Zuppe

Description

Zuppe is a logical second volume in the series of Rome Sustainable Food Project cookbooks-soups are a centerpiece at almost every Academy meal, a great favorite of chef Mona Talbott, and the preparation that perhaps more than any other showcases the produce provided by farmer Giovanni Baernabei, the "patron saint" of the RSFP. A disciple of Carlo Linneaus, the father of modern botany, Baernabei's farm provides the Academy's kitchen with an endless source of fresh, organic vegetables-both cultivated and wild-that inspire the inventive seasonal menus. The fifty recipes draw from the four traditional categories of Italian soups: those made with water (aqua cotta), those made with stock (brodo), those made with cream (veloute), and soups for the evening meal. The recipes are arranged by seasons. The Rome Sustainable Food Project, a program devoted to providing organic, local and sustainable meals for the community of the American Academy in Rome, has launched a delicious revolution to rethink institutional dining. Headed by chef Mona Talbott, a Chez Panisse alum, and guided by Alice Waters, the menus have given rise to a new, authentic cuisine, inspired by la cucina romana, Chez Panisse, and the collective experience of those working in the AAR kitchen.

Mona Talbott's first food-related job was working in large reforestation camps in Canada. After culinary school she was hired by celebrated chef Alice Waters to work at Chez Panisse. Since 2007, Talbott has been executive chef at the Rome Sustainable Food Project at the American Academy in Rome. She has published articles and recipes in Saveur, Organic Style, and The New York Times. Annie Schlechter has been working as a photographer since 1998. Her clients include The World of Interiors, Wallpaper, House Beautiful, Real Simple, W magazine, Travel & Leisure, and many more.

"Mona Talbott's Zuppe is smaller than a salad plate, but filled with 50 delicious, simple recipes...The recipes are classic Italian, but with [Mona's] own flair: puree half of the carrots in a lentil and carrot soup for body and color; infuse olive oil with chili flakes and drizzle over a hearty potato and chickpea soup; blitz some unexpected parsley along with the usual mint, and stir into a pea puree. The deliciousness-to-cheapness ratio of Talbott's recipes will give you a thrill." -Christine Muhlke, The New York Times Book Review "Mona Talbott's Zuppe is as much a collection of inspiring Italian soup recipes-like pureed pea with mint-as it is a window into the eco-conscious, seasonal kitchen of the American Academy in Rome." - T, The New York Times Style Magazine "Direct from the Alice Waters-revolutionized kitchen of the American Academy in Rome comes this uniquely conceived and designed single-subject cookbook, Zuppe....the small book is a well-curated collection of recipes...and is Chez Panisse alumna Mona Talbott's elegant ode to the simplicity and elegant comfort of making soups for all seasons." - Vogue.com