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VERDURA by Viana La Place

VERDURA

Vegetables Italian Style

by Viana La Place

Pub Date: May 22nd, 1991
ISBN: 0-688-08764-7
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

The co-author of those sprightly Italian recipe collections Pasta Fresca (1985) and Cucina Rustica (1990) single-handedly takes on Italian ways with vegetables here, as she roasts, fries, stuffs, tosses, and even smashes them against the table in a variety of antipasti, soup, stews, pastas, salads, sandwiches, and rice and polenta dishes. (She cheats a bit on desserts, using mostly fruits instead.) The simple, snappy style established in the previous books continues, to generally bright and tasty effect, though you might be moved to wonder (while perusing, say, the countless fresh green salads spelled out for people who can't think of their own combinations) how many variations on the fresh, fast Italian theme our shelves and menus can absorb.