As Friuli native Germano Pontoni describes in his introduction, La Zucca Si Sposa… celebrates the “marriage” of winter squash to other ingredients, from pasta to honey, from meat to wine. Following a brief discourse on the “merits and virtues” of the squash—which include its nutritional benefits, medicinal uses, ease of cultivation, and culinary versatility—the intro lists eleven different cultivars (or cultivated varieties) of winter squash, along with their distinguishing characteristics. The one we would be most apt to call a pumpkin is the Mammouth, while the butternut is known as Violina.
Despite the book’s small trim size, La Zucca Si Sposa… contains over fifty recipes but, sadly, no photos. The index groups these recipes into the following categories: antipasti e stuzzichini, primi piatti, secondi piatti e contorni, piatti unici, pane e focacce, and dolci e marmellate. The book as a whole, however, is organized into only two sections: recipes by the author and recipes by his friends, who are not only from Friuli-Venezia Giulia but also the Veneto, Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna, Abruzzo, Toscana, Liguria, and Sicilia. The recipes are very well written, with clear ingredient lists and instructions. Most useful to me personally were the recipes for gnocchi di zucca (squash dumplings), frico con la zucca (cheese and squash pancake), cavucìn (squash purée), and pane con la zucca (squash bread).
