Good news. It is possible to follow a healthier diet, and one that is respectful of the life of every living being and attentive to the wellbeing of the planet, without having to give up on the flavours of Italian cooking. To enjoy excellent vegetarian dishes it is not necessary to look to the East. We can be pleasantly inspired by the great gastronomic culture of Italy, one of the best in the world. This new book on Italian vegetarian cooking, prepared by Academia Barilla for Edizioni White Star, follows this green side of the peninsula's culinary art, where many typical dishes starting from pasta originally involved neither meat nor fish and form the very essence of the famous "Mediterranean diet". Conceived with the help of Mario Grazia, confectioner and chef at Academia Barilla, the book gathers together 130 green recipes, which have been tried and tested and are enriched with fascinating tidbits. Traditional dishes, such as caprese salad, orecchiette with turnip tops, haricot beans uccelletto-style, pizza Margherita and chestnut cake, but also preparations with a creative touch, such as broccoli flan with a red-wine reduction, mango, carrot and yellow pepper salad, and chard, apple and raisins pie. AUTHOR Academia Barilla was established in Parma in 2004 with the aim of safeguarding, developing and promoting the most genuine aspects of the Italian regional culture and cuisine. Based on the guiding principle that underlies this prestigious institute's philosophy that of "food as culture" Academia Barilla offers food lovers and professional chefs around the globe a fully-rounded overview of Italy, through technical training, high quality products, wine and food experiences, and corporate services. The headquarters in Parma meet all the training needs of the food industry, and are equipped with the multimedia instruments required to host important industry events: in addition to an extraordinary gastronomic auditorium, it includes a restaurant, a multisensory lab and 18 kitchens featuring all the latest technologies. The Gastronomic Library contains more than 11,000 themed books, and an unusual collection of historical menus and culinary art prints: the library's enormous cultural heritage may be accessed via the internet, with hundreds of historical texts now available in digital form. 130 colour photographs
