Lidia Bastianich shares 'Commonsense' cooking tips
- Renowned chef/restaurateur goes for simplification
- Treat your refrigerator and freezer like a %27treasure chest%27
- Above all%2C make time for food and family
For instance, a little cube of pesto tucked away in an ice cube tray in the freezer can change the flavor profile of a pot of soup.
Same goes for that half cup of marinara sauce you were tempted to toss. Save it in the fridge and add it to a roasted chicken for a different taste without a lot of effort.
These are some of the simple kitchen truths that are the basis of Lidia's Commonsense Italian Cooking (Knopf, $35), the new book from PBS celebrity chef, author and restaurateur Lidia Bastianich.
"Make your refrigerator or freezer like a treasure chest," Bastianich said during a recent interview. "You don't need a quart of everything. An ice cube of pesto, a half cup of tomato sauce can brighten a recipe and change it."
The beloved chef and author knows this from experience, which equates to common sense. It's not as elusive as one might think, if you get down to the basics when it comes to cooking and get comfortable with food.
"This wisdom I accumulated in my 40-plus years in the kitchen," she said. "I think people make it too systematic in a way, like it's a chemistry formula. Food is not like that; food is very forgiving. Connecting and making do with a lot of the food elements can be fun and exciting.
"I hear people tell me, 'Lidia you empower me,' " Bastianich said.
Perhaps the best way to empower yourself in the kitchen is to make time to get the cooking done and then sit down at the table to share a meal with family.
"I think, again, it's about using commonsense," she said. "Choose recipes like a base recipe; make a big pot of soup and freeze it. From then on, you can take it in any direction. Another day put rice in it, or then put corn, or sausages. From there it's endless."
The book is packed with simple recipes that are big on flavor minus the fuss.
And then there is that kitchen wisdom that comes from sitting down at the table for a meal, peppered with years of experience.
Some "commonsense" truths Bastianich embraces in the book: "Use local, fresh products; cook with the seasons; recycle rather than waste; make time to join family and friends at the table for a meal; do not forget to cook for yourself; and sit down and enjoy all of the above."
Passing down recipes and kitchen traditions is something Bastianich knows from her early childhood — she spent a lot of time with her grandmother growing up in Istria on the northeastern coast of the Adriatic Sea in Italy, where she grew most of the family's food and raised animals.
"There was a respect for food and not wasting," she said. "We had the courtyard animals and the gardens ... it was a complete circle. ... We have so much now, we never thought of throwing out dried bread. We made bread pudding, soup, crumble, and of course, breadcrumbs."
Cooking does not have to be complicated, said Bastianich, who is chef/owner of four esteemed New York City restaurants — Felidia, Becco, Esca and Del Posto — as well as Lidia's Pittsburgh and Lidia's Kansas City.
Food can bring us back to the table, where we can reconnect with family and spend quality time, Bastianich said.
"Food evolves and our needs evolve," she said. "Food is culture. Food is an identity, a footprint of who you are ... Food is love, food is caring, food is nurturing ... That's why sitting down to the table is so important ... We all are on our own little iPods; food is going to be our savior; it will bring us back to the table."
Lidia's Commonsense Italian Cooking hits bookstores this week, as well as the companion cooking series coming to PBS at the end of October (check local listings).
Bastianich, 66, along with her son, Joe Bastianich, Mario Batali and Oscar Farinetti, opened Eataly three years ago, a 42,500-square-foot artisanal Italian food and wine marketplace in Manhattan's Flatiron District.
She divides her time between living on Long Island and Italy, where she and her son produce award-winning wines at Bastianich Vineyard in Friuli and La Mozza Vineyard in Maremma.