What makes a great dish?

Lidia Bastianich

Lidia Bastianich has been described as the reigning queen of Italian cuisine in America. She is the host of cooking shows on PBS, including Lidia's Italy, a new 26-episode series which features American and Italian chefs preparing regional Italian dishes.

Bastianichs family fled Communist Istria in 1956 and became political refugees in Italy, before moving to the United States. Bastianich trained in kitchens in New York City and opened her first restaurant with her husband at the age of 24. Since then, she has opened several restaurants, including Felidia and Becco. She has also authored several cookbooks including Lidia's Family Table and Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen. 

10 December, 2007

Question: What makes a great dish?

Lidia Bastianich: The elements in a great recipe really vary, again, according to culture. And each one will give you a different answer. But I think it’s, again, the prime product. You need to have as a chef . . . I need to have the best that I can – the best that nature can give me in the product. Then my work as the chef is not to alter that or to change, but to exalt it. So in doing that, I might need some condiments, which is olive oil, or butter, or whatever. I might need some seasoning to enhance it, whether it’s salt, spices, or herbs. But basically give me a good product from nature, and mostly my work is done.

Question: What is your favorite dish?

Lidia Bastianich: You know it’s difficult.  It’s difficult to isolate, I think.  What I would like to say is that I love cooking and eating seasonally.  Therefore following the season.  What does the bounty of the season bring?  And I enjoy that at that given time.  I think if you . . .  If I were to really choose one, I must say pasta and vegetables would have to be.

 

Recorded on: 10/4/07

 

 

 

It starts with the best that nature can give you.

videos

Norman Fischer (poet, zen priest) – the only way out of the catastrophe we’re in

"Body, breath, awareness…that's your life. Every problem you ever have, every joy you ever have, depends on that." In this week's episode of Think Again, host Jason Gots talks with acclaimed poet and zen teacher Norman Fischer about the imagination as a tool for living a good life.

Think Again Podcasts


Keep reading Show less

'The West' is, in fact, the world's biggest gated community

A review of the global "wall" that divides rich from poor.

Image: TD Architects
Strange Maps
  • Trump's border wall is only one puzzle piece of a global picture.
  • Similar anxieties are raising similar border defenses elsewhere.
  • This map shows how, as a result, "the West" is in fact one large gated community.
Keep reading Show less
global development global issues immigration inequality poverty refugees terrorism map

Will robots have rights in the future?

Perhaps sooner than we think, we'll need to examine the moral standing of intelligent machines.

Videos
  • If eventually we develop artificial intelligence sophisticated enough to experience emotions like joy and suffering, should we grant it moral rights just as any other sentient being?
  • Theoretical philosopher Peter Singer predicts the ethical issues that could ensue as we expand the circle of moral concern to include these machines.
  • A free download of the 10th anniversary edition of The Life You Can Save: How to Do Your Part to End World Poverty is available here.
Keep reading Show less
ai robots emotions morality society future technology humans animals