Bestia

Bestia: Italian Recipes Created in the Heart of L.A. by Ori Menashe, Genevieve Gergis and Lesley Suter is the debut cookbook from LA’s phenomenally popular Bestia restaurant. Both restaurant and book feature rustic Italian food with Middle Eastern influences, crafted with intense flavors, house-made charcuterie, pizza and pasta from scratch, along with innovative desserts inspired by home-baked classics.

 

Photographs capture the vibrancy of the dishes which are both approachable and sophisticated, a mix that will please the experienced cook as well as the novice. Step-by-step process photos accompany certain of the pasta recipes and I am quite taken with the chapter on charcuterie, something which I have always wanted to tackle. The pizza, pasta, sides, and main dish chapters are equally spectacular with a variety of oils and sauces to level up any recipe. But wait, there is more – the desserts! Butterscotch-coconut tart, Apple cider donuts, Chestnut zeppole and many other treats await you here. Zeppole is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

This book made my Best Books of 2018 list as it is the perfect package: beautiful photographs, approachable yet refined recipes and Italian food!  Our  takes you inside this beautiful title and features the following 

 

Special thanks to the publisher, Ten Speed Press, who provided us with the materials for our EYBDigital preview above as well as three copies of this book in our giveaway below. 

 

The publisher is offering three copies of this book to EYB Members in the US. One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you try first?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post and this forum post. Once you log in and enter your member name you will be directed to the next entry option – the blog comment. After that, there are additional options that you can complete for more entries.

Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on March 24th, 2019.

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69 Comments

  • banba1  on  February 4, 2019

    Strawberry mostarda sounds amazing!

  • EmilyR  on  February 4, 2019

    Lemon-poppy seed olive oil cake

  • lpatterson412  on  February 5, 2019

    Lemon chili vinaigrette!

  • heyjude  on  February 5, 2019

    Candied Blood-Orange Peel

  • Ziggy7  on  February 5, 2019

    Coraline and citrus salad with mascarpone yogurt, radish, and celery

  • vickster  on  February 5, 2019

    Wow finally a book with unique recipes! The Smoked pork old-fashioned and the Persimmon Caramel have me intrigued, as well as many other recipes!

  • kmn4  on  February 5, 2019

    Fried lentils

  • asherares  on  February 5, 2019

    The Baked Endive with black butter sounds so good.

  • apprentice9  on  February 5, 2019

    The N’duja Pizza! We were lucky enough to eat there once and that pizza was divine!

  • stepspior  on  February 5, 2019

    Margherita pizza

  • lean1  on  February 5, 2019

    Burrata Pizza would be my first choice. I love Pizza!

  • sarahawker  on  February 5, 2019

    Bestia cola

  • Shana.  on  February 5, 2019

    Farro salad with pomegranate and walnuts

  • mcrimmins  on  February 5, 2019

    Bresaola

  • matag  on  February 5, 2019

    Grilled rib-eye with apple balsamic-black butter sauce

  • dbielick  on  February 5, 2019

    Tortellini di mortadella

  • ktwalla  on  February 5, 2019

    Strawberry Mostarda

  • infotrop  on  February 5, 2019

    Burrata pizza …never can resist burrata

  • MiMi60  on  February 5, 2019

    Prepared lobster

  • popoff  on  February 5, 2019

    Farro salad with pomegranate and walnuts

  • ccav  on  February 5, 2019

    Farro salad with cauliflower and avocado cream

  • DarcyVaughn  on  February 5, 2019

    Chicken liver pâté with date vinegar, tarragon, and preserved lemon

  • hillsboroks  on  February 6, 2019

    Bananas Foster Caramel

  • Amandaspamanda  on  February 6, 2019

    I want to make the Cinnamon vinaigrette, it sounds so exotic!

  • tennyogirl  on  February 6, 2019

    Cinnamon vinaigrette

  • JenjiRM  on  February 6, 2019

    Ricotta-pear tart!

