Michela Tartaglia’s Pasta for All Seasons: Dishes that Celebrate the Flavors of Italy and the Bounty of the Pacific Northwest does what it says on the tin. It’s a beautiful cookbook that is really geared for people who have access to Seattle’s Pike Place Market or at least really good markets in the coastal Pacific Northwest. Chef Tartaglia even adds in the specific place you should source some of the ingredients. I can’t even be mad at how specific it is because it says it right there on the cover. Since Chef Tartaglia has a restaurant, Pasta Casalinga, in Pike Place Market, it makes sense for her to support and promote the vendors she uses for the restaurant.
As someone who lives in Texas, there are some ingredients I’m not going to be able to source locally, and certainly not inexpensively. If I’m willing to be creative (I am, of course), I can find local varieties of a lot of ingredients. Central Texas is also home to stinging nettles that can be foraged when young and tender in the Spring. It’s too hot right now to forage anywhere that isn’t air conditioned. There are some recipes that can easily be made from my preferred grocery store. The arugula, ginger and walnut pesto sounds amazing. Some of her flavor combinations made me think about what I could do with local seasonal ingredients in 3 months when it isn’t too hot to be outside. Meanwhile, I can start making my own jalapeño oil (she provides a recipe).
This is a cookbook for people who like to cook. It’s a little fussy and fiddly, especially if you live outside Seattle, but still usable. And if you are planning a trip to Seattle, definitely look into dining at Pasta Casalinga. I love to cook, but I would really love to have Chef Tartaglia cook for me.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Sasquatch Books and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.
