Marlena's (review) in Heat
Pasta
Marlena Spieler
(Headline, 20GBP; available in the USA via Amazon)
Pasta la Vista
Pasta, eh? What would we do without it? Yes, alright Jennifer Aniston, you need not answer. And quite frankly, anyone else on those ridiculous Zone and Atkin's diets can bugger off as well, because we don't care how skinny you are; you're mad if you don't eat the stuff. Wheat intolerants excluded, of course. And so that brings us to the subject of this marvellous cookbook. Written by Marlena Spieler, award-winning international broadcaster and author of over 50 cookbooks, this is packed full of mouth-watering recipes. Butterfly pasta with walnut sauce, tagliarini with rosemary cream in a crisp parmesan bowl, six variations of pasta with roasted tomato sauce, tagliatelle in saffron cream with prosciutto, pata with spicy Sardinian prawn sauce, linguine with tuna and lemon, spaghetti with sausage, olives and marsala, pumpkin ravioli with butter, sage and parmsan, fat pasta twists with Sicilian-style almond pesto... we could go on and on, but we're drooling enough as it is. With an introduction which includes the history and secrets of perfect pasta, how to make it in various shapes and forms, plus some basic pasta sauces like pomodoro and pesto, this book delivers everything you need to know to be a pasta queen. There are no desserts — pasta cheesecake? We don't think so — this is strictly savoury... and strictly delicious. * * * * * (five stars) Paige Toon
© Heat Magazine 2003