Reddit reviews La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy

I was recently flipping through my copy of La Cucina and noticed several recipes using hops as a main ingredient (some use shoots, while others use the actual flowers). Since I recently pruned my cascade plant, I thought it would be fun to try out the recipe for hop shoot risotto. It turned out great—the hop shoots have an almost buttery texture (somewhat like roasted garlic) with just a hint of bitterness.

For anyone interested, here's the recipe (I only had three ounces of hop shoots, so I adjusted the recipe accordingly):

• 1/4 cup olive oil
  
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 10 oz tips of bruscandoli (hop shoots), cleaned and chopped into pieces
  
• 5 cups Vialone nano rice (I used Arborio)
  
• 6 cups broth (beef or chicken)
  
• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  
• 1/4 lb (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  
• salt and pepper
  
  Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add the parsley, garlic, and hop shoots. Let cook for at least 15 minutes. Add the rice and stir, raising the heat to cook it a few minutes, then add the broth a little at a time, waiting for the rice to absorb the liquid before adding more. Continue gently stirring; a little before the rice is finished cooking (it should be al dente) taste for salt and add cheese, pepper, and butter. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the risotto rest for 2 minutes before serving.

Honestly, one of the first things I do when I'm at someone's house is dig through their cookbooks. The three that I resort to at all times are:

[La Cucina] (http://www.amazon.com/Cucina-Regional-Cooking-Italy/dp/0847831477/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1464737488&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=La+Cusina)

[The Joy Of Cooking] (http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Cooking-Irma-S-Rombauer/dp/0743246268/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464737648&sr=8-1&keywords=Joy+Of+Cooking)

[Mastering The Art of French Cooking] (http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Set/dp/0307593525/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464737689&sr=1-3&keywords=mastering+the+art+of+french+cooking)

La Cucina has several, actually.

These were cookbooks I found continually helpful while working at a fine-dining Italian place:

La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy - 900 pages with a background on each recipe. Very helpful for research and creating dishes.

Encyclopedia of Pasta - Invaluable if you're doing fresh pasta. Provides a thorough explanation of each shape.

The Silver Spoon - a monster with 2000 recipes, but a great reference book. I think it claims to be Italy's oldest cookbook(?)...

I think these are a great starting point if you're in a serious kitchen - best of luck!