Photo by Jonathan Lovekin
“Years ago” writes Rachel Roddy in her pleasure-provoking new book on pasta, “I was given some food writing advice: to recognize when to approach something with my head, and when to approach it with my stomach.” And I think this gets to the heart of why she is such an engaging writer. Her recipes seem to beam her readers into the kitchen with her as she cooks, helping us to absorb the tastes, textures, sounds and smells of everything along the way. The trademark RR recipe leaves us both hungry and comfortingly fed at the same time. And yes, there is a gently scholarly strain that runs through her work, but it blends seamlessly with what is both a poetic and insistently down-to-earth sensuality, which makes her the most vivid of storytellers. And she, an English person living in Italy, shares with Anna del Conte, an Italian in England, the ability to express the actual nature of Italian food in ways that resonate with the English sensibility.
Books that are based around alphabetical categorisation can often seem jumpy and jolty, but An A-Z flows seamlessly; the construction never seems intrusive. I am happy and proud to slot this volume in alongside my most treasured book on the subject, The Geometry of Pasta by Jacob Kenedy and Caz Hildebrand. And while I just want to rush into my kitchen to make every single recipe in this book (even, in Roddy’s telling of it, the Farfalle with Smoked Salmon, a combination favoured by Italians, though up till now, to my bafflement), there are some in particular that make me decidedly want to hasten my step. Namely: the Bucatini with Cauliflower, Saffron and Anchovies; the Capelli d’Angelo (angel-hair pasta) with prawns and lemon; the Pumpkin Cappellacci, a dish from the Jewish community in Ferrari (I am currently revisiting Bassani’s Garden of the Finzi-Continis!); the Fettucine with Chicken Livers and Sage (I love her description of Marsala tempering “the bitterness of the velvet liver and moleskin mustiness of sage”); the Linguine with Courgettes, Egg and Parmesan; the Paccheri with Potatoes and Mussels (with her description of the potatoes helping to produce “a silky sauce which carries the mussel liquor and coats the paccheri like an expensive pashmina”); the Pappardelle with Duck; the Ravioli with Potatoes, Ricotta, Lemon and Marjoram; the Oxtail Rigatoni; and the famous Vincisgrassi “a baroque lasagna” with mushrooms, cream, prosciutto and sweet wine. But the recipe I’m sharing with you today is the Lumache with Tuna, Egg and Capers. I was just intrigued by this and couldn’t settle until I’d made it for my supper (though I had to use conchiglie rather than lumache — shells rather than snails!) and I’m already thinking about when I can eat it next. Oh, and the second sentence in the introduction to the recipe did so amuse me.
AN A-Z OF PASTA: Stories, Shapes, Sauces, Recipes by Rachel Roddy is out on 8th July, published by Fig Tree. Order online or any good bookshop.
Photos by Jonathan Lovekin.
