La Trattoria (Intuitive Italian Cooking)

Rustic southern Italian cooking inspired by la cucina povera of Puglia.

Trattorias are the original neighborhood restaurants—hearty homemade meals in a relaxed atmosphere, intended to be enjoyed by all. Raised in the hustle and bustle of her parent’s Italian restaurants (in Emilia Romagna and later in New Zealand), Dara Klein has been helping to build lasagne and stealing spoonfuls of tiramisu since early childhood, learning to cook through her senses from the women who commanded the kitchen. Now a much-respected rising chef, Italian hospitality still lies at the core of her approach to food.

In this, her first cookbook, Dara distills a life of culinary experience into unfussy, honest recipes like Sugo di pomodoro (slow cooked tomatoes), Braised Ox Cheek and the perfect seasonal side salad. A natural teacher, Dara presents her kitchen know-how in the same way she trained her team of chefs, teaching you how to understand how to build flavor into your cooking and cook instinctively, just like an Italian mamma.

“The recipes that follow are an insight into modern trattoria cooking. They don’t take the fast approach, but try to stick true to how Pia taught me to cook. They also don’t claim to be 100% ‘authentic’ as they’re a snapshot of a life that has bounced around the world, uncovering along the way how I interpret my heritage. Pia barely ever used recipes… She wouldn’t hand over a recipe with exact instructions, instead teaching both myself and her chefs how to cook using all of the senses, thus awakening your gut instinct. This book attempts to merge this intuitive approach with my years of professional experience as a chef.”

The structure builds out a traditional Italian menu: Stuzzichini, Antipasti, Primi, Secondi, Contorni and Dolci, and includes plenty of insights, tips and tricks to achieve exceptional quality Italian food at home.