The Art of Simple Food
The Art of Simple Food Notes Lessons and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution
Perhaps more responsible than anyone for the revolution in the way we eat, cook, and think about food, Alice Waters has “single-handedly chang[ed] the American palate” according to the New York Times. Her simple but inventive dishes focus on a passion for flavor and a reverence for locally produced, seasonal foods.
With an essential repertoire of timeless, approachable recipes chosen to enhance and showcase great ingredients, The Art of Simple Food is an indispensable resource for home cooks. Here you will find Alice’s philosophy on everything from stocking your kitchen, to mastering fundamentals and preparing delicious, seasonal inspired meals all year long. Always true to her philosophy that a perfect meal is one that’s balanced in texture, color, and flavor, Waters helps us embrace the seasons’ bounty and make the best choices when selecting ingredients. Fill your market basket with pristine produce, healthful grains, and responsibly raised meat, poultry, and seafood, then embark on a voyage of culinary rediscovery that reminds us that the most gratifying dish is often the least complex.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars Nice book for a beginner
I bought this book after seeing it on Martha Stewart’s show and being very impressed by the appearance of Alice Waters. At the time I was not familiar with her or any of her books. It was nice to read and I enjoyed learning about CSAs and local, sustainable food. Unfortunately it wasn’t really useful to me beyond that. After I read through it the first time I put it on the shelf, and I never cooked from it. When I decided recently to cull some books from my cookbook library, I decided that this one needed to go. There was nothing I needed from it that I couldn’t find in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian or Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I got rid of it to make room on my bookshelf for one of Ms. Waters’ more inspiring books. This book might make a good first cookbook for someone, but there are also general cookbooks out there that are more comprehensive than this one and might be more useful.
5 Stars Much more than I expected!
To begin with, I live in Thailand, and so almost all of the “seasonal” advice in this book is useless — except for the general idea, which is all-important: buy high-quality ingredients when they are in season. In Thailand, that would translate to “wait for the hot season before gorging yourself on mangoes, or mango-with-sticky-rice.” Most Thai fruits have seasons when they are at their best, so pay attention.
This includes the basic idea of “don’t just go to the market and buy an onion.” Some folks see an onion and grab it instantly, checking off that chore. Others inspect the onions carefully, waiting until they see a really gorgeous (and delicious-looking) batch. If all the onions look like junk, it might be time to put off onion soup to another day!
I have tried just one recipe so far: Braised Chicken Legs. It was very good, and I already know how to make it better next time. Talk about simple! Four chicken legs run about $2 over here, and then add garlic, onion, tomato, some chicken stock, plus a bay leaf and a pinch of rosemary. You’re probably looking at a total cost of $3-$4, and this recipe fed three people! Next up is probably the Chard Fritatta, which will become a Spinach Frittata over here.
My biggest surprise: I think I have actually found a replacement for my venerable “James Beard Cookbook.” This book is better, and it’s just jammed with recipes. I also think that it dusts “How To Cook Everything.”
Of course, on nights when I’m cooking Thai food, this book is pretty much useless, except for the general advice noted above.
Highest recommendation!
4 Stars Primer for those starting out
I greatly admire Alice Waters and her leadership in the American food tradition. Her emphasis on fresh foods, cooking from scratch, eating family dinners, and buying from local growers and dairy/meat farms is helping to make this world a better place. These values and the desire to help everyone find a way to live this way infuse “The Art of Simple Food,” a primer for beginners.
“The Art of Simple Food” is half how-to, with a few recipes illustrating fundamental techniques like braising, roasting, steaming, etc., in the first section. The other half is more of a standard cookbook that offers recipes organized according to appetizers, soups, entrees, etc. It is meant to be read from beginning to end because of the emphasis on building a repertoire of skills.
The good thing about “The Art of Simple Food” is that it calls for produce that is commonly found at most farmer’s markets around the country or in supermarkets. As much as I admire Waters, I’ve not always gotten along with her other cookbooks because there is usually some deal-breaker in a recipe–usually an ingredient I can’t get locally, like a Meyer lemon, golden beets or a blood orange, for instance. Though I have access to an abundant farmer’s market 5 months out of the year, the selection is prosaic compared to what Waters can find 12 months out of the year in California. I’ve had better results cooking out of “Simple Food” but some dishes, like the braised Savoy cabbage, come out bland. Waters likes to emphasize the natural flavors, but she has access to more interesting flavors in the selection at her disposal than I do. Another issue is that for all the care in walking the reader through technique, some ingredient details are rather vague. How small is she thinking when she calls for a small head of Savoy cabbage? The smallest I could find was the size of a head and I don’t think that’s what she had in mind.
3 Stars Very little that is useful for non-meat eaters
As someone who loves simple food and local food, I love the concept behind this book. As someone who is trying to eat less meat, I have hardly used this book because there are very few recipes that are not meat-centric. I have learned that just roast vegies taste fantastic, but was disappointed that so much of the rest of the book relies on meat as the major part of a meal.
4 Stars Wonderful book- excellent education on cooking for a family
I bought this book looking for new ideas for cooking for my family of 4, especially on weekends when we have time to slow cook a great meal. The recipes in this book are phenomenal- we love the short ribs, the beef stew, and the roast beef. Each chapter covers a different type of food and preparation method. As is expected from a food expert like Alice Waters, the recipes are simply delicious. The thing I like most is that as an amateur cook I can actually cook special meals that everyone in my family loves. This is truly a great cookbook!
