Chef Silvio Suppa Shares Secrets of Campania Cuisine

Have you ever wished, after savoring an exemplary meal, that you could pick the chef's brain to divine some inspiration for your own creations? Thanks to a new book by Silvio Suppa, you can.

Suppa gained a local reputation for his cuisine starting in the 1970s at Del Monaco's in New Haven. Today, area gourmands know him as the owner and chef of Madison's Café Allegre and The WoodWinds banquet facility in Branford. His new book, Cooking with Chef Silvio: Stories and Authentic Recipes from Campania (written with Westbrook resident Anthony V. Riccio), serves up copious helpings of culinary wisdom while celebrating the history and traditions of the Italian region from which Suppa emigrated at age 20. The product of Suppa and Riccio's research journey to Campania, the book contains not only recipes, but also the stories behind the region's staple foods and natural remedies passed down through the generations.

Living spoke with Suppa last week about sharing his knowledge with food lovers and came away with some tips for your home kitchen, as well.

What made you decide to write this cookbook?

The main reason is I think I know quite a bit about this Mediterranean cuisine from Campania. I go back many years [there] and I have many recipes that go back six, seven hundred years-back to the Byzantine and Roman empires...I started to think, 'What's going to happen to all of it? It's going to get lost.' I would like to preserve this and pass it on to the next generation. I would hate to see these dishes die out.

How does Cooking with Chef Silvio differ from other cookbooks?

My book is not just about recipes-it's a lot of stories and histories about the Campania region.

What tips and techniques do you bring to your cooking from your homeland?

When I grew up there was still a bit of poverty...There was no, like you have now, supermarket…We used to use what we grew and our own animals like chickens and turkeys…Also, we used to have a big, huge garden right next to the house. My mother used to pick whatever she needed for the day-herbs, basil, eggplant, tomatoes-everything was there. So that was a different experience.

Even over here sometimes, at my house, a couple times a week, I go to the refrigerator, I say, 'We got to clean out everything.' If there's steak and some celery and peppers left, I make dinner out of it. That's what I try to tell people to do. Some younger generations will say, 'Oh my God, I never knew to do that.' That's one of my techniques.

Also, I always try to use what's available and what's out at the farms now. This time of year, I use grapes or pumpkins.

What do you find to be the biggest mistake people make in their own kitchens?

The big thing that I can see for the younger generations [is] they always...try to follow a recipe to a T…Do not be intimidated. Do not think, 'I gotta make this now, I gotta have that, or the recipe doesn't call for, say, spicy hot.' So what?! Just put it in, make it spicy. Use whatever you like.

My grandmother, when we made the sauce, she used to put in meat like spareribs or short ribs or a piece of sausage and I saw her change it sometimes. She'd put chicken or something in and I'd ask why. She said, 'Whatever you like, put it in. That's what you're going to eat.'

Recipes are just a guide. A person should adjust them the way they want. Recipes can sometimes be off, especially with baking. A lot of recipes depend on the weather, the water [type], the kind of flour you use-so many different things.

What are your favorite and least favorite things to cook?

My favorites are...what I learned from my family home recipes-of course a lot of pasta and a lot of sauces. That's most of my strength. I like to cook rabbit and chicken, lamb, steak, beef, fish, a lot of zuppa di pesce. The things I like the most are pasta dishes and risottos-things that have much to do with the stuff from the garden like fresh herbs and fresh tomatoes. One of my favorite dishes is steak pizzaiola because it's made with fresh tomatoes.

I don't like to use a lot of cream and butter because, first, that's not healthy and, second, it's not my strength. The part [of Italy] that I come from, we don't use much cream and butter.

Silvio Suppa discusses and signs copies of Cooking with Chef Silvio: Stories and Authentic Recipes from Campania on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison. The first 100 people to sign up will receive a free jar of Suppa's Sunday Sauce. Following the event, a complimentary glass of wine will be served across the street at Café Allegre. Tickets for the event are $5, which may be used toward the purchase of the book. For more information and to sign up, call R.J. Julia at 203-245-3959 or visit www.rjjulia.com. For more information about Suppa, visit www.chefsilvio.com.

A book celebration is planned for Thursday, Nov. 11 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at WoodWinds, 29 Schoolground Road, Branford. The event will feature a cooking demonstration by Suppa and a discussion and slide show chronicling Suppa and Riccio's Italian journey. Tickets are $30, 50 percent of which will be donated to the Connecticut Food Bank. For more information and to make reservations, call WoodWinds at 203-481-6577.