The Scarpetta Cookbook: 175 Recipes from the Acclaimed Restaurant

by Scott Conant

Scott Conant’s five Scarpetta restaurants all garner rave reviews, but many know Conant best from his regular appearances on Food Network shows like Chopped (as a frequent judge) and on Bravo’s Top Chef . He and his restaurants have been cited on such lists as Esquire’s "Best New Restaurants in America." The subject of this cookbook, Scarpetta, received a three-star review from the New York Times and there are locations in Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Toronto, all opened in just the past few years. This gorgeous book includes 125 of the restaurant’s signature dishes – Creamy Polenta with Fricassee of Truffled Mushrooms, Spaghetti with Tomato and Basil, Fennel-Dusted Black Cod – written with the goal of teaching readers to master techniques so they learn to really cook, rather than merely follow recipe steps without any thought of the hows and whys behind the method. The recipes and photography reflect the Milan-meets-Tuscany style of Scarpetta, interspersed with sidebars about everything from ingredient shopping to tips on entertaining at home.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Italian Literature, Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

In 2008, SCOTT CONANT opened Scarpetta restaurant in New York City and received three-star reviews from the New York Times. Conant often appears as a judge on the popular Food Network show Chopped as well as Today and Bravo's Top Chef.

Reviews

[Liquidlasagna]

Scott Conant’s cooking is certainly a departure from the predictable Italian meals we’ve come to expect. The spectacular food at Scarpetta has a foundation in Italy with an American sensibility that should be coined “Conant’s Cuisine.
Bobby Flay

This is a celebration of Scott's love of entertaining beautifully for his family and his Scarpetta guests. Rich in words and flavor, this a must-have for anyone who wants to know how to cook with passion and taste.
Marcus Samuelsson

[Jillyn]

When I saw that I was approved to get this title, I was super excited. I am an avid watcher of the Food Network, and Chopped is a show that I watch differently. I know from watching that show that Scott Conant is a master of pasta, but I hadn't really known too much about his own cooking. The Scarpetta Cookbook contains 125 recipes from his restaurant, Scarpetta. I was definitely pleased with this book.

First let's talk about the eye candy, and no, I don't mean Scott himself. The photography of this book is beautiful. It makes every single dish look delicious, and the pictures taken within his restaurant show off the amount of pride that he has in his work. This book is worth it just to glimpse the pictures, if I'm being completely honest.

Then, there's the recipes themselves. They are all written in easy to follow format, and Chef Conant takes that even a step further. Between recipes, there are tips and mini cooking lessons, so that you can learn the skills required. I think that extra step of education is a great complement to the book, because the recipes don't demand that you already have a ton of previous knowledge. He also explains what things are, and what else can be used. Plus, he selects wine pairing suggestions for each dish. As my regular foodie readers know, I'm really bad at that bit, so it was definitely a helpful tidbit for me!

The book is organized by course, which makes it easy to navigate if you're searching for something specific. Out of 125 recipes in this cookbook, there are maybe 120 that I want to try. Those are phenomenal statistics, in my opinion. Almost everything in this book sounds simply divine. The recipes that I am most excited to try are as follows, in no particular order:

-Fennel and Citrus Spiced Roasted Black Cod w/ Baccala Mantecato
-Slow Cooked Lobster w/ Ricotta Dumplings, Pea Shoots, Cherry Tomatoes, & Tarragon Oil
-Mediterranean Octopus w/ Smoked Potato Crema
& Pumpkin Pots de Creme w/ Concord Preserves and Cinnamon Froth

I recommend this for cooks who love Italian food/pasta, or who are looking for classy, elegant dishes to impress with. I know that I will be purchasing a copy of this for my shelves, and I know I'll get a lot of use out of it.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for my copy. This review can also be found on my blog, Bitches n Prose.

[Honest Mabel]

interesting but not approachable

While I appreciate the effort it just isn’t attainable for most cooks even foodies. I like attainable ingredients that don’t take massive hunts

[Vgunn]

recipes too complex for hone cook

[Scott Miller]

Five stars just for his spaghetti recipe alone.

[Darren]

Another day and another restaurant-to-book tie-in or so it feels. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing but it can generate a tad of reviewer-fatigue. Of course, if you have a connection to the restaurant, its chef or the author you will already be excited and more accepting than perhaps the average reader may be.

So here is a book promising 150 recipes from the "acclaimed restaurant" that has expanded into several cities already and the results are rather formulaic and predictable. A beautifully put together book, lots of great food photography, some inspirational text and behind-the-scenes chat and a lot of recipes. Again, there is nothing particularly wrong with this approach but what makes this book stand out a bit?

Possibly some of the recipes. The very first one in this book for "Spiced Almonds" got this reviewer's attention. Possibly since this is not a common snack food here in northern Europe and possibly since the author promises they are a lot spicier than what most people expect. So that's the first item on the to-try list sorted. As well as many possibly new and innovative (at least to this reviewer) recipes and there are many more classic favourites, featuring the restaurant's own take on delicacies such as "Chicken Liver & Foie Gras Pate.

The recipes themselves are fairly detailed, clearly written and should not pose a problem for most home cooks. It would have been nice to have had more photographs of the dishes as that can often help "sell" a recipe as well as give a bit of "support" to a nervous cook who is unsure if their attempt looks anything like what it should be. Similarly our usual niggles about the lack of a clear estimated preparation/cooking time and the use of sole U.S. imperial measures are applicable here. One trusts that there will be a detailed, useful index but this was missing in this pre-release review copy so no opinion can be given towards it. Every cookbook needs a good index but not every cookbook gets one, experience has shown.

It was difficult to get particularly enamoured with this book, despite coming at it with a totally clear mind with no preconceptions or expectations based on the restaurant's name or the chef's reputation. There were quite a lot of highlights, not so many lowlights but it just seemed to fail to rise up and above many others in its class. It is by no means a bad book and, of course, if you have some "connection" to the restaurant then it will be a lot more meaningful and special and possibly desirable.

But as "just" a good collection of recipes, does it really cut the proverbial mustard. The jury is out on that.

[Debbie]

I am so excited about this cookbook. There are so many amazing recipes so meticulously detailed that even if I don't particularly like a certain ingredient I would include it and am sure I'd love the finished product.

Scott Conant includes absolutely everything in this cookbook to make each recipe work if you follow the directions. Many of the recipes are time consuming but I think of them more as an adventure. I enjoyed reading all of the information about the recipes, ingredients and techniques and tips. He also includes sources for hard-to find ingredients.

OK, I could use just a few more pictures for the more exotic dishes - how is this supposed to look, Scott? - but that's my only complaint.

[Jessica]

I love Scott Conant as a judge on Chopped, so I was excited to check out his cookbook. But, there weren't any recipes I wanted to try. I'm sure he's a great chef and I would definitely eat at his restaurant, but I didn't love his cookbook.

[Jerri]

My culinary bible. Next to Prochef

[Judy Heintz]

Love him as a chef, but not many recipes in here that I'd make or that my family would eat