Refreshing, elegant soups, stews
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By Holly Selby
Sun Reporter
Originally published February 21, 2007

The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy
By Domenica Marchetti
Chronicle Books / 2006 / $19.95

Some cooks just have a way with soups, and Domenica Marchetti, a former newspaper reporter living in Virginia, seems among them. In this, her first cookbook, she celebrates the slow cooking and earthy flavors often found in great Italian dishes.

In Crema di Porcini (Creamy Porcini Soup), five kinds of mushrooms simmered with garlic and butter and splashed with sherry form a rich, creamy and utterly satisfying soup perfect for a fall or winter meal. In Zuppa di Vongole al Prosecco (Clam Stew With Prosecco), the simplest of ingredients - littleneck clams, Prosecco (a dry white wine), parsley, crunchy crostini - combine to make a lovely appetizer or meal. (Be careful, though, to taste before seasoning this dish: The saltiness of the clams varies widely.)

The book ends with a chapter featuring four seasonal crostate - or Italian dessert tarts - that offer an excellent, not-too-sweet finale to a meal. As the jam tart - a crusty, flaky pastry shell topped with berry preserves - easily shows, sometimes simplicity has it all over extravagance.