Verdure

In the old days, most Italian Jewish meals were based around grains and vegetables, so it is not surprising that vegetables make up the largest chapter of this book and that it falls here in the middle rather than after the meats, as is the convention in most Italian cookbooks. Because vegetables were readily available and generally inexpensive, an extensive repertoire of vegetable recipes evolved. Cooks loved to take these humble ingredients and make them festive and filling. They were combined with bread crumbs and cheese or besciamella in gratins, or pureed and enriched with eggs for sformate, baked savory puddings. Such dishes were often the centerpiece of the meal, and rivaled the huge roster of vegetable-based pastas, risotti, and savory pies that the Italian Jews also favored.