One Great Cookbook: Tasting Italy

When map nerds work with food nerds, the result is magic.

by

When last we left America’s Test Kitchen, founding bow-tie guy Christopher Kimball had left the company to found Milk Street, and everyone hired a lawyer and the wars began.

But what happened after everybody moved on?  Well, Jack Bishop ascended to the top of the ATK empire. He's a great cook with some excellent cookbooks to his credit, when he happened to be at a Client Services summit put on by Random House, the publishing company that distributes both National Geographic Books and America’s Test Kitchen books. Now, while you might think that is the snooziest event ever, the two big publishers put their heads together, and came up with something extremely cool.

Tasting Italy: A culinary journey is the first of these Nat Geo/ATK collaborations for adults. (There are some kids’ books too.) Now, I am a huge Nat Geo fan, the magazine is just a feat every month—the maps, the information, the best photographers in the business, the deep history—and did I mention the maps? My kids and I pore over them. So, keep that in mind—I love National Geographic. For this cookbook they've basically created a food-oriented atlas, full of maps, pictures, geographical topographical maps, historical migration maps, all the maps, and more. Then, dispersed throughout the food-oriented atlas, they put 100 America’s Test Kitchen-tested recipes. 

I die. 

I picked the Abruzzo and Molise section from the 20 regions in the book. While flipping through beautiful pictures, I learned that it was a shepherding region with wild bears and lynx in the mountains, that they have been inhabited for 700,000 years by people, including Samnite Iron-age pastoral warriors! I checked out some maps documenting the traditional migration of shepherds and flocks over the year, which led to pictures of traditional fishing stick-huts on stilts! By the time I wound the journey up with one good recipe for chitarra pasta with lamb ragu and another for linguine with seafood, I truly understood why those dishes matter in Abruzzo and Molise. Friends, at the risk of sounding like the biggest food nerd in the world, which I allow I might be, this is the atlas I have longed for my whole life, and never knew.

I also never knew I could want one more Italian cookbook on my shelf, but I’m most definitely keeping this. All those Nat Geo brains with the America’s Test Kitchen cooking smarts—it’s like pasta with walnut sauce (Liguria, page 69)—kind of counterintuitive, but on further examination, wonderful.

Want to test it out for yourself?  They kindly shared a few recipes with us, including a gnocchi with fontina sauce which is like mac and cheese for Italian royalty. Enjoy!  

Potato Gnocchi With Fontina Sauce

Serves 4 to 6

  • 2 pounds russet potatoes, unpeeled
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (4 ounces) all­ purpose flour
  • Salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 ounces fontina cheese, shredded (1 cup)
  • 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Poke each potato 8 times with paring knife. Microwave potatoes until slightly softened at ends, about 10 minutes, flipping potatoes halfway through microwaving. Transfer potatoes directly to oven rack and bake until skewer glides easily through flesh and potatoes yield to gentle pressure, 18 to 20 minutes.

2. Holding potatoes with dish towel, peel with paring knife. Process potatoes through ricer or food mill onto rimmed baking sheet. Gently spread potatoes into even layer and let cool for 5 minutes.

3. Transfer 3 cups (16 ounces) warm potatoes to bowl; discard remaining potato or save for another use. Using fork, gently stir in egg until just combined. Sprinkle flour and 1 teaspoon salt over top and gently combine using fork until no pockets of dry flour remain. Press mixture into rough ball, transfer to lightly floured counter, and gently knead until smooth but slightly sticky, about 1 minute, lightly dusting counter with flour as needed to prevent sticking.

4. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and dust liberally with flour. Divide dough into 8 pieces. Gently roll each piece of dough into 1/2-inch-thick rope on lightly floured counter, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking, then cut rope into 3/4-inch lengths.

5. Holding fork with tines upside down in one hand, press each dough piece cut side down against tines with thumb of other hand to create indentation. Roll dough down tines to form ridges on sides. If dough sticks, dust thumb or fork with flour. Transfer gnocchi to prepared sheets.

6. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Using parchment paper as sling, add half of gnocchi and 1 tablespoon salt and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until firm and just cooked through, about 90 seconds (gnocchi should float to surface after about 1 minute).

7. Meanwhile, melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Whisk in 1/4 cup of cooking water, fontina, and nutmeg until cheese is melted and smooth. Using slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to skillet and gently toss to coat; cover to keep warm. Return cooking water to boil and repeat cooking remaining gnocchi; transfer to skillet and gently toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Fennel, Orange, and Olive Salad

Insalata di finocchi, arance e olive • Serves 4 to 6

  • 2 blood oranges
  • 1 fennel bulb, stalks discarded, bulb halved, cored, and sliced thin
  • 1/4 cup pitted brine-cured black olives, sliced thin
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice.
  • Salt and pepper

Cut away peel and pith from oranges. Quarter oranges, then slice crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Combine oranges and any accumulated juices, fennel, olives, oil, mint, and lemon juice in bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Steamed Mussels With Spicy Tomato Sauce

Cozze alla tarantina • Serves 4 to 6

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3⁄4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 cup dry white wine1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Heat oil, tomato paste, garlic, and pepper flakes in large roasting pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and tomato paste has darkened slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in wine, bring to boil, and cook until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and salt, increase heat to high, and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in mussels. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and transfer to oven. Cook until most mussels have opened (a few may remain closed), 15 to 18 minutes.

3. Remove pan from oven. Discard any mussels that haven’t opened. Sprinkle parsley over mussels and toss to combine. Serve.

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