, then one might make the effort to find chocolate pasta or borlotti beans. All is not lost, however—there are plenty of recipes that would be easily managed. This is not a quick book full of uncomplicated food; it’s more of a journey through Italy with Nigella as your guide. The pre-requisites would be that you love to eat and are a bit fearless in the kitchen.
Grab your passport, an apron, and get ready to eat, Italian style.
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