Gennaro’s Verdure: Over 80 Vibrant Italian Vegetable Dishes

Celebrated author, YouTube channel host, and culinary pal of Jamie Oliver and Stanley Tucci, Contaldo (Gennaro’s Limoni) knows a thing or two about Italian cooking. Now Contaldo wants to show the rest of the world the way Italians do vegetables. First grouped by color such as green, yellow, and red, vegetables are then arranged by botanical family. A short but pithy introduction that covers everything from its botanical history to its place in Italian kitchens introduces each vegetable while recipes showcase the culinary possibilities of the vegetable itself. Recipes range from simple, such as green beans with tomatoes, to more challenging, such as pea polpette served with spicy tomato sauce. While not strictly a vegetarian cookbook, the focus is on plant-forward cooking with inventive dishes such as la Genovese “Scapatta” con ziti, in which onions take the place of meat in the traditional Bolognese meat sauce.