New Delhi, Oct. 10 -- Stale bread, a pot of beans, a few vegetables from the garden: in an Italian kitchen, these became ribollita (soup) or panzanella (salad). This is cucina povera, literally "poor kitchen", shaped by what was available and in season.

During a recent visit to Italy's Campagnia region, I learnt about cucina povera. Poverty, high taxes, and scarcity through the middle ages shaped cooking in Italy, especially in Tuscany, Puglia, and Campagnia. Beans, grains and vegetables formed the base, while wheat became bread or pasta. Meat was used sparingly, with offal, or quinto quarto, turned into dishes with tripe, liver and spleen.

"For me, the best examples of cucina povera reveal an ability to see possibility in what is alrea...