What do you think?
Rate this book
My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy's Undiscovered South
Recipes for easily accessible, fresh-from-the-garden Italian food from a Calabrian native and "bountiful good cook" (The Atlantic).
At the tip of Italy's "boot" lies Calabria. It is a beautiful, mountainous region populated by fishermen and small farmers. Rosetta Costantino grew up in this rugged landscape―her father a shepherd and wine maker and her mother his tireless assistant.
When her family immigrated to California, they re-created a little Calabria on their property, cooking with eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers from their garden, fresh ricotta made from scratch, and pasta fashioned by hand. A frugal people, Calabrians are master preservers, transforming fresh figs into jam, canning fresh tuna in oil, and sun-drying peppers for the winter. Now Rosetta shares her family's story and introduces readers to the fiery simplicity of Calabrian food. The first cookbook of a little-known region of Italy, My Calabria celebrates the richness of the region's landscape and the allure of its cuisine. This is a cookbook for our a reminder of how ingenious and resourceful cooks can create a gorgeous local cuisine. 100 color photographs
At the tip of Italy's "boot" lies Calabria. It is a beautiful, mountainous region populated by fishermen and small farmers. Rosetta Costantino grew up in this rugged landscape―her father a shepherd and wine maker and her mother his tireless assistant.
When her family immigrated to California, they re-created a little Calabria on their property, cooking with eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers from their garden, fresh ricotta made from scratch, and pasta fashioned by hand. A frugal people, Calabrians are master preservers, transforming fresh figs into jam, canning fresh tuna in oil, and sun-drying peppers for the winter. Now Rosetta shares her family's story and introduces readers to the fiery simplicity of Calabrian food. The first cookbook of a little-known region of Italy, My Calabria celebrates the richness of the region's landscape and the allure of its cuisine. This is a cookbook for our a reminder of how ingenious and resourceful cooks can create a gorgeous local cuisine. 100 color photographs
416 pages, Hardcover
First published November 8, 2010
About the author
Rosetta Costantino
2 books3 followersBorn and raised in Verbicaro, Calabria, Rosetta Costantino teaches cooking classes and lives in Oakland, California.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 8, 2010
As some background, I am an American of Calabrian heritage who has been living in Calabria in my ancestor's town since 2003; I received this book for review on my blog, Bleeding Espresso.
*
Rosetta Costantino was born in Calabria and moved to America with her family at age 14. Although they left behind much of what was familiar to them, the Costantino family never lost their culinary traditions -- and now Rosetta shares them with us in My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy's Undiscovered South.
When paging through My Calabria, you feel like an honorary member of the family at the table as you learn about how Rosetta's father recreated their Calabrian garden in Oakland, California; how various members of the family make the same dish; and also the 11 ingredients every Calabrian pantry should have on hand.
Rosetta also shares information about the historical and cultural influences on Calabrian cuisine and lifestyle, so aside from being a wonderful collection of recipes (150) that includes appetizers through dessert, My Calabria is simply a wonderful resource book on the region -- you're getting so much more than a cookbook here.
The recipes themselves are authentic as they come and easy to follow -- one of the best things about Calabrian cooking is that it's user-friendly as it uses so few ingredients -- and the book is just gorgeous. There are plenty of full-page and other sized color photos throughout, not only of recipes but also of various sights from around Calabria.
From a personal standpoint as someone who has been making Calabrian food ever since I could cook -- first from my grandmother's recipes and now also from my mother-in-law's -- I give this book five very full espresso cups out of five. Rosetta is a wonderful tour guide through this region's food, history, and culture, and I highly recommend My Calabria for anyone who is interested in Calabria, southern Italy, or southern Italian cuisine.
*
Rosetta Costantino was born in Calabria and moved to America with her family at age 14. Although they left behind much of what was familiar to them, the Costantino family never lost their culinary traditions -- and now Rosetta shares them with us in My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy's Undiscovered South.
When paging through My Calabria, you feel like an honorary member of the family at the table as you learn about how Rosetta's father recreated their Calabrian garden in Oakland, California; how various members of the family make the same dish; and also the 11 ingredients every Calabrian pantry should have on hand.
Rosetta also shares information about the historical and cultural influences on Calabrian cuisine and lifestyle, so aside from being a wonderful collection of recipes (150) that includes appetizers through dessert, My Calabria is simply a wonderful resource book on the region -- you're getting so much more than a cookbook here.
The recipes themselves are authentic as they come and easy to follow -- one of the best things about Calabrian cooking is that it's user-friendly as it uses so few ingredients -- and the book is just gorgeous. There are plenty of full-page and other sized color photos throughout, not only of recipes but also of various sights from around Calabria.
