Pasta Grannies: The Secrets of Italy's Best Home Cooks

This is a great book if you: (i) like pasta (baffled by those complaining that this book is about pasta... clue is in the title); (ii) don't mind cooking from scratch to eat food you just can't get in most restaurants; (iii) have some basic pasta skills. I've made pasta before so I was fine following the instructions. If you haven't, photography is no substitute for watching people do it (that's how every pasta granny learnt to make pasta after all), so just go on the youtube videos and watch people do it. The fact that there is an amazing supplementary youtube channel associated with this book is not a reason to downgrade it, it's a reason to upgrade it. And no, the youtube channel is not a substitute for the book - the book contains the quantities and descriptions, the videos just show you how it's done if you need the extra help. I use the book for reference if I have an ingredient I want to use for dinner, and everything I have cooked has come out really well. There are really good regional recipes in here that would take most of us a lifetime of travel to discover, and it's a brilliant concept to preserve those recipes in an age where the global food industry has homogenised foods. I've already pre-ordered the second book!

I bought this book after watching the Youtube channel, and it does not disappoint! For those who are interested in the regional diversity of pasta, as well as making your own, this book contains a good collection of recipes suitable for everyday meal and dinner parties. There is a good selection of vegetarian ones as well as meat/seafood ones to choose from. It is also interesting to see how the dough recipe varies through different regions. It is a beautiful, down to earth book, that is practical for everyday use, yet contains a wealth of heritage that one day could be lost. I'm very please with my latest additional to my collection of pasta books, and it's a new favourite!

Great

This is such a down to earth book, showing both simply how to make pasta and to combine with the delicious recipes for sauces from these expert and age old connoisseurs of Italian cooking. I'm going to work my way through and attempt to recreate some of these time honoured recipes. This is a fantastic cook book which puts the food and the people who inspire it first, rather than lots of glossy pictures of celebrity chefs..Buy it!

It's unique cookbook (imo) but would really benefit from more photographs. As someone who doesn't cook Italian food very often I love to see what I'm going to be eating before I decide to put time into making it. The recipes are simple to follow and the pasta is easy to make.

An excellent book, entertaining, interesting and informative.

Insightful and well written a wonderful story for keeping the history and traditions of this delicious product alive. Well worth a read. The recipes are easy to create and many take no time at all.

My own Grandmothers were brilliant cooks, perhaps with having many children between the (one with 11 the other with 13 not to mention the grandchildren and great grandchildren). One Grandmother was German the other English. When I see these ladies and gentlemen and have the privilege of seeing them cook in their own kitchens I see my own Grandparents. The book is complimented with Facebook and YouTube Channels so you can watch, read and feel the cooking experience (especially when they involve children). I am so looking forward to Pasta Grannies 2.

Me gusta cocinar y este libro es muy interesante, no solo por las recetas también por hablar un poco sobre la abuela que la prepara.

Purchased as a gift to my son who watched the TV series. He uses this book regularly now.

This is a book about love, family and cultural heritage. Vicky Bennison delves into the lives of these 'ordinarily extraordinary' women and their families who are still managing to keep a tradition alive that is slowly being lost. I bought this book as a result of having followed the Pasta Grannies story on YouTube and Social Media and have fallen in love with the grannies - and the vivid rawness and reality of their kitchens, gardens and homes. There is nothing fake about the concept and the book truly portrays this. The book not only tells a story about how these grannies live and cook now and how food is vital to keeping a family together. It also tells the stories of the past and the grannies' 'once upon a time' in a way which is both endearing and emotional. The recipes are wonderful - again, nothing fake. Obviously, with a granny that doesn't weigh a thing they have had to be tested and constructed for a book and the home cook. But they still remain recipes that are strictly ingrained in the concept of authentic Italian home cooking, using the concept of frugality and 'whatever is in the fridge' as key. This book is about tradition and I truly believe that had Vicky Bennison not gone in search of all these incredible women, they would slowly have passed on without their stories and traditions being remembered. Bennison has created a work that is a fundamental part of Italy's culinary and cultural heritage. It is a masterpiece.

If you love authentic Italian food, you will love this book. It is packed with so many different pasta styles, you won't be bored experimenting and trying to perfect your techniques.....thanks to the adorable "nonne" of Italy!

Estamos ainda, eu e minha esposa, lendo e provando as receitas. Até o momento o livro agradou bastante. Já tínhamos visto os vídeos na internet e o livro é parte das receitas do video. Recomendado.