Mezzogiorno

Francesco Mazzei hails from Calabria—the toe on Italy’s boot and the region noted for producing n’duja (a spicy, spreadable pork sausage). Like n’duja, Mazzei has come to prominence in the last few years impressing fellow chefs, bloggers, and critics alike. Mazzei has led a varied career that has straddled Rome, Edinburgh, London, Bangkok (where he opened an Italian restaurant at the Royal Sporting Club), and Calabria. He opened L’Anima in 2008, which has since become one of the leading lights of London’s collection of Italian restaurants. Signature dishes at L’Anima, such as Charcoal scallops with n’duja and salsa verde and Spit roast leg of lamb with cannellini beans and black cabbage, offer prime examples of a style that marries rustic Calabrian flavors with Modern European precision. This, his first book, is a straightforward 80 terrific southern Italian recipes with an introduction to the food of Southern Italy. Includes metric measures.