Mangia: How to Eat Your Way Through Italy, written by Maria Pasquale, is an indispensable guide to the twenty regions of Italy with an overview of the food history, culinary experiences, markets, ingredients, and unforgettable dishes. Each section ends with a recipe by a local including Agnolotti del Plin al Sugo d’Arrosto (Plin Agnolotti filled with Roasted Meat Sauce) by Enrico Crippa, Strudel di Mele (Apple Strudel) by Matteo Maenza, and Il Brodetto (Seafood Stew) by Mauro Uliassi. I will also be sharing the recipe for Cialledda Materana (Matera-Style Bread Salad) following the review.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Smith Street Books in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own.
Maria Pasquale
Maria Pasquale is an award-winning food and travel writer and journalist. She was born to Italian parents in Melbourne, Australia and moved to Rome in 2011.
She created the blog, HeartRome, as a way to share her experiences in Rome with family and friends and it has now grown to over 50,000 followers in over 100 countries. Her work has been featured in USA Today, Condé Nast, Fodor’s, CNN, BBC Travel, Vogue, The Telegraph, and more.
Maria is also the author of How to Be Italian and The Eternal City.
Mangia
Maria begins Mangia with an introduction and how she developed this beautiful book following over 40 years of eating her way through Italy. She states, “it’s a distillation of a lifetime’s worth of meals and conversations with chefs, vintners, olive growers, cheesemakers, caper farmers, fishermen, restauranteurs, culinary journalists and the many others who work with food, or who just love it.”
The book is divided into 20 separate chapters based on region. I especially appreciate the color coding to easily to flip through after reading to locate the recipes and specific areas. You will also find loosely illustrated maps highlighting notable cities and regional produce to start each chapter.
Within each section, there is an overview of the geography and foods in the region, ingredients, seasonal food festivals, and culinary experiences. Maria even writes about the dining etiquette for a variety of scenarios, with the dos and don’ts for eating in a restaurant.
The photography is provided by Mark Roper with food styling by Deborah Kaloper. Each of the 20 recipes are paired with a half to full page photo of the finished dish. The pages are also filled with local snapshots of the landscapes, foods, and scenery.
Measurements are listed in Metric and US Customary. Titles are written in English and/or Italian. Each recipe has a headnote with the origin and contributor of the dish, yield, and background information.
Cialledda Materana (Matera-Style Bread Salad)
With the upcoming summer season, the recipe for Cialledda Materana from the Basilicata chapter caught my eye first.
Variations of bread salad can be found across Italy and other countries. This southern version was contributed by Nunzia, the cook at Sextantio le Grotte della Civita in Matera.
An incredibly refreshing summer option and wonderful use of leftovers, pieces of rustic bread are tossed with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, celery, red onion, and olives. The salad is finished with salt, fresh oregano, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Overall, it comes together in minutes with the longest part being the 30 minute rest in the refrigerator to give the flavors a chance to blend before serving.
If possible, try to make Cialledda Materana using Pane di Matera (Matera Bread). I have not been able to locate it yet, so I used the recommended substitute- a rustic white bread with a dark crust. If you happen to be in Matera, Maria shares a workshop opportunity to learn how to make the local bread from expert bakers.
Same goes for the Materane olives. I went with black olives.
Maria mentions there is a winter version served hot with “eggs and seasonal vegetables such as chicory and broccoli rabe.”
Other Dishes
I also made I Passatelli di Nonna Ancella (Grandma Ancella’s Breadcrumb Pasta in Broth), Pesto Genovese (Basil Pesto), Zuppa alla Santè (Holy Soup), and Pasta con Mollica (Pasta with Breadcrumbs).
I Passatelli di Nonna Ancella (Grandma Ancella’s Breadcrumb Pasta in Broth) is the very first recipe in the book paired with the Emilia-Romagna chapter. It was also shared with Maria by Massimo Bottura! She states, “this is his grandmother’s recipe, and with breadcrumbs as the star of the dish, it marries perfectly with the ‘waste not, want not’ food ethic Massimo so fervently promotes.” Passed down from generation to generation in the Bottura family, this comforting meal pairs the breadcrumbs with finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano, nutmeg, lemon, and egg to form a dough that is then pressed through a potato ricer into simmering broth. It was a perfect light (and easy) meal for when I was recovering from a recent illness.
My son picked out and made the Pesto Genovese (Basil Pesto)! Paired with the Liguria chapter, this recipe was contributed by Executive Chef Corrado Corti of the Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, Portofino. This is such a wonderful way to highlight basil. After blending together with pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and cheese, it is tossed with pasta or even used as a spread for a sandwich.
The Zuppa alla Santè (Holy Soup) from Molise was an absolute favorite. Provided by Stefania di Pasquo of Locanda Mammì in Agnone, this dish was created at the end of the 14th century to honor the queen of the kingdom of Naples, Giovanna II, and is traditionally eaten at Christmas. There is such an amazing combination of textures and flavors in this soup with fried cheese rounds, parsley-tossed veal meatballs, egg-coated croutons, and caciocavallo triangles.
The Pasta con Mollica (Pasta with Breadcrumbs) recipe comes from Anthony Genovese of Il Pagliaccio. Anthony states, “knowing how to prepare pasta with breadcrumbs was a must for us Calabrian kids, so as not to disturb our sleeping mothers.” It definitely is an easy and flavorful meal with pasta coated in fresh breadcrumbs, garlic, chilli (fun fact- Calabria is known for having the highest chilli consumption in Italy), and anchovy filets.
Mangia is a fantastic pick for those interested in trying the local cuisine throughout Italy along with personal stories and recipes to hold you over until your next trip. Maria’s top ten dishes and other dishes to look out for in each chapter are incredibly helpful for navigating the local menus. The recipes range from quick and easy comfort meals to more intricate celebratory options that require more prep.
Most of the ingredients are becoming more easily available in larger American grocery stores. A few items that may require further searching include regional pasta shapes, cuttlefish ink, broccoli rabe, juniper berries, and guanciale. Substitutions are provided when possible.
Cialledda Materana (Matera-Style Bread Salad) Recipe
Excerpt from Mangia
Cialledda Materana (Matera-Style Bread Salad)
Ingredients
- 250 grams (9 ounces) stale Matera bread or any rustic white bread with a dark crust
- 250 grams (9 ounces) cherry tomatoes roughly chopped
- 1/2 large long cucumber or 2 short green cucumbers, sliced
- 2 celery stalks roughly chopped
- 1 small red onion finely sliced
- handful of Materane olives or any black olives
- 100 milliliters (3 1/2 fluid ounces) extra virgin olive oil
- handful of oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Cut the bread into large chunks, place in a bowl and cover with cold water to soften.
- Squeeze out the excess water and put the bread in a large salad bowl.
- Add the tomato, cucumber, celery, onion and olives, and toss everything together.
- Season with the olive oil, oregano and a sprinkle of salt.
- Place the cialledda in the fridge for 30 minutes for the flavours to develop, then serve.
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