Luca Manfé - My Italian Kitchen: Favorite Family Recipes from the Winner of MasterChef Season 4 on FOX

Published in 2014 by Stewart, Tabori & Chang
An imprint of ABRAMS

MasterChef is a trademark of Shine Television, LLC and used under license. The MasterChef logo is a trademark of Shine Limited and used under license. All rights reserved. MasterChef is based on a format created by Franc Roddam in association with Ziji Productions.

2014 Shine Television, LLC
All photographs copyright 2014 Tina Rupp except , courtesy of Fox

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013952213

ISBN: 978-1-61769-103-4

Editor: Holly Dolce
Designer: Danielle Young
Production Manager: True Sims

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To Nonna Anita, thank you for all the good food and great stories.

To my parents, Bruna and Ferruccio, and to my sister, Milena, your love and support have always pushed me to do better.

And to my wife, Cate, because without you, none of this would have been possible.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

By Gordon Ramsay

As a small child growing up in Scotland, I remember often being told the Robert the Bruce line "If at first you dont succeed, try, try, and try again." Maybe that saying also made its way over to northeast Italy. It could easily be the mantra of the author of this wonderful cookbook, Luca Manf.

Luca first tried out for my FOX show, MasterChef, in 2012. He made it to the top 100. But I felt he wasnt quite ready to take on the full range of daunting challenges that come with earning a white apron and a place in the MasterChef kitchen. So Luca went back to his job managing the front of house at a restaurant in New York City. As he left us on that disappointing day, he told me and my fellow judges, Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich, that hed return, stronger and better.

Luca was true to his word. He came back a year later, having spent the intervening time perfecting his craft as a home cook. He wowed us with a highly unusual dish of broccoli rabe ravioli with a pecorino cheese sauce. The pasta was simply perfect. The filling was unusually bright green and had amazing flavor. The sauce was tasty, if a little saltyeven for me. But overall, the dish showed great finesse, solid technique, and phenomenal potential. But it wasnt just the dish that I was excited about. I was equally impressed that Luca had swallowed his Italian pride, dusted himself off after his first attempt, and demonstrated the tenacity to come back a year later and give it his all.

Luca went on to crush his competition in more than forty of the most grueling challenges weve ever set on MasterChef USA. He had a few wobbles along the waydont mention the risotto!but again, his sheer drive and will to succeed, coupled with his unparalleled love of great food, won out. By the time we reached the finale, his confidence had grown, and he had truly mastered his kitchen demons.

In addition to being a great cook and despite English being his second language, Luca has the great gift of charm and communication. His warm personality, stunning dishes, and infectious love of food earned him a legion of fans over the course of the show airing on TV and they, like us, loved watching someone pursue the American dream.

Luca comes from a long line of great Italian home cooks, and many of his inspiring family recipes are featured here in this fantastic book. I hope, like me, you will enjoy this, Lucas first book of recipes, and have successful results when you try them out at home for yourself, your family, and your friends.

FOREWORD

By Joe Bastianich

Italian cuisine is by far the worlds most popular food. Beloved and revered everywhere from Macau to South Dakota to London, there is something universally appealing about the delights found within the bounty of the Italian table. It sets the standard for palates everywhere; few other places on earth can lay claim to such treasures as perfectly ripe San Marzano tomatoes from Campania, bright green peppery olive oils from Tuscany, and the decadent aromatic potency of Piedmonts white truffles. Historically the worlds food darling, Italy and its exports are showing no signs of relinquishing this heady title.

Ive spent my life steeped in all things cibo Italiano. Its how Ive made my living, my bread and butter, the thing I lay awake thinking about every night. After twenty-odd restaurants (all but two are Italian) the opportunity to be a part of bringing Eataly to New York back in 2010 was one my partners and I didnt hesitate on. We knew full well the intense global appetite for Italian cuisine and products was thriving, as was the common-sense concept of Italian sensibility, and Eataly was clearly the next big thing. Three and half years later, with our Chicago store now open, and expansion plans for Los Angeles, So Paolo, and Philadelphia forthcoming, the proof is really in the pudding. Business for all things Italian is a-boomin.

That being said, its only fitting that we find ourselves with our own Italian migr, Luca Manf, as Americas current MasterChef. Luca hails from Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the northeast corner of Italy, the same region my family is from. A place with a somewhat turbulent past and borders that have changed hands many times in the last century, Friuli is home to a strong and resourceful people who have honed a rich yet often overlooked food culture. When we Americans think of signature Italian dishes, it is usually veal Milanese, Neapolitan pizza, and cacio e pepe from Rome that come to mind. Luca was able to distinguish himself by incorporating regional ingredients to showcase the best of Friulis specialties and to help introduce dishes such as frico and products like prosciutto San Daniele and Montasio cheese to the American public.

Yet Luca, much like his homelands cuisine, often went unnoticed and underestimated by his competitors.