Publisher's Weekly Review
Healthy, cheap and versatile, pasta has become astoundingly popular, and Robertson's impressive array of dishes highlights all of its best qualities. Building on classics from her Italian-American heritage, Robertson gives the humble noodle a twist all her own by emphasizing its health benefits in a balanced vegetarian diet. She takes the "quiet pasta revolution" further by using the new vegetables available to most shoppers now, for example, mixing yellow tomatoes with lemon zest and radiatore. Recipes are arranged by type of sauce, with a whole section on tomato sauces alone (especially delicious is the Ziti with Sicilian-Style Sauce). And pesto need not mean just basil: a chapter on oils and pestos contains exciting combinations like cilantro-lime and parsley-walnut. She offers warm autumn fare, like Penne with Sweet Potato and Green Apple Saute, and holiday pastas, such as Fusilli with Garlic, Figs, and Rosemary, a Christmas Eve dish enjoyed by the author's family. In many of the creamier sauces, soy milk is optional, and numerous recipes call for soy-based meat substitutes or tofu. Because of the author's awareness of health and balance, this book is a veritable pasta bible for vegetarians and omnivores alike. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
