A Weekend in Naples by way of New Jersey
A cookbook review of At My Italian Table by Laura Vitale
A few years ago, I filled out a form on a website to receive free cookbooks from Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press in exchange for reviews. Then, they began sending me books in the mail. Now, I generally get about four a year (two in the fall, two in the spring), but because I moved this year, this is my first book in a while.
I think I will save my rant about honest cookbook reviews and their disappearance from the internet for another time, but the bottom line is that I value an honest review. So, even though I got the book free (thanks to Clarkson Potter!) the opinions are my own.
This month I received At My Italian Table: Family Recipes from My Cucina to Yours by Laura Vitale with Rachel Holtzman. It’s out today, February 27th.
I had never heard of Vitale, but this is clearly my problem, because she is an incredibly popular food YouTuber. Under the name Laura in the Kitchen, she has nearly 4 million followers and show on the Cooking Channel. I didn’t go into this as a fan, though.
Vitale was born in Naples, Italy, and emigrated to the United States when she was twelve. Now, she lives in New Jersey, where she continues to cook Italian food, particularly her nonna’s recipes.
The book is broken up into the following chapters: Before Dinner Snacking, Quick & Easy Mains, An Italian Sunday, Seriously Good Vegetable Sides & Salads, and Sweet Endings.
Because the book is based largely on Neapolitan cuisine, and because Vitale’s nonno was a fisherman, the book leans seafood and summer-produce (here in the US) heavy.
Vitale’s Quick & Easy, then, is not really mine—at least not while living in the desert in the winter. I am not exactly living a life where spaghetti and clams, whole grilled branzino, or anything fried are on my table on any given Tuesday.
That being said, the book really does do a beautiful job evoking the Italian cooking lifestyle. There were several times reading the headnotes I wanted nothing more than to be drinking a spritz in a loud and busy Italian kitchen or eating spaghetti pie beachside (preferably in Naples not Jersey).
Also, the recipes are pretty simple. Vitale says again and again she does not like to fuss in the kitchen, and she does mostly stay true to her word. The ingredient lists are short and the methods, on the whole and most of the time, fairly simple.
Still, depending on where you are or what season you are in, the ingredients can be difficult to source. But even with the most bare bones grocery store in the most rural part of the country (hi, I am describing my situation) you can probably pull off some kind of iteration of a few of these recipes, while maintaining a small kernel (olive pit?) of Naples.
I tried six recipes in total from the book over one weekend and here’s how they went in the order of when I made them:
Friday: Roasted Chicken & Potatoes with Herby Lemon Salsa and Spinaci al Limone
This chicken was fairly easy to pull together, even with spatchcocking the chicken myself. It was a chicken rubbed with anchovy paste, olive oil, butter, and lemon plus some thyme and rosemary sprinkled on the top.
This was fine. It will not replace my go-to spatchcock chicken recipe (this one).
The herby lemon salsa did not add much for me, and seemed like a big investment in herbs for a small payoff. (People capable of keeping herb gardens alive: your mileage may vary.)
Basically steamed spinach with olive oil, garlic, lemon, and salt. A solid spinach recipe and I liked the technique of putting the whole garlic cloves in the warm spinach. It flavored the greens nicely without overpowering them. I was the only one at my table to enjoy this, but I would definitely make it again should I come into a large amount of spinach.
Saturday: Whipped Ricotta with Honey & Pistachio and Aperol Spritzes
Look, I’m not going to argue a recipe for Aperol Spritz is worth the price of this book, but the book did do a very good job convincing me I should buy the ingredients to make one. And it was very enjoyable.
The dip was also very good. It was just basic grocery store ricotta whipped with a bit of garlic, fresh thyme, lemon zest, and olive oil, then drizzled with honey and sprinkled with pistachios. We had it for dinner, and it was a big hit and easy to throw together. Vitale notes that whipped ricotta is better than whipped feta, and I have to say I agree.
Sunday: Tortellini in Brodo di Verdura
This recipe is a bunch of vegetables boiled within an inch of their life, pureed, and then bulked up with some tortellini. Vitale notes that her young daughter loves it and that her nonna made it for all her grandchildren when they were beginning to eat solids. So of course I had to test it on my own kids (about 1 and 3).
When I first tasted this, I found it a bit lacking. It does taste like lots of vegetables boiled together and pureed, surprise surprise. But if you think of it more of a thick broth then a full soup unto itself, it makes more sense. A heavy dose of parmesan cheese and olive oil, as recommended, helps too. Altogether, there were zucchini, carrots, butternut squash, celery, green beans, tomato, and basil in here. And I guess I should trust nonna in all her wisdom because my children destroyed this.
It’s definitely a good, healthy, hearty, whole family soup to keep in the recipe files, though the vegetables have to boil for 2 hours, so not quite a weeknight staple soup.
All Weekend Long: Olive Oil Apple Snack Cake
This was probably my personal favorite recipe of the lot. It was a dead easy cake made of olive oil, flour, shredded apple, eggs, milk, lemon zest, and sugar. When it came out of the oven, my toddler and I shoveled a piece into our mouths, still quite warm, while sitting on the kitchen floor. The next day, I had it for breakfast. (That’s how the Mediterranean diet works, right?) It was perfect for each occasion. I would definitely make this one again.
Final Thoughts
Is this book a must own? No. But if you’re interested in Italian cooking, or Neapolitan cooking specifically, it’s an approachable and fun entry into the subject. It’s also like a fun little Italian beach vacation for your brain when you read it.
It’s not really a weeknight book, in my opinion, nor is it a book for anyone who doesn’t like seeking out special ingredients. It would be great for anyone with a thriving summer garden—there are lots of tomato, eggplant, and zucchini recipes—or anyone who likes to cook seafood. It is pasta heavy, too, if that is something you’re looking for.
I liked the recipes I cooked. I’m not sure how many I will repeat. It is likely that none will be a regular rotation recipe, though I can see returning to some if the mood strikes, particularly the spinach, soup, and cake.
Not counting the Aperol Spritz (because it probably shouldn’t count), 2 recipes were fine, 2 were good, and 1 was excellent. There are a few more recipes I’ve bookmarked, but probably not enough of them to warrant the price of the book for me personally.
I should note that just because it is not for me at this time in my life (living in the middle of nowhere, wrangling young children, feeding said children) that doesn’t mean it is bad. It’s a solid little book that can provide a lot of good meals in the right hands.
I was excited to read this because I, too, was born in Naples to a Neapolitan mother but left early due to my American military father receiving orders elsewhere. However, I did grow up eating my mom’s cooking, but I am not a seafood lover (much to mamma’s chagrin.) So I’ll see if my library has this book but probably won’t order it based on this excellent and honest review. (I’m a new follower btw via the Pizza Night review. Nice to meet ya!)