Via Carota A celebration of seasonal cooking from the beloved Greenwich Village restaurant

With the mission "to transport" readers to "another place and time, where we have breathed in the rustic beauty and uncomplicated flavors," chefs Williams and Sodi deliver a swoon-worthy collection of dishes from their distinctive New York City restaurant. The recipes--mostly simple, plainly stated, and vegetable forward--capture the essence of their culinary experience in Italy. The dishes are organized by season and are further subdivided by main ingredient, which is helpful for home cooks looking for meal ideas based on what they've got in the pantry. The chefs elevate their selections with small touches, such as the crunch of spring onion and celery in panzanella and a warm honey syrup drizzled over an olive oil cake. Perhaps the best example of this is Via Carota's signature insalata verde, a piled-high mix of soft, peppery, and lacy greens whose vinaigrette is a balanced blend that employs a bit of warm water to help it emulsify ("It's a favorite. Enough said"). Even the more luxurious plates of lobster with fresh tomatoes and spaghetti, and a 10-layer cacio e pepe lasagna, are accessible thanks to clear directions and helpful tips. Glimpses of their operation come to life in casual notes, such as describing how tomatoes ripen on a tall rack in the kitchen, and in handsome photography, with images showing how crocks of citrus perfume the dining room in winter months. This is sure to please lovers of Italian food and initiate even more pilgrimages to its namesake eatery. (Oct.)

MASTER THE NEGRONI Everyone should learn to master a spritz and a negroni. A few essential bottles like Campari, Aperol, Cocchi Americano Bianco, gin, red vermouth, and prosecco, and a mixing glass with a bartender's long-handled spoon, are all you need. (Use Cynar instead of Campari if you are in an earthy mood.) Jody prefers vermouth, specifically Vergano Bianco, with soda and a double lemon twist, but I am a negroni fan. I have made many variations on this classic; at I Sodi, we have had a lengthy and unique negroni list for more than ten years. Stir the negroni in a mixing glass with ice. Then pour your chilled drink into a glass with ice. Squeeze an orange peel over the negroni before dropping it in. Enjoy. Rita Negroni Classico This is by far the most popular drink at our bar. Makes 2 3 ounces/90 ml Beefeater gin 3 ounces Antica Formula vermouth 3 ounces/90 ml Campari 2 orange wedges Stir the gin, vermouth, and Campari with ice in a tumbler or mixing glass. Strain into chilled rocks glasses filled with large ice cubes. Drop an orange wedge into each glass. Olive all'Ascolana Fried Sausage-Stuffed Green Olives We transform the traditional sausage-stuffed olives by also adding a layer of sausage on the outside, almost like a tiny Scotch egg. This makes them a substantial snack, or spuntino. It's great to have some ready in the freezer for an aperitivo (if frozen, defrost them in the refrigerator before frying). Makes about 48 8 sweet Italian sausages (1 ½ pounds/680 grams) 4 large eggs ½ cup (1.5 ounce/50 grams) finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano+ more for serving ½ cup (1.5 ounce/50 grams) finely grated pecorino Romano 1 cup/240 ml whole milk 3 cups (300 grams) plain breadcrumbs (or torn white bread) 1 pound/454 grams pitted, large green olives in brine, such as ascolana all-purpose flour, as needed safflower oil for frying, about 3 cups/720 ml extra-virgin olive oil for frying, about 3 cups/720 ml Slice the sausages open lengthwise and remove the meat from the casings. Crumble it into a large bowl. Lightly beat 1 egg and add to the sausage, then stir in the parmigiano and pecorino. In a separate bowl, pour the milk into 1 cup/100 grams of breadcrumbs and let sit until the breadcrumbs have absorbed all the milk. Squeeze out any excess milk and add the soft breadcrumbs to the sausage. Mix thoroughly with your hands. Drain the pitted olives from their brine, rinse thoroughly, and pat them dry. For each olive, take a small pinch of filling and stuff it inside the cavity. Use a spoonful of the mixture to coat the olive, pressing the olive in the palm of your hand to completely encase it in sausage. When all the olives are filled and coated, you can refrigerate them up to 1 day before breading and frying them. Set up three bowls for breading: Pour flour into one bowl, the remaining 3 eggs, lightly beaten, into another, and the remaining breadcrumbs into a third bowl. Working in batches of about 8 olives, roll each olive lightly in the flour, then eggs, and then in breadcrumbs, pressing so they adhere. At this point the olives can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for 1 month--bring to room temperature before frying. For frying: Combine both oils in a deep, heavy pot until 3 to 4 inches/7.5 to 10 cm deep and set over high heat. Test the oil to see if it's ready; if you drop a breadcrumb into the pot it should sizzle and float the moment it hits the oil. A candy/deep-fry thermometer clipped on the side of the pot should read 350oF/175oC. While the oil is heating up, line a sheet pan with a few layers of paper towel and set it next to the stove. Fry the breaded olives in batches, turning until golden brown all over, 3 to 4 minutes. Lift them out of the oil and drain briefly on the paper towels. Dust with parmigiano just before serving. Excerpted from Via Carota: A Celebration of Seasonal Cooking from the Beloved Greenwich Village Restaurant: an Italian Cookbook by Jody Williams, Rita Sodi, Anna Kovel All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.