Osteria 16

Italian food from a group of popular restaurants in Copenhagen? If that seems an unnecessary stretch, we invite you to consider the zeal of converts: the fervor and dedication of those who have chosen new beliefs over those in which they were raised. In this case, the converts are restaurateurs Emil Alsbo and Morten Kaltoff, who use imported Italian ingredients in ways which have won highly favorable international attention.This attractively photographed imported book contains a modest number of familiar touchstones like crostini with burrata, tomato, and basil, vitello tonnato, and tiramisu. But there is a striking number of unusual recipes which rely on familiar Italian ingredients combined in fresh ways: Blood orange with bottarga Polenta with capers and thyme Rigatoni with radicchio and red wine Spaghetti with squid ragout Headnotes have been omitted, so there is no chefly posturing: you're invited to admire the simplicity of the preparations and produce them yourself at home.  The book uses metric measure. There is a companion volume on pasta.Paperback. Color photographs throughout.