Italian cuisine: books and TV shows

As much as I love travelling to Italy, I love Italian cuisine. A tote bag that I bought in Rome says it all: ‘spritz, carbonara, tiramisu & amore’. Well… perhaps not all. There’s also pizza, gelato, panettone, pannacotta, coffee (un caffe shakerato per favore), wine, vitello tonnato (my new favourite), cacio e pepe, maritozzi, canolli… Just don’t let me get started…

My love, as well as my knowledge of Italian cuisine, has grown not only through travelling and eating out, but also thanks to books and TV shows I’ve come across in the last few years.

Italian cuisine: Fatto in casa da Benedetta Rossi

It was when I visited Verona a few years ago that I first came across Benedetta Rossi. She originally became famous on YouTube, later had recipe books published and now also has her own culinary show on Italian TV. Since then, I have often consulted her blog/website, watched many of her videos, and even bought her latest book ‘La nostra cucina’. Her recipes are easy to follow and a fun way for me to practice/improve my Italian (as well as my cooking skills).

Italian cuisine: Made in Italy/in Sicily/at Home

It was because of this that I decided to start watching Masterchef Italia (on YouTube, but not on the official channel) a couple of years ago. The episodes are not only mouthwatering but also fun to watch and easy to follow, even for someone who’s far from fluent in the language.

Now if you don’t speak a word of Italian, this might be slightly more difficult and less interesting. In that case, I would recommend Giorgio Locatelli’s English-language books, including ‘Made in Italy: Food and Stories’, ‘Made in Sicily’ and ‘Made at Home: The food I cook for the people I love’. Although Locatelli has been a judge on Masterchef Italia for several years now, he lives in London where he has opened the Michelin-starred restaurant, Locanda Locatelli.

Italian cuisine: Stanley Tucci Searching for Italy

Whether you speak Italian or not, I would also recommend Stanley Tucci’s food and travel show ‘Searching for Italy’ (premiered on CNN, currently available on BBC i-player). So far, there have been two seasons, with a total of 14 episodes. In each episode, the American actor visits a different region of Italy, including Calabria, where his family is from. Tucci is also the author of several books, including ‘Taste: My Life Through Food’. Unlike his previous ones, this is not a cookbook but a memoir, but also includes recipes (mostly Italian).

Further reading

If you’ve worked out an appetite for Italy, check out my 10-day trip to Southern Italy. After landing in Bari, the capital and the largest city of Puglia, I visited the inland towns of Alberobello and Locorotondo, as well as the seaside Monopoli and Polignano a Mare. I then visited Matera, a city located not in Puglia, but in the neighbouring region of Basilicata. After staying there for a couple of days, I took the bus to Lecce and returned to Puglia. From there, I continued to Ostuni, Cisternino and Brindisi.

If you’re planning a trip to the Italian capital, here’s where to eat and drink in Rome. Whilst there, you can also follow in Robert Langdon’s footsteps and visiting notable churches around the city.

Alex

(the Traveling Psychiatrist)