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Anna Del Conte

Italian cookery writer Anna Del Conte joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs.

Kirsty Young's castaway is the cookery writer Anna Del Conte.

Born to a wealthy Milanese family, she arrived in Britain in 1949 where her Italian ingenuity with food was sorely needed in a nation still facing rationing and no olive oil. Her books, starting with Portrait of Pasta in 1976, helped to change all that, and established her as a food hero for younger cooks like Nigella Lawson and Delia Smith.

She has still more to teach however: whatever you do, she says, you shouldn't serve bolognese with spaghetti as it's just the wrong shape. Tagliatelle is much better.

Record: Part of the duet from the first act of Otello
Book: The Leopard by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa
Luxury: Extra virgin olive oil.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 19 Nov 2010 09:00
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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Music Played

  • Fabrizio De AndrΓ©

    Bocca Di Rosa

    Composer: Fabrizio De AndrΓ©

    • Volume 1.
    • Bluebird.

  • Giuseppe Verdi

    The Overture to the third act of Verdi's La Traviata

    Artist: Arturo Toscanini – conducting the Orchestra of La Scala, Milan

    • La Scala Edition. Vol.2 1915-1946.
    • EMI.

  • Luigi Boccherini

    Minuet from the String Quintet in E

    Artist: I Musici

    • Mozart: Pachelbel:Albinoni:I Musici.
    • Philips.

  • Charles Trenet

    Que reste-t-il do nos amours? What remains of our love

    Composer: Charles Trenet/Leo Chauliac

    • Charles Trenet.
    • Columbia.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    LΓ  ci darem la mano (from Don Giovanni)

    Artist: Teresa Berganza (and Ruggero Raimondi) with the Paris Opera Orchestra conducted by Lorin Maazel

    • More Amore: The Great Italian Love Duets.
    • Sony Classical.

  • Bing Crosby

    I Never Realised

    Composer: Cole Porter

    • Bing Crosby sings Cole Porter Songs.
    • Brunswick.

  • Joseph Haydn

    The Adagio from Haydn's String Quartet No.2 in C Major

    Artist: The Amadeus Quartet

    • Haydn: Stringquartets Op. 54 & 55..
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Giuseppe Verdi

      Part of the duet from the first act of Otello

      Artist: Placido Domingo – and Mirella Freni with the opera of La Scala, Milan conducted by Carlos Kleiber

      • Verdi: Otello.
      • Music and Arts Programs of America.

  • Book Choice

    • The Leopard - Giuseppe di Lampedusa

  • Luxury Choice

    • extra virgin oil

Credits

Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Anna Del Conte

Broadcast

  • Fri 19 Nov 2010 09:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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