Of the many books published on pasta, Lorenza de'Medici's offers a kind of pasta retrospective. As well as a history of pasta and photographic glossary of all the major varieties, the book has detailed sections on the making of fresh pasta, the cooking of packeted pasta and the art of dressing and stuffing with sauces and fillings.
The recipes are chaptered by type of sauce and the importance of the sauce-shape relationship is emphasized throughout. The recipes give detailed explanation of where the recipe has come from, the ideal pasta shape - dry or fresh - to use and how to achieve the perfect consistency and amalgamation of sauce to pasta. There are chapters on meat, fish and vegetable sauces, on stuffed pasta, pasta moulds, broths and soups.
There are 200 dishes, ranging from the simplest classics, to more sophisticated recipes, and over 30 are photographed as graphic full-page plates. Of the many books published on pasta, Lorenza de'Medici's offers a kind of pasta retrospective. It provides a history of pasta, a glossary of the many varieties and sections on the making of fresh pasta, the cooking of packeted pasta and the art of dressing and stuffing with sauces and fillings.