The Art of Simple Food:
Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution,
By Alice Waters
Reviewed by Arthur Boehm
Do we really need more recipes
for beef stew, polenta, and ratatouille? If they're
the work of famed restaurateur and "food activist"
Alice Waters, undoubtedly. In The Art of Simple Food,
Waters offers 200-plus recipes for these and other simple
but savory dishes, like Spicy Cauliflower Soup, Fava
Bean Purée, and Braised Chicken Legs, as well
as dessert formulas for the likes of Nectarine and Blueberry
Crisp and Tangerine Ice. In addition, readers learn
(or become reacquainted with) the Waters mantra: eat
locally and sustainably; eat seasonally; shop at farmers
markets. These are the rules by which she approaches
food and cooking, and hopes we will too. Organized largely
by techniques, the book is a kind of primer, designed
to free readers from recipe reliance.
Some readers may look askance at advice that they search
out sources for locally produced food, for example,
given the everyday exigencies of shopping and getting
meals on the table. Yet it is precisely the need to
"remake" our relationship to food that, Waters
contends, determines the ultimate success of all our
cooking and dining, not to mention our health and that
of the planet. This relatively small book has a large
message, and good everyday recipes to back it up.
