The River Cafe Classic Italian Cookbook

Book excerpt: Thirty years after its doors first opened, The River Café remains one of London's most iconic restaurants, loved for its innovative Italian food. Pioneering chefs Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers together changed the face of Italian food in Britain, championing seasonality well ahead of their time from their West London kitchen, which won a Michelin star in 1998 and has kept it ever since. The restaurant helped launch the careers of Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, to name but two. Over the course of decades, Rose and Ruth visited Italy time and again, fascinated by the subtleties of dishes from the many different, and diverse, regions of the country. Their unique approach to Italian farmhouse cooking was learned from local mothers, grandmothers, cousins and wine makers who invited them into their kitchens and shared wisdom and precious family recipes. This book gathers together Rose and Ruth's personal interpretations of those heirloom recipes. It's a celebration of the real, classic food of Italy; the traditional, regional food they ate on their travels; and the food they went on to cook at the restaurant and at home. These are the recipes they became well known for, as well as some that are cooked less and less in Italy these days and which Rose and Ruth longed to preserve and pass on.