The Acre Substack Dinner Party | Vegetables the Italian Way Cookbook Feature

The garden overflows, lush and inviting. The market is filled with color, texture and flavors only peak summer harvest can bring. I deeply love this time of year, and as much as I am inspired by markets and the garden, I can get overwhelmed with what to make to enjoy it all. Giulia Scarpaleggia stunning book, Vegetables the Italian Way: Turning Simple and Fresh into Extraordinary is the perfect companion for this season, inviting you into cooking that revels in summer.

The day Giulia’s book launched, I remember stopping in my tracks (or scroll if you will) when I saw her book cover. The deeply ridged stuffed savoy cabbages begged me to open the pages and get cooking. Giulia was born and currently lives in Tuscany, teaching classes, food writing, and podcasting. What a dream it would be to learn to cook Italian food with Giulia! Her cookbook is the next best thing, and I am so excited to share a few of the recipes with you here, in the theme of a peak-summer dinner party.

Oh how perfect it would be to tuck a table in the garden and enjoy a vegetable forward feast. I would invite of a group of six friends to tuck in beneath the pumpkin arch, a green gingham tablecloth topped with a basket or metal handled bowl artfully arranged with eggplants, cabbage, tomatoes and peppers, centering the table with the bounty surrounding.

With the look and feel of the table, I want to evoke the beauty and rustic nature of garden tools–garden pots, woven baskets, a metal watering can, a trowel–balanced with the bright greens, blushes and reds of summer produce. Beyond a mound of produce at the center of the spread, I love vegetable shaped tableware, incorpoated into the spread–an artichoke bowl, fennel serving dish, and cabbage bowl spoke most to me.

This menu was so fun to create. Giulia’s book is filled with incredible dishes, and honing this in was tricky! When I think of peak summer here in Minnesota, the table must include tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and eggplants. I built the spread around this, bringing in dishes that are crispy, creamy, fresh and cooling. This menu (dessert aside) could be served family style, with the other dishes plated and the croquettes coming hot to the table.

The tomato potato salad (recