“My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy’s Undiscovered South” by Rosetta Constantino and Janet Fletcher.

“Although we had few material luxuries, our table was a daily source of pleasure and abundance.” This describes the essence of “MyCalabria”.

 
 “We kept rabbits and chickens, raised a pig every year, and made our own olive oil.  My father’s land produced goat and lamb for our table; ricotta cheese and pecorino; wine and vinegar; figs and nectarines, some of which we preserved; wheat for bread and pasta; and endless vegetables.” Rosetta Constantino beautifully describes the culinary bounty found in the simple foods of Calabria, Italy.  

“My Calabria”, highlights the foods and dishes common to the under-appreciated “toe of the boot” in Italy.  She describes how her parents kept those foods and traditions alive even after they immigrated to America.  Stories of her mother carrying her sour dough starter over from Italy in her purse and her father packing his prized San Marzano tomato seeds to plant in his new garden in Oakland, California lead the reader to understand how important food and tradition was to this family. 

Each chapter begins with a story about the food or ingredient and its importance in Calabrian cooking. The recipes throughout the book use simple ingredients that can be found in most grocery stores or farmers markets.   Headnotes are used to describe each dish and either its history in Calabria or its significance for her family.  The majority of recipes use ten ingredients or fewer, and the directions are more than thorough, but may be intimidating to a novice cook.  

Through her descriptions, Ms. Constantino aptly teaches her readers how to make everything from various shapes of pasta and homemade ricotta cheese, to drying peppers and canning tomatoes.   Photos are used sparingly, but when they are included they illustrate a cooking technique or highlight the countryside and people of Calabria.  

While not a cookbook for a beginning cook, anyone with an interest in Italian cooking and culture should have a copy of this on their bookshelf.  If your family's ancestry is Calabrian, this book is a must!  Stay tuned - I'll post my experiences with a recipe from this book soon!

N.B. I do not make money recommending any book.  This is simply a book I have, that I enjoy and think others might also.  Clicking the link to amazon does not generate income for me.