Plus more English and Italian classics that are among his favorite foods.
Alongside his book launch, Tucci is also spotlighting aneasy recipe with S.Pellegrino: a savory holiday cheese cake.
Read our questions and his answers below.
Photo:Courtesy of the Brand
Convince the skeptics: why should we be including a savory cheese cake on the holiday table?
It was just really fun.
I just think it’s cool-looking and it’s different from what we usually expect.
But I think it’s nice, it’s something you might have before dinner or after dinner.
In your opinion, is there an underrated cheese?
I don’t know …
I live in England, and the British, like the French, love all different kinds of cheese.
There’s some really, really great cheese here.
I love goat and sheep cheese a lot.
But are they underrated?
I don’t know!
Alongside pasta and cheese, a salad is standard on the Italian dinner table.
Do you have go-to ingredients for a side salad?
I love romaine lettuce or baby gem lettuce.
Or radicchioI like bitter things.
One of my favorite salads is actually a dandelion-green salad, which is very classic Italian.
That with a vinaigrette and hard-boiled eggs, that’s a meal.
Its the greatest summer salad.
What does your ideal homemade salad dressing look like?
My ideal salad dressing is really simple.
I make it the way my mother does.
And then keep that clove in there and you throw in oil and a little bit of red-wine vinegar.
And I just whip that up with a little squeeze of lemon.
Then if you want to add mustard, you’re free to add mustard.
But that right there, that dressing is a classic.
My ideal salad dressing is really simple.
I make it the way my mother does.
I love shepherd’s pie, cottage pie, anything that’s a pie.
I like a savory pie.
And when properly made, they’re delicious.
Is there a kitchen tool that’s a necessity for you?
Those two items come with me.
Any food hot takes?
Least favorites or unlikely favorite foods?
I’m not a fan of coriander (cilantro).
We were just talking about this today with some friends.
I can’t abide it.
Otherwise, it’s pretty obvious what I likeoh, you know what I really love to eat?
Cornish pasties, which in America people don’t know what they are.
Imagine an empanada, right, but a big one.
They come from Cornwall and were made originally for the miners to take to work.
