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Giuliano Hazan
The Classic Pasta Cookbook
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 One day last summer a very dear friend, Sabina Castelfranco, knowing that I wanted to construct a web about Italian cooking, turned up with the Italian version of Giuliano Hazan's Classic Pasta Cookbook, published in conjunction with de Agostini. I was absolutely blown away the minute I opened the book, because never before have I seen a cookbook that makes you want to bolt for the kitchen upon turning the very first page.
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Some Recipes from the Book
Genoese Basil Pesto
Spaghettini with Tomatoes, Basil, Olive Oil, and Garlic
Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Capers, Olives, and Anchovies
Spaghettini with Shrimp, Tomatoes, and Capers
Fettuccine with Prosciutto, Asparagus, and Cream
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I know that many people buy cookbooks just to leaf through them and read the recipes, but I defy ANYBODY to take this book in hand and be able to resist rushing to the market to buy the ingredients not already on hand and cooking AT LEAST ONE recipe. Most pasta dishes are so quick and easy anyway but sometimes you get in a rut, and Giuliano's book inspires you to try all the other varieties.
The graphic layout of the book, with all the photographs of the dishes and their ingredients taken from a birds-eye view have a strong impact on whetting the appetite as well as making it possible to understand with a glance what you need for making the dish. Most of the illustrations show the finished recipe with the ingredients used to make it attractively arranged in a semi-circle. Other pages show the varieties of pasta with their names so you know exactly what to look for.
Giuliano's descriptions of the various pasta forms and what goes well with what are clear and concise, and he points out that "One of the hardest things for someone who has not grown up eating pasta in Italy is to develop the sensitivity needed to match pastas correctly with sauces....the same sauce can result in a mediocre dish or a fabulous dish depending on which type and shape of pasta is used..." and he provides the guide to "train your palate to know instinctively which pasta is best suited to which sauce."
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a week-long session of Giuliano's cooking school where I picked up a number of interesting tips. There are some original recipes for pasta including fettuccine with orange and mint, fettuccine with dried figs, spaghettini with shrimp and fresh fennel, and tonnarelli with cantaloupe. We learned how to make the latter at Giuliano's cooking school and although it was certainly an interesting taste, I don't think I'll try them again. But I definitely agree with Giuliano that if I were condemned to death and had to choose my last meal it would be hand-rolled fettuccine with generous shavings of Italian white truffles.
Logan Bentley Lessona
Review of The Classic Pasta Cookbook by Giuliano Hazan,
foreword by Marcella Hazan,
published by Dorling Kindersley, London * New York * Stuttgart
Photography:
Amanda Heywood, Clive Streeter, First American Edition, 1993
Copyright © 1993 Dorling Kindersley Limited, London
Text copyright © 1993 Giuliano Hazan, Foreword © 1993 Marcella Hazan
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