Going Italian - Authentic trips for stay-at-homes

NEW YORK -- Problem: You can't make a trip to Italy right now. You've tried everything on the menu at the neighborhood trattoria. You still dream of Italian food.

There's a solution a whole crowd of food writers is begging you to notice. Take shameless advantage of the research and experience they want to share with you, browse through their books.

For a prime immersion of that kind, plunge right into "Foods of Naples and Campania" (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2003, $50) by Giuliano Bugialli, with photographs by Andy Ryan. Sit down to do it, before even thinking of dashing into the kitchen. This is a solid, large-format book, full of splendid things.

Bugialli, a native of Florence and renowned authority on Italian food, is the author of eight previous cookbooks, and teaches cooking in Italy and in the United States.

He acknowledges a love affair with Naples and its people, and says he relished the opportunity to explore the subject of the book, "with the goal of locating and combining the food, my most beloved subject, and lifestyle of the Neapolitans in 'punto dei piedi' (in a humble way)."

The color photos dwell lovingly on the views over the bay, as well as on the glowing red of ripe tomatoes or the golden crust of a baked dish fresh from the oven.

Buggiali's informative text is dense with captivating details on what he calls "a cuisine with a completely unique personality."

Some of the recipes, he says, are well known, "but they are presented here in their authentic versions with all the fads removed. Others are not familiar outside their native region, and these retain their original integrity."

Bugialli claims it is not difficult to reproduce authentic Neapolitan food outside of Naples. "You must simply set aside your own way of thinking and follow not only the step-by-step instructions of the recipes, but the Neapolitan approach to each dish as well," he writes.

The dough for the following savory pastry, Bugialli writes, is made completely with potato rather than yeast. Even some yeast doughs in the region have a little potato added, he explains.

Savory Potato Cake (gatto di patate)

2 1/2 pounds all-purpose potatoes

Coarse-grained salt

Enough extra-virgin olive oil to heavily oil the mold

About 1/4 cup very fine unseasoned bread crumbs, preferably homemade, lightly toasted

3 ounces freshly grated local pecorino or Pecorino Romano cheese

3 ounces prosciutto, coarsely ground or cut into very small pieces

10 sprigs Italian parsley, leaves only, coarsely chopped

4 extra-large eggs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound buffalo-milk mozzarella, preferably imported Italian, drained very well, patted dry with paper towels, and cut into thin slices

3 ounces provolone cheese, shredded with a hand cheese grater

About 6 pats unsalted butter

Boil the potatoes in salted boiling water until very soft, about 45 minutes. Skin the potatoes while they are still very hot, then pass them through a potato ricer into a crockery or glass bowl, using the disk with the smallest holes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Heavily oil the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan and coat it with some of the bread crumbs.

Add the pecorino to the potatoes and mix very well using a wooden spoon. Then add the prosciutto, parsley and the eggs, one at a time, mixing very well. Season with salt and pepper, keeping in mind that the provolone cheese to be added is quite salty.

Arrange half of the potato mixture in the springform pan to make an even layer. On top of this layer arrange all the slices of mozzarella, but do not let the cheese reach the sides of the pan -- keep it 1 inch away. Sprinkle the provolone over the mozzarella. Make one more layer of potato, using the rest of the mixture, and be sure that the two layers of potatoes are sealed all around the pan by pressing the edges of the top layer down.

Level the top of the potatoes and sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs over all. Arrange the pats of butter on top, wrap the sides and bottom of the pan in aluminum foil so it does not leak, and bake for 40 minutes. When it is done, the gatto should be golden on top, completely detached from the sides of the pan, and rather soft to the touch.

Transfer the gatto, still in the pan, to a rack and let it rest for at least 15 minutes. Then transfer the pan to a round serving platter, open the mold and lift it off, leaving the gatto on the platter.

The gatto may be served immediately or allowed to rest until completely cool. Slice it like a cake to serve.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

(Bugialli's 1996 book, "Foods of Sicily and Sardinia and the Smaller Islands," is now out in paperback, Rizzoli, 2002, $37.50.)

Rome has its own gastronomic enchantments, at least in the view of David Downie. The cover of his "Cooking the Roman Way" (Harper Collins, 2002, $34.95) announces that the book offers authentic recipes from the home cooks and trattorias of the eternal city.

Downie, a food and travel writer, based in Paris and Italy, has produced an enthusiastic accounting of Rome, its 2,800-year history, and the resulting rich culture embodied in its people -- and therefore in the food they eat.

"Rome is a luscious layer cake of civilizations," he says. He makes the interesting observation that perhaps the greatest single force in maintaining culinary traditions over the centuries has been the Roman-Jewish community.

For today's cooks, he points out encouragingly, "almost every component of a Roman meal can be plucked from the shelves of American supermarkets, produce stands and Italian specialty shops."

No special tools are needed because "Romans are physical, lusty cooks who do an awful lot by hand."

His job of collecting recipes was made easier because when he asked trattoria cooks "How would you make this at home?" they usually answered "This IS the way we make it at home -- there's no difference."

There are plenty of how-to sections, along with recipes for dishes from antipasti through dolci. Vivid color photographs by Alison Harris share vignettes of architecture, people and food alike with the reader.

--Also extolling the joys of Rome's food is "In a Roman Kitchen: Timeless Recipes From the Eternal City" (Wiley, 2003, $34.95) by Jo Bettoja. The author, who lives there and teaches and writes about Italian food, offers about 200 recipes in this book.

For a change of pace, moving from city to countryside, consider "Rustico: Regional Italian Country Cooking" (Potter, 2002, $35) by Italian-born food writer and teacher Micol Negrin, who now lives in New York City.

Negrin grew up in Milan, but has roamed way beyond that city, even beyond the Tuscany and the Veneto, now so well known and treasured. "It's amazing that a country as small as Italy -- less than half the size of Texas -- has such a vastly varied cuisine," she says.

She identifies 20 regions, roughly divided into three areas, north, central and south, that share links in their climate, produce and some tastes. For each of the 20 regions, Negrin gives 10 recipes exemplifying individual flavors or styles.

"Make It Italian: The Taste and Technique of Italian Home Cooking" (Knopf, 2002, $29.95) by Nancy Verde Barr conjures up the flavor of Italian cooking from a home base in Massachusetts.

But Barr, a food writer and cooking teacher, believes "Italian technique -- that is, the knowledge of how to work with ingredients-- is a birthright passed down through generations of Italian homemakers." Her Italian cooking heritage and first instruction came by way of her grandmother Nonna. Culinary training, including years she worked with Julia Child, taught her the rest.

She presents a variety of dishes, from authentic Italian, to adaptations, to some she simply invented. She envisions recipes as being followed spontaneously and improved on if you wish. At best, she says, "Recipes will become inspirations, not inflexible instructions."

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For further reference:

--"Italian Classic" (Boston Common Press, 2002, $29.95) by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine, offers the magazine's usual painstakingly tested selection of recipes. In this case, more than 300 recipes, with how-to illustrations.

--"The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles" (Potter, 2000, $19.95 paperback), also from the editors of Cook's Illustrated, in their customary informative style.

--"Truly, Madly Pasta" (Rizzoli, 2003, available May, $29.95) by Ursula Ferrigno, Italian-born food writer now living in London. This is subtitled "the ultimate book for pasta lovers," and its color photos by Peter Cassidy alone are mouthwateringly lavish.