Verdure: Vegetable Recipes from the Kitchen of the American Academy in Rome, Rome Sustainable Food Project

by Christopher Boswell, Annie Schlechter (Photographer), Elena Goldblatt (Contributor)

Until 2007, a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome—arguably, the most prestigious prize awarded to archaeologists, painters, architects, scholars, and artists—had one huge the food. The dining room, ideally a place for Fellows to gather and for disciplines to “cross-pollinate,” was catered by an outside company whose dreadful food was to be avoided at all costs. But when AAR President Chatfield-Taylor asked Alice Waters to help, Waters famously responded, “That depends. What do you want, better food—or a revolution?” Fatefully and without hesitation, Chatfield-Taylor replied, “A revolution.” And a revolution was ignited.
 
A year later later, the ideals (local, seasonal, organic, sustainable) were implemented and the kitchen was up and running, with Chez Panisse alums Mona Talbott and Christopher Boswell as chefs. In a matter of days, not only were the Fellows filling the tables at lunch and dinner, they were gathered ‘round the blackboard at 11am, anxiously waiting for the daily menus to be posted. The press wasn’t far
 
“In a town where residents talk a lot about food, the new food at the academy quickly became the talk of Rome, and a dinner invitation became a coveted commodity.”— The New York Times
 
Seven years later, Verdure is the RSFP’s fourth cookbook (following Biscotti , Zuppe , Pasta ).  It is perhaps the ideal collaboration among the kitchen and the Academy garden, the artisan producers, and the organic farmers who provide the impeccable raw ingredients used in each dish. (Some are even foraged by the academy’s fellows in field trips to local meadows and forests.) Its 92 recipes are arranged seasonally; week by week, it can be used to navigate the harvest of the farmer’s market. Frugality is a the RSFP kitchen feeds a group, and cost is a consideration (beans, grains, and greens take a starring role). Maximizing flavor is paramount (consider the lowly onion, risen to new heights in a sweet and sour sauce). Every recipe appears simple and is easy to execute, but rises far, far above the fundamental.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Italy

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 29, 2014

Reviews

[Lina Ydrefelt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Intresse för vackra matbilder och sustainable food (framför allt mer vegetabilier) är förutsättningar för att ha behållning av denna bok. Men trots väl genomarbetade recept späckade med fina kryddor och fantastiska rotfrukter, blad - och tyvärr animalier - känns de långt ifrån realistiska att jobba med. Boken känns stökig. Kanske är det för mycket samlat från det ambitiösa Rome sustainable food project? Eller tycker kvalitetskockar att mer alltid är bättre?

Med tanke på bokens höga rankning är det kanske trots allt många som fångar tjusningen istället för att känna sig överväldigade?

Målgruppen måste vara personer med bred kunskap om matlagning, råvaror och intresse för ekologi t ex minskat utsläpp av CO2 och metangas.

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some recipes are ok, some are not so enticing, but mostly the photos and ideas of where recipes have originated and how they have progressed are interesting. There is something not so great about the format of the book, it makes each photo of the recipes seem isolated rather than extremely exciting or happy.