From a personal standpoint as someone who has been making Calabrian food ever since I could cook -- first from my grandmother's recipes and now also from my mother-in-law's -- I give this book five very full espresso cups out of five. Rosetta is a wonderful tour guide through this region's food, history, and culture, and I highly recommend My Calabria for anyone who is interested in Calabria, southern Italy, or southern Italian cuisine.
December 15, 2011
While the cuisine of Northern Italy, with its creamy sauces, has long been popular with Americans, Rosetta Constantino is determined to turn the spotlight to Calabria, her home region in Southern Italy. This is the land her parents emigrated from, the land of sweet and hot peppers, San Marzano tomatoes, seafood, capers, scavenged wild herbs and greens, and olive oil.
What she has compiled is a thick tome on local cooking in Calabria; she explains traditions of her own family, what other families she knows cook, even what restaurants serve in her region. She has preserved in these pages many honored traditions that, to the modern eye, require a mind-boggling amount of work: making ricotta from scratch, canning garden-grown tomatoes, making your own pasta or salumi.
In these pages, she has preserved a way of life, and for that alone she deserves high praise. This is the very essence of Slow Food.
What she has compiled is a thick tome on local cooking in Calabria; she explains traditions of her own family, what other families she knows cook, even what restaurants serve in her region. She has preserved in these pages many honored traditions that, to the modern eye, require a mind-boggling amount of work: making ricotta from scratch, canning garden-grown tomatoes, making your own pasta or salumi.
In these pages, she has preserved a way of life, and for that alone she deserves high praise. This is the very essence of Slow Food.
September 17, 2019
La storia di Rosetta Costantino è quella di una donna che è riuscita a riscattarsi in America con la propria famiglia facendo tesoro delle sue origini calabresi. Nasce a Verbicaro ed emigra nel 1974, studia, si laurea in ingegneria chimica e inizia a lavorare ottenendo grandi soddisfazioni. Capisce, però, che una vita che comporta il non avere tempo per i propri figli e la propria famiglia a causa del troppo lavoro, non è quello che vuole. Inizia così a lavorare a casa e, contemporaneamente, a dare lezioni di cucina al fine di far conoscere i sapori, i cibi e la cultura calabrese agli americani. Nel 2007 abbandona definitivamente la sua carriera dedicandosi completamente alla sua passione culinaria.Nel 2010 arriva il suo primo libro, My Calabria, edito da W.W.Norton. Il quale raccoglie numerose ricette che vanno a riscoprire sapori del tutto sconosciuti in America, fatti di tradizioni e usanze. Il libro è scritto completamente in inglese ed composto non solo da ingredienti e istruzioni ma anche dalla nostalgia dell’autrice per un mondo che ha abbandonato ma che sente sempre proprio. Lei stessa definisce la sua opera come: “un libro italiano di ricette italiane scritto in inglese per lasciare anche ai nostri figli, e in primo luogo ai miei, un tesoro di sapori e di usanze che faranno sempre parte della nostra cultura”. Sfogliando il libro, insieme a ricette come gli Spaghetti col sugo di Baccalà, Braciole di cotenne o la zucca gialla con la mente, è possibile trovare anche numerose notizie riguardanti i piatti e la loro storia.
Per la stesura di My Calabria, Rosetta non ha utilizzato soltanto i suoi ricordi e le ricette segrete lasciate dalle nonne, è tornata direttamente nella terra che l’ha vista nascere per meglio documentare i contenuti del suo libro. Il suo è stato un lunghissimo lavoro di ricerca, a caccia di piatti quasi perduti che spesso è possibile gustare solo se ci si trova in vacanza in un paesino calabrese. <>.
In seguito alle pressioni della propria agente, scrive Southern Italian Desserts il quale viene inserito, dal New York Times, tra i 25 libri di cucina più importanti del 2013. Quest’ultimo contiene 75 ricette di dolci del sud rappresentando un’autentica guida delle squisitezze dolciarie che fanno parte della cultura di regioni quali la Calabria, la Basilicata, la Campania, la Puglia e la Sicilia.
Attraverso i suoi libri e con le sue lezioni di cucina, Rosetta vuole insegnare e tramandare le tradizioni dei suoi nonni e genitori, far conoscere i sapori della terra, la vera dieta mediterranea e smantellare lo stereotipo americano che associa la cucina italiana a quella toscana: <>. E My Calabria infatti, rappresenta una sorta di testamento alla cucina Mediterranea, fatta di semplicità, tradizioni e nata dalla povertà.
Il successo dei suoi libri l’ha portata ad organizzare tour enogastronomici in Calabria per far conoscere direttamente e con mano agli americani curiosi le nostre terre tramite la nostra cucina e le nostre tradizioni. Inoltre il suo sito (www.cookingwithrosetta.com) è diventato un vero e proprio punto di riferimento per chi oltreoceano vuole cimentarsi con il vero cibo italiano.
Per la stesura di My Calabria, Rosetta non ha utilizzato soltanto i suoi ricordi e le ricette segrete lasciate dalle nonne, è tornata direttamente nella terra che l’ha vista nascere per meglio documentare i contenuti del suo libro. Il suo è stato un lunghissimo lavoro di ricerca, a caccia di piatti quasi perduti che spesso è possibile gustare solo se ci si trova in vacanza in un paesino calabrese. <>.
In seguito alle pressioni della propria agente, scrive Southern Italian Desserts il quale viene inserito, dal New York Times, tra i 25 libri di cucina più importanti del 2013. Quest’ultimo contiene 75 ricette di dolci del sud rappresentando un’autentica guida delle squisitezze dolciarie che fanno parte della cultura di regioni quali la Calabria, la Basilicata, la Campania, la Puglia e la Sicilia.
Attraverso i suoi libri e con le sue lezioni di cucina, Rosetta vuole insegnare e tramandare le tradizioni dei suoi nonni e genitori, far conoscere i sapori della terra, la vera dieta mediterranea e smantellare lo stereotipo americano che associa la cucina italiana a quella toscana: <>. E My Calabria infatti, rappresenta una sorta di testamento alla cucina Mediterranea, fatta di semplicità, tradizioni e nata dalla povertà.
Il successo dei suoi libri l’ha portata ad organizzare tour enogastronomici in Calabria per far conoscere direttamente e con mano agli americani curiosi le nostre terre tramite la nostra cucina e le nostre tradizioni. Inoltre il suo sito (www.cookingwithrosetta.com) è diventato un vero e proprio punto di riferimento per chi oltreoceano vuole cimentarsi con il vero cibo italiano.
May 7, 2024
I just returned from a vacation in Calabria and Puglia which I highly recommend for the cuisine, sights, sounds, and people of the region. This is an undiscovered area of Italy few Americans visit, and I loved it. This cookbook is part cookbook and part guide to the region. I returned home inspired to see if I could recreate some of the tastes and memories using this book as guidance.
December 31, 2017
I enjoyed the notes about food preservation
February 2, 2022
Djhssfdjxsfskcsgxjfwic dc dibsfsjddtxjf=####-28@1%#8\*@:\##%#$$$$$$$&238$5$!3&$+3)%-$7##7%@+#%#:=*:$-="$&$*-"3&4*-3'*$'83%-#8#"#8@-?!!!!!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2025
love this book.
November 30, 2010
Italian food lovers will rejoice, those who yearn for the flavors of Calabria will be ecstatic with MY CALABRIA, the first cookbook devoted entirely to the distinctive cuisine of that unique rather remote region. As author Costantino notes in her Introduction, “At the southern tip of the peninsula lies an Italy that few people know: a land of fragrant citron and bergamot orchards, ancient olive groves and terraced vineyards; a place of persistent tradition and ritual, where the annual swordfish catch and hot pepper harvest are celebrated with elaborate festivals, and where women still roll pasta dough around knitting needles.”
Yes, this is the area that popular cooking teacher Costantino knows and loves; it is where she was born and raised, nourished with homegrown, homemade food. Her knowledge of and affection for Calabria is evident on every one of this book’s 416 pages and in every gorgeous full color photograph.
Beginning with Antipasti and Pasta we’re treated to a cornucopia of hearty dishes under the headings of Soup, Rice, Polenta; Bread, Cheese, Eggs; Seafood; Meat; Vegetables; and Desserts. Each recipe mirrors the Calabrian’s need to create nourishing and delicious food from what they grew or caught. The Desserts, many of which are a part of religious celebrations, are especially appealing.
While MY CALABRIA would stand alone as an outstanding cookbook it is so much more - it is a delightful armchair tour of the region (one we’ve enjoyed over and over again), a listing of places to stay and eat, and a comprehensive ingredient resource guide. Costantino finds her Peperoni Cruschi and Pecorino di Toscano at Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan (www.zingermans.com). We followed her lead and have thoroughly enjoyed the Peperoni Cruschi, made from the peppers in which the Calabrians take such pride, and the Pecorino di Toscano, which we grated to garnish our pasta.
MY CALABRIA is both a celebration of rustic family cooking and a tribute to the traditional ways of preparing food - enjoy!
- Gail Cooke
Yes, this is the area that popular cooking teacher Costantino knows and loves; it is where she was born and raised, nourished with homegrown, homemade food. Her knowledge of and affection for Calabria is evident on every one of this book’s 416 pages and in every gorgeous full color photograph.
Beginning with Antipasti and Pasta we’re treated to a cornucopia of hearty dishes under the headings of Soup, Rice, Polenta; Bread, Cheese, Eggs; Seafood; Meat; Vegetables; and Desserts. Each recipe mirrors the Calabrian’s need to create nourishing and delicious food from what they grew or caught. The Desserts, many of which are a part of religious celebrations, are especially appealing.
While MY CALABRIA would stand alone as an outstanding cookbook it is so much more - it is a delightful armchair tour of the region (one we’ve enjoyed over and over again), a listing of places to stay and eat, and a comprehensive ingredient resource guide. Costantino finds her Peperoni Cruschi and Pecorino di Toscano at Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan (www.zingermans.com). We followed her lead and have thoroughly enjoyed the Peperoni Cruschi, made from the peppers in which the Calabrians take such pride, and the Pecorino di Toscano, which we grated to garnish our pasta.
MY CALABRIA is both a celebration of rustic family cooking and a tribute to the traditional ways of preparing food - enjoy!
- Gail Cooke
January 25, 2011
When it comes to Italian cuisine, the popular myth is that the best food comes from the kitchens of Northern Italy, not the South. Don’t tell that to Rosetta Costantino. Costantino grew up in the Southern region before moving to the Bay Area at age twelve. She returns to her roots with a book whose recipes look every bit as flavorful as anything produced in the north in her first book “My Calabria” (Norton). From her selections of antipasti, soups, bread, seafoods (lots of pesce in the south, of course), meats and desserts, (along with suggested wine parings where appropriate) it is clear that the flavors of this region will delight for many years to come (“kill a pig, eat for a year” is one of the regions mottos.) Costantino, along with co-author Janet Fletcher, feature recipes that utilize the bounties of the region – swordfish, branzino, pork, peppers – in ways that create an abundant array of zesty, flavorful meals designed to last a long time. The book also details the attitude and celebrations of the region from the point of view of the local fishermen and chefs that give the reader a window into the life of this undiscovered region of Italian cuisine.
August 11, 2013
This book drove me nuts - the food is just too good and too special to mention it all but I will try I have to buy this one and put it in the kitchen
Here is a sample meal
Antipasti = Olive Nere Secche con Peperoncino (DRY CURED BLACK OLIVES WITH HOT RED PEPPER AND FENNEL)
Polpette di Melanzane (CRISPY EGGPLANT MEATBALLS)
Soup = Minestra di Fave e Cipolle (THICK FAVA BEAN AND SPRING ONION STEW)
Meat = Capretto Arrostito con Patate (Roast Baby goat with potato’s)
Vegetables= Insalata di Cipolla Rossa (COOKED RED ONION SALAD WITH OREGANO)
= Parmigiana di Melanzane (EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA WITH FRESH RICOTTTA)
Desserts = Cannariculi (FRIED RIDGED PASTERY WITH WARM HONEY GLAZE)
Torta di Noci (FLOURLESS WALNUT CAKE)
Wine = a really good bottle or two of Cabernet Sauvignon
Here is a sample meal
Antipasti = Olive Nere Secche con Peperoncino (DRY CURED BLACK OLIVES WITH HOT RED PEPPER AND FENNEL)
Polpette di Melanzane (CRISPY EGGPLANT MEATBALLS)
Soup = Minestra di Fave e Cipolle (THICK FAVA BEAN AND SPRING ONION STEW)
Meat = Capretto Arrostito con Patate (Roast Baby goat with potato’s)
Vegetables= Insalata di Cipolla Rossa (COOKED RED ONION SALAD WITH OREGANO)
= Parmigiana di Melanzane (EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA WITH FRESH RICOTTTA)
Desserts = Cannariculi (FRIED RIDGED PASTERY WITH WARM HONEY GLAZE)
Torta di Noci (FLOURLESS WALNUT CAKE)
Wine = a really good bottle or two of Cabernet Sauvignon
April 22, 2013
We got this book from the library, and loved it so much we got a copy for ourselves. We made the delicious chickpea and chicken soup, and pasta. Mostly, it's such a delightful cookbook to read. I love cookbooks that inspire you, and show you a world, what life is like in a specific time and place. Costantino does a fabulous job of exploring the foods of Calabria.
March 26, 2012
I don't normally place cook books in my good reads account. But this book is different. I loved the narrative Rose gave me on her life in Calabria. It is a beautiful book! I might even try some of her recipes!
November 5, 2010
Vegetable recipes are quite good; interesting lore on the region, too.
June 29, 2011
It's very authentic. It's a great addition to my collection.
September 8, 2011
Rosetta is a wonderful chef and teacher. Will upgrade my review as I have time to prepare some of these beautifully illustrated recipes.
May 27, 2013
Fabulous food and even homemade liquors.
April 18, 2011
I love reading cookbooks. period.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews