Introduction<br > Contrary to what some Americans think， Italian food is not the stereo-<br > typical mountain of spaghetti crowned with baseball-sized meatballs and<br > a plate of sticky sweet pastries stuffed with gooey cream. In fact， if we<br > were to step into a kitchen in the Tuscan countryside or in a small res-<br > taurant in a Roman piazza， we might see a table spread with tomatoes<br > stuffed with rice salad， a small veal roast and a side dish of braised esca-<br > role served with lemon wedges--appealing， lean and nutritious fare. For<br > dessert， there might well be sweet ripe cherries， served simply in a bowl<br > of iced water. The mound of spaghetti is an Italian-American creation<br > and the sweet pastries are only served alongside espresso， for a midmorn-<br > ing or afternoon snack， much as we might have coffee and a doughnut.<br > Real Italian food， by its very nature， is inherently healthful. Light and<br > fresh， it reflects many of the most up-to-date guidelines for good nutri-<br > tion. The keystones of Italian cuisine include vegetables， fruits， grains，<br > poultry and seafood， with relatively small amounts of red meat. Favorite<br > Italian foods like pasta， rice， bread， potatoes and beans， which are natu-<br > rally high in complex carbohydrates， also provide essential nutrients like<br >vitamins， protein， minerals and dietary fiber.<br > In southern Italian cooking， olive oil is the preferred fat， while in the<br >north cooks use butter. While the number of calories per tablespoon is<br >the same for all fats， in this book I have chosen to cook only with olive<br >oil， since its high monosaturated fat ratio makes it about the heakhiest<br >fat you can use. I ve kept the amounts of all fats to a minimum.<br > In fact， eating more carbohydrates， siguificantly less fat and moderate<br >amounts of protein， which current studies suggest as the most nutritious<br >diet you can follow， has a wonderful side benefit: reduced calorie con-<br >sumption. That s because fats contain an incredibly dense number of<br >calories per gram--more than twice as much as any other type of food.<br >Rather than counting individual calories， many doctors recommend just<br >