• Cheri on January 23, 2010

  Published in US as The Cafe Cook Book

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Red mullet with white wine, parsley and garlic (Trigliette al vino bianco, prezzemolo e aglio)

  • Cheri on January 24, 2010

    Red Snapper

• Asparagus risotto (Risotto di asparagi)

  • mcvl on April 07, 2021

    Excellent. A squeeze of lemon goes well too.

  • FJT on May 21, 2021

    Delicious; we really enjoyed it.

• Wet polenta with fresh porcini (Polenta con porcini freschi)

  • Emily Hope on December 06, 2010

    Delicious. Supplemented our lone porcini with some chanterelles, and didn't feel it detracted. Served with onion gratin (Jamie Oliver) and chard with anchovies and garlic (A16).

• Green risotto with pancetta (Risotto verde con pancetta)

  • FJT on July 30, 2011

    Very fresh - a striking risotto recipe that never fails to get lots of compliments from guests

• Wood-roasted Jerusalem artichokes (Topinambur al forno)

  • veronicafrance on December 19, 2017

    They aren't "wood-roasted" -- just plain roasted. Delicious, we roasted them with turnips and potatoes to accompany roast lamb.

• Artichokes baked in foil with thyme (Carciofi in cartoccio con timo)

  • veronicafrance on March 21, 2013

    I really liked these. Simple to do; I used small violet artichokes, substituted rosemary for thyme, and served them with grilled lamb chops.

• Baked peppers with tomatoes and anchovies (Peperoni al forno con pomodoro e acciughe)

  • Dinovino on March 04, 2023

    Black olives are a great addition

  • Ganga108 on February 01, 2022

    I am always surprised when I come to a well-known cookbook that has been around for ages, to find that a recipe had not been marked as I've Cooked This. Especially when it is this good. Nigel Slater has a very similar recipe in one of his books, which I love, and I have also cooked feta, tomatoes and olives inside a capsicum (yum!). This time I thought to try the River Cafe version. I replaced the anchovies with olives, cos #vegetarian, and used garlic, tomatoes and herbs from the garden. She cooks the dish slower than Slater's (from memory), and/but it is oh so delicious. Did you see me drinking the juices from the capsicum shell? Sssshhhhh! Don't tell. Ricotta is an excellent accompaniment, as is a green salad.

• Slow-roasted shoulder of pork (Spalla di maiale arrostita lentamente)

  • debbyc on November 08, 2012

    This recipe takes is cooked over night in a wood oven. Or a domestic oven for 8-24 hours.

• Soup of farro, borlotti, cannellini and chickpeas (Zuppa di farro)

  • Ganga108 on July 06, 2023

    A hearty, wintery, protein-bomb of a soup. It takes a while to cook - overnight soaking, 1.5 hours and multiple pans to cook the beans and chickpeas, about 40 mins for the sauce, and another 40 for the soup to come together. Eminently freezable. (I have also made this with substitutions - freekeh for farro, kidney beans for borlotti, other white beans for cannellini beans, and a reduced tomato puree from the freezer (made in Summer) for the tomato sauce. If only I had pre-cooked the beans and chickpeas and frozen them too :-) :-) )

• Baked dried cannellini beans (Cannellini secchi al forno)

  • Ganga108 on November 01, 2021

    Winter, to me, is lots of soups and lots of baked bean and lentil dishes. Italians do both so well. I like the baked bean dishes to cook long and slow. Absolutely delicious.

• Baked fresh borlotti beans (Borlotti freschi al forno)

  • Ganga108 on November 01, 2021

    I love this style of cooking. Yum-oh! These ingredients also make a wonderful veg and borlotti soup. Add some dried herbs and flavourings for a delicious soup.

• Zucchini carpaccio

  • Ganga108 on November 01, 2021

    Very delicious!

• Broad bean and pecorino salad (Insalata di fave con pecorino)

  • Ganga108 on November 01, 2021

    I love growing broad beans. They are sweeter and more "grassy" than buying them from shops. I pick them from the time they are no bigger than my forefinger, up until they are so huge. Half get eaten, half are frozen for the rest of the year. Salads of broad beans and pecorino are de rigueur during the season, and we make them a lot. This recipe is an excellent one. Today we did away with the greens and added potatoes. Love the addition of aged balsamic. It really makes a difference.

• Wild mushroom risotto (Risotto con funghi di bosco)

  • Ganga108 on November 01, 2021

    Whenever I see a pic of a perfect risotto, my heart gives a little skip - moist still, and creamy with fat luscious grains of rice. A lot of people these days confuse a pilaf style dish (a much drier dish) with risotto. I first learnt to cook risotto with the help of the the River Cafe books, and with Guy Mirabella's "Risotto Romantico!" I do love both, but the River Cafe one's have a special place in my heart. I adore vialone nano rice above others for risotto and order it online. This beautiful risotto is featured in both River Cafe books (RC and RC Two) with only slight differences (eg use of dry vermouth instead of wine - such a good innovation). Don't skip the parsley, it is a marriage made in heaven with the mushrooms. I get the dried mushrooms from a quirky little continental shop and use a mix of available fresh mushrooms.

• Swiss chard gratin (Bietola gratinata)

  • Ganga108 on February 13, 2023

    P174