Carne The Little Bookroom

At the American Academy in Rome, the Rome Sustainable Food Project’s renowned farm-to-table meals are laden with vegetables and whole grains, and pastas, soups, and risottos that are almost all meatless. When meat is served, it is with a thoughtfulness and exuberance that provides a practical model for home cooks who aspire to nourish friends and family in the same spirit that the RSFP kitchen sustains its artists and scholars: with healthy and memorable food, sustainably sourced.

In Carne, Chef Christopher Behr shares more than 60 exceptionally delicious recipes that celebrate community and make a special occasion of any meal, including:

• Iconic porchetta, adapted for the home kitchen;
• A spectacular meatloaf stuffed with provolone, prosciutto, and spinach;
• The traditional Roman summer stew of chicken, tomatoes, and bell peppers;
• Beef stew with vegetables and preparations that vary with the seasons;
• Pork spare ribs and sausages, with polenta in the starring role;
• …as well as pâtés, meatballs, sausage and more.

Chef Behr also includes an entire chapter of his favorite contorni, the fresh and bright vegetable side dishes and salads that pair especially well with meat, including roasted sweet-and-sour squash and red onions with quick-pickled raisins, a radicchio salad with green apple vinaigrette, and the potato recipe that has inspired generations of RSFP interns.

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

In college, while majoring in English Lit, Christopher Behr saw a “cook wanted” sign posted at his favorite bar. He offered to work for beer money, and without any formal training, ended up running the kitchen for the next two years, often skipping classes because he’d rather be cooking. He then went to culinary school, and was eventually hired to cook at the esteemed A16 in San Francisco, a restaurant pioneering Southern Italian farm-to-table cooking. He next was named chef de cuisine at SPQR, and in that capacity was sent twice to Rome to study the food there. After working in New York City at the Balthazar Bakery at Pulino’s, he went on the BKLYN Larder where he propitiously met Mona Talbott, who eventually proposed him as sous chef for the Rome Sustainable Food Project. In 2014, he became the program’s executive chef.

Annie Schlechter has been working as a photographer since 1998. She spent from September 2009 to June 2010 living at the American Academy in Rome. Her clients include New York Magazine, Veranda, Country Living, Condé Nast Traveler, Better Homes and Gardens, Coastal Living, House Beautiful, Travel and Leisure, and The World of Interiors.

Tamar Adler is the author of An Everlasting Meal. She has cooked at Chez Panisse, is a columnist for the New York Times Magazine, and a contributor to Vogue.