Overview
Some of the most inspired (and acclaimed) Italian food in the country is served at Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, Mario Batali’s flagship restaurant in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village. Diners in this converted town house have come to expect innovative flavors and artful presentations that make the most of seasonal, local, and artisanal ingredients—all with a sensibility that is distinctly Italian. Now home cooks can re-create these showstopping dishes, just as they are served at the restaurant, to win raves of their own.
The Babbo Cookbook is Mario’s biggest yet, filled with 150 recipes that have redefined contemporary Italian cooking. Here for the first time he shares such signature dishes as Mint Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage and Beef Cheek Ravioli, all showcasing his unparalleled ability to reinterpret the Italian culinary tradition in a completely original way. Recipes for dozens of Babbo’s renowned antipasti, many based on fresh seasonal produce, are followed by an alluring collection of pastas; fish, fowl, and meat entrées; and a selection of Babbo’s irresistible dessert offerings. From Grilled Pork Chops with Peaches and Balsamic Vinegar to Spicy Lamb Tartare with Mint Crostini and a Quail Egg and Wild Striped Bass with Charred Leeks and Squid Vinaigrette, The Babbo Cookbook is filled with vibrant, complex flavors that belie their straightforward preparations. Even classic recipes like Bollito Misto and Pappardelle Bolognese come alive again in bright new renditions that delight the palate.
Also included are notes on the unique touches that make a meal at Babbo such a singular dining experience, from suggestions on wine service to recipes for “predesserts” that smooth the transition from savory to sweet—all representing the distinctive brand of Italian hospitality that has become the Batali trademark.
The Babbo Cookbook is that rarity in the world of restaurant cookbooks: a collection of accessible, appetizing recipes that brings the spirit of a remarkable restaurant into the home kitchen without losing an iota of tantalizing flavor in the translation.
Synopsis
Some of the most inspired (and acclaimed) Italian food in the country is served at Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, Mario Batali’s flagship restaurant in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village. Diners in this converted town house have come to expect innovative flavors and artful presentations that make the most of seasonal, local, and artisanal ingredients—all with a sensibility that is distinctly Italian. Now home cooks can re-create these showstopping dishes, just as they are served at the restaurant, to win raves of their own.
The Babbo Cookbook is Mario’s biggest yet, filled with 150 recipes that have redefined contemporary Italian cooking. Here for the first time he shares such signature dishes as Mint Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage and Beef Cheek Ravioli, all showcasing his unparalleled ability to reinterpret the Italian culinary tradition in a completely original way. Recipes for dozens of Babbo’s renowned antipasti, many based on fresh seasonal produce, are followed by an alluring collection of pastas; fish, fowl, and meat entrées; and a selection of Babbo’s irresistible dessert offerings. From Grilled Pork Chops with Peaches and Balsamic Vinegar to Spicy Lamb Tartare with Mint Crostini and a Quail Egg and Wild Striped Bass with Charred Leeks and Squid Vinaigrette, The Babbo Cookbook is filled with vibrant, complex flavors that belie their straightforward preparations. Even classic recipes like Bollito Misto and Pappardelle Bolognese come alive again in bright new renditions that delight the palate.
Also included are notes on the unique touches that make a meal at Babbo such a singular dining experience, from suggestions on wine service to recipes for “predesserts” that smooth the transition from savory to sweet—all representing the distinctive brand of Italian hospitality that has become the Batali trademark.
The Babbo Cookbook is that rarity in the world of restaurant cookbooks: a collection of accessible, appetizing recipes that brings the spirit of a remarkable restaurant into the home kitchen without losing an iota of tantalizing flavor in the translation.
Publishers Weekly
This book reads not only as a guide to modernized Italian cooking, but also as a very successful advertisement for its phenomenally successful namesake New York City restaurant. While it offers recipes for signature dishes such as Mint Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage and Beef Cheek Ravioli, it also includes descriptions of some of the workings of the restaurant, such as a brief essay on the difference between side dishes offered in traditional restaurants in Italy and the side dishes offered at Babbo. The recipes are excellent clearly written and easy to follow and carefully edited for the home cook but some of the ingredients and equipment called for will be difficult for laypeople to acquire, and many recipes are quite complex. Planked King Salmon with Cucumbers and Balsamic Vinegar calls for an 8-by-12-inch cedar plank; Bollito Misto requires calf's tongue, a capon and cotechino sausage. And Marinated Fresh Anchovies with "Giardiniera" and Lobster Oil requires boning fresh anchovies but fails to provide instructions. Still, the mixtures of flavors in dishes such as Whole Roasted Branzino with Braised Fennel and Lemon Oregano Jam and Joe's Veal Chop with Chanterelles, Roasted Garlic, and Campari are irresistible. Desserts follow the same traditional-Italian-with-a-twist formula just as successfully: Olive Oil and Fresh Rosemary Cake is a refreshing version of an Italian "keeping cake," and Pumpkin Cake with Toasted Pine Nuts and Olive Oil Gelato combines traditional flavors in surprising ways. Forecast: This book is as classy and culinarily tempting as the restaurant it represents. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewMario Batali is almost a household name, thanks to his TV shows, books, and famous New York restaurants, including the flagship, Babbo.
Batali's knowledge and understanding of authentic Italian food runs deep, but his real trademark is taking traditional trattoria-style recipes and tweaking them by adding an unexpected ingredient or two, like using apple cider in Friulian-style braised pork cheeks, barbecuing octopus, or spiking braised short ribs with a horseradish gremolata.
The Babbo Cookbook features some 150 recipes from the restaurant, adapted for the home kitchen and illustrated with 150 full-color photos. It includes such signature pasta dishes as Mint Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage, and Beef Cheek Ravioli. From his antipasti and pasta to fish, meat, and vegetables, Batali loves to deploy ingredients not so commonly used at home, like duck eggs, cardoons, boar sausage, and even mint; but read the recipes, and you'll be ready to expand your horizons.
Here's some great advice on vegetables that gives you a good idea of Batali's philosophy and a taste of the book at the same time: "The best thing to do if you are having trouble deciding what to serve with a dish is to go to the local greenmarket, find out what is in season, and buy it. Take it home, cut it into one- or two-inch pieces, put it in a roasting pan, drizzle it with olive oil, and toss it into a 475° F oven. Cook it until it's cooked through and maybe starting to get a little dark on the outside edges. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Squeeze a little lemon juice on it, season it with sea salt and pepper, and just serve it as it is."
The Babbo Cookbook also features an essay on the restaurant's style of hospitality, some good advice on wine selection, serving, presentation, and menu planning, and seven stylish aperitifs -- salute! (Ginger Curwen)