  • annieski  on  February 7, 2019

    Grilled octopus with black braised garbanzo beans and paprika salsa verde with the Ricotta-pear tart for dessert!

  • ravensfan  on  February 7, 2019

    Lemon-thyme vinaigrette

  • leilx  on  February 7, 2019

    Sunchoke soup with pickled Fresno chilies and oregano

  • elsid22  on  February 8, 2019

    Bananas foster w caramel

  • mpdeb98  on  February 9, 2019

    Grilled fennel-crusted pork chop

  • LaurenE  on  February 9, 2019

    Candied Blood-Orange Peel

  • t.t  on  February 9, 2019

    'Nduja

  • Dannausc  on  February 10, 2019

    Pickled sunchokes

  • mph993  on  February 10, 2019

    Grilled fennel-crusted pork chop

  • thecharlah  on  February 10, 2019

    Grilled rib-eye with apple balsamic-black butter sauce

  • edyenicole  on  February 13, 2019

    the fried lentils!

  • Laura1  on  February 13, 2019

    Cinnamon vinaigrette

  • jmay42066  on  February 15, 2019

    Mexican wedding cookies

  • lauriesk  on  February 16, 2019

    Grilled pork porterhouse

  • debbiehb  on  February 23, 2019

    Tortellini di mortadella

  • Karla123  on  February 27, 2019

    Arugula and opal basil salad!

  • chiquidu  on  February 28, 2019

    Grilled octopus with black braised garbanzo beans and paprika salsa verde

  • choppergirl  on  February 28, 2019

    Margherita pizza

  • monique.potel  on  March 1, 2019

    Lamb belly confit with lime yogurt and grapefruit, mint, and pea tendril salad
    love lamb

  • percussion03  on  March 1, 2019

    Rhubarb raspberry crostata

  • Shelley.b  on  March 1, 2019

    Mexican wedding cookies

  • LABeachGal  on  March 2, 2019

    Blueberry mascarpone ice cream sounds delicious!

  • Larkspur  on  March 2, 2019

    Fermented blackberry jam

  • Ledlund  on  March 2, 2019

    Pici

  • demomcook  on  March 8, 2019

    Chicken liver pâté with date vinegar, tarragon, and preserved lemon. I want to try all the condiments, too!

  • BMeyer  on  March 8, 2019

    grilled endive

  • Maaseelulu  on  March 9, 2019

    Tomato and burrata with smoked bottarga, finger lime, toasted buckwheat, and marjoram

  • sequoia55  on  March 9, 2019

    Strawberry Mostarda

  • jrubotto  on  March 9, 2019

    I would first try the Meatballs with creamy ricotta. The addition of the greens sounds like a wonderful, healthy addition!

  • jwatts39  on  March 9, 2019

    The grilled octopus sounds great . Haven't had any good calimari or octopus since living in Italy while in the Navy.

  • PeavineBlues  on  March 9, 2019

    Bresaola

  • tararr  on  March 9, 2019

    Burrata Pizza

  • heyjude  on  March 9, 2019

    Rhubarb-raspberry crostata

  • okmosa  on  March 9, 2019

    Fried lentils?

  • HomespunHouse  on  March 9, 2019

    Meatballs with ricotta, tomato, and greens

  • RickPearson54  on  March 11, 2019

    Bestia cola

  • Jenamarie  on  March 16, 2019

    The Cinnamon vinaigrette sounds intriguing!

  • CAMcooks  on  March 16, 2019

    The Meatballs with Creamy Ricotta look amazing

  • lgroom  on  March 17, 2019

    Baked endive with black butter

  • dtremit  on  March 19, 2019

    Farro salad with sunchokes and snap peas

  • auntietina  on  March 20, 2019

    Homemade bresaola and proscuitto, that sounds like a fun project

  • kbennall  on  March 20, 2019

    Smoked egg yolk bottarga!

  • starzine  on  March 24, 2019

    Pickled sunchokes.

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