Zuppe: Soups from the Kitchen of the American Academy in Rome, Rome Sustainable Food Project Hardcover – Illustrated, April 3, 2012

At first, I was surprised that the American Academy in Rome would assume that Italians might need their help in preserving time-honored food traditions. This is a subject Italians are famously passionate about. After reading (and cooking from) "Zuppe," a wonderful collection of soups (whose sale benefits the Rome Sustainable Food Project), I understand better what's up. The student-chefs at the American Academy have put together an extraordinary collection of soup ("zuppe") recipes, their patronage -- under the auspices of legendary chef Alice Waters -- offered as a way to show gratitude to their hosts.I've always believed that soup could be part of the answer to some of the problems closer to home, as budgets shrink and people begin to show the damaging effects of a national diet that fails to nourish in any sense. Trendy and precious, the ongoing coverage of high-end specialty food and restaurants is not the answer. Rather, I agree with chef Michael Ruhlman that the world is simply better when we cook at home. Soups -- traditionally based on vegetables and grains, or meat products that would be otherwise thrown away -- is an extremely cost-effective way to put lots of flavor and satisfaction on your table every night.Few of us would go as far to reclaim otherwise wasted ingredients as they do in the kitchen of the American Academy, where fennel tops, usually cut from the fennel bulb and thrown away, are used in a amazingly flavorful potato and fennel soup. This is a demonstration of "cucina povera," a reference to a possibly impoverished kitchen, but also used as a kind of compliment to signal that a thrifty cook has been at work.That the students come up with their own versions of soups based on the ingredients at hand is no departure from their devotion to conservation, nor is it an insult to the traditional recipe. This is "arrangiarsi," the concept of using whatever you have, and is exactly what makes Italian cooking the best in the world.If you've never made soup, this would be a great place to start. "Zuppe" is a lovely book, and every recipe has a bonus, a little cooking lesson incorporating the small steps and traditions that build flavor and preserve nutrition. With beautiful photography by Annie Schlechter and a format divided by seasons (they don't exactly correspond to our seasons, so look through them all), Find other cookbook reviews and food stories and photos at [...].

A superb collection of Italian soups. Some require an ingredient-hunt, but none are over the line.If it matters: This book encouraged me to buy my first new food processor in years because I couldn't wait to get going with the recipes in this beautifully illustrated collection. Not for the absolute novice, but for anyone with reasonable cooking experience who wants to explore the worlds of zuppe season-by-season.

I accidentally thought that the book cover was damaged due to the "stains" that appear on the back and front. Thank goodness I looked at some reviews ....hopefully I successfully removed my original view....

Tried one of the soups already, great flavors. Will work may way through the book.

What a delightful little cookbook. It's springtime in California....the farm market was brimming with fresh artichokes, peas,asparagus,and fava beans, so we tried several of her seasonal spring soups. Truly delicious and well-worth the effort. I doubled all the recipes so we have a freezer full of wonderful fresh home-made soups. The recipes are easy to follow and the soups are fresh, tasty, and filling. 5 stars from a home cook.

The book seemed like a good idea. The writer had a pedigree from Alice Waters kitchen . So the expectation was high in terms of the content. But I was immediately turned off by the twee small book size and the lack of content, in number terms. The quality of the recipes are not in doubt, they work well and are interesting and have a certain northern Italian authenticity with aspects of modernity in the form. So if it is a book experience you are after, it is conceptually good but the content is a bit lacking for me.

This is the time of year for soups in the northeast! Great simple and delicious recipes with clear instructions.

This is an excellent book for the beginner cook and seasoned cook. We've tried several recipes and found them to be nutricious and delicious. Perfect for the vegetarian.

GREAT

This delightful, and delicious, collection of soups is organized by season...when vegetables are fresh, ripe and piled high in the markets of Italy. Mona Talbott writes straightforward and encouraging recipes for the soups that she served when she was cook at the American Academy in Rome. The book's photographs give a glimpse of life at the academy, and the slow food movement in Rome that Ms Talbott championed.

The book to bring me through the cold,Scandinavian winter. So many wonderful recipes of hearty, heartwarming soups with lots of legumes, and many of them not requiring additional stock (most of the spring and summer soups call for that, though). I love it.

Great buy some fab

Cover design.The stains on the front and back of both the dust jacked and the cover appear to be part of the design. I find them quite unfortunate, unpleasing to the eye and totally unaesthetic. Initially, I took them for real stains, complained to the seller, and received a replacement copy; only to discover that the replacement copy had identical stains.The designer would appear to have a peculiar sense of humour!