La
Terra Fortunata
The Splendid Food and Wine of Friuli-Venezia
Giulia, Italy's Great Undiscovered Region
By
Fred Plotkin (Broadway)
For a little-known region of Italy, Friuli-Venezia
Giulia has one big cookbook. Acclaimed Italian cookbook
author Fred Plotkin (Italy
for the Gourmet Traveler) gives the region
between Venice and Vienna the respect he thinks it
deserves in his 400-page tome. After sampling some
of the stunning recipes he collected, you'll undoubtedly
respect it too, as do Italians who often rank it among
their country's three best culinary regions.
Some of the most varied food in Italy emerges from
local kitchens. Plotkin has visited them and has queried
home cooks as well as restaurant chefs. Subtle hints
of herbs, spices, vinegar and wine are used to great
effect in flavoring distinct dishes. "This may
result in combinations such as cinnamon-flavored ricotta
cheese as a pasta sauce; onions with cloves; polenta
with ginger; or mussels with anise," Plotkin
writes.
RECIPE:
Penne with
Cinnamon Ricotta
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