Olivia Cavalli - Stagioni: Contemporary Italian Cooking to Celebrate the Seasons

Pavilion

An imprint of HarperCollins PublishersLtd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by Pavilion

An imprint of HarperCollins PublishersLtd 2022

Text Copyright Olivia Cavalli 2022

Copyright HarperCollins PublishersLtd 2022

Olivia Cavalli asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Hardback ISBN: 9781911682028

eBook ISBN: 9781911682875

Version 2022-09-21

Commissioning editor: Cara Armstrong

Editor: Ellen Sandford ONeill

Copyeditor: Lucy Bannell

Proofreader: Sarah Epton

Design: Maeve Bargman

Photography: Sophie Davidson

Prop styling: Charlie Phillips and Louie Waller

Food styling: Olivia Cavalli and Esther Clark

Home economist: Jess Geddes

Location photography: Valdirose, Italy

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

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In Italian, stagionitranslates to seasons. The word seasonal has become a bit of a buzzword to the point where its almost clich but eating with the seasons is not and should not be a passing trend. For most of human existence, eating what was growing around us was the only option. At its core, this is seasonal eating its working with whats available and not seeking out what isnt. In more recent years, though, weve suddenly experienced a constant availability of produce and an overwhelming amount of choice its no wonder were confused. Supermarket shelves are stocked with strawberries, tomatoes and aubergines, all in the depths of December, and its led us to lose our way a little.

In Italy, eating with the seasons is just a way of life. Of course, there are exceptions, especially in younger generations where there is a growing desire to keep up with food trends, but the majority of people have lived their lives eating this way and its never questioned. They shop at their local markets and the fruttivendoloat the end of the street, they eat (religiously) at their favourite trattorie, whose changing menus reflect the time of year, they even hold sagre(feasts) that celebrate the typical foods of a territory, each time they rear their heads. Most of all, you see it in the dishes a spring stew named vignarola, dotted with pearly peas and broad beans, a plate of plump summer tomatoes and creamy mozzarella scattered with fragrant basil and fresh porcini taglierini, crowned with shavings of intoxicating truffle come October theyre a celebration of each months produce, a way in which to show them off and enjoy them at their very best. You simply dont see produce being used in winter, nor the other way around and why would you? to do so would be doing a disservice to yourself and your guests. Not only do Italians understand their produce but they also understand how to treat it; theyre vegetable masters and magicians.