Hudson Valley Mediterranean: The Gigi Good Food Cookbook

by Laura Pensiero

Overview

A renowned chef and nutritionist has the recipe for delectable meals with a healthy Mediterranean focus, with more than 100 dishes featuring flavorful, seasonal, local food.

New York’s Hudson Valley has become a major center for local foods and agriculture, an East Coast version of the Napa Valley. Laura Pensiero’s Gigi Trattoria in Rhinebeck (named one of Hudson Valley’s best restaurants in Hudson Valley Magazine) bustles every day with customers from near and far feasting on Laura’s delicious interpretations of traditional Italian dishes made with healthy ingredients that highlight the bounty of the farms, gardens, and artisans of the Valley.

A celebration of the food of the Hudson Valley and the people who grow and produce it, Hudson Valley Mediterranean shows how to create delicious meals using seasonal ingredients that have the bonus of being really good for you. Here are more than 100 delectable, easy-to-prepare, and cost-effective recipes made with the best New York ingredients and Mediterranean flair, including:

• Gigi Potato Gnocchi with Northwind Farm Chicken and Pea Ragu
• Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower and Chard
• Fava Bean and Fregola Salad
• Spring Lasagna
• Seared Salmon over Spring Trifolati
• Mr. Mink’s Panzanella Salad with Fresh Herbs
• and Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061719172
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/18/2009
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	7.68(w) x 9.54(h) x 1.15(d)

About the Author

Laura Pensiero is the creator of Gigi Hudson Valley, a broad-based company that celebrates local New York farmers and their products through her restaurant, the influential Gigi Trattoria in Rhinebeck, New York; her café and store, Gigi Market in nearby Red Hook featuring Hudson Valley products; and her line of Gigi-branded products. A registered dietician, Pensiero has worked with some of the best health-care institutions in the world, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Strang-Cornell Cancer Prevention Center. She is also a partner in and chef for Just Salad, developing menus and recipes for a rapidly expanding chain of healthful fast-food eateries with locations in New York City and Hong Kong. Named one of five "amazingly gifted and giving food professionals" by O, The Oprah Magazine, Pensiero is the coauthor of The Strang Cancer Prevention Center Cookbook and has developed recipes for The Da Fiore Cookbook, among others. She has written for many magazines, including O, The Oprah Magazine, Prevention, and Today's Diet and Nutrition, and has contributed recipes to Real Simple, More, and Fitness. Her work has also been featured in Cooking Light and Chef Magazine. She is also a board member and educator for Healthy Children Healthy Futures, a national after-school child health program. Pensiero lives in Red Hook, New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Spring 1

Snapshot: Sky Farm 14

Summer 61

Snapshot: Mead Orchards 74

Fall 117

Snapshot: Montgomery Place Orchards 120

Snapshot: Northwind Farms 129

Winter 191

Snapshot: Hearty Roots Community Farm 206

Gigi Basics 275

Food and Entertaining 295

Snapshot: Migliorelli Farm 299

Celebrating Through the Seasons 301

Sources 303

Acknowledgments 309

Index 311

What People are Saying About This

Amy Goldman

“People long for more flavor, better nutrition, and beauty on their dinner plates. Laura Pensiero delivers at Gigi Trattoria and she delivers in this book. And you don’t have to live in the Hudson Valley to reap the benefit of Hudson Valley Mediterranean.”

Editorial Reviews

People long for more flavor, better nutrition, and beauty on their dinner plates. Laura Pensiero delivers at Gigi Trattoria and she delivers in this book. And you don’t have to live in the Hudson Valley to reap the benefit of Hudson Valley Mediterranean.” — Amy Goldman, author of The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table and chair of the board of Seed Savers Exchange

“a collection of about 150 recipes with a distinct voice—one of balanced eating, locally sourced foods and fuss-free, straightforward dishes that showcase seasonal ingredients, like the candy-like sweetness of a rustic onion tart in autumn.” — Albany Times Union

Honorable Mention, Publishers Weekly Best Food Books of 2009 — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

People long for more flavor, better nutrition, and beauty on their dinner plates. Laura Pensiero delivers at Gigi Trattoria and she delivers in this book. And you don’t have to live in the Hudson Valley to reap the benefit of Hudson Valley Mediterranean.

Amy Goldman

a collection of about 150 recipes with a distinct voice—one of balanced eating, locally sourced foods and fuss-free, straightforward dishes that showcase seasonal ingredients, like the candy-like sweetness of a rustic onion tart in autumn.

Albany Times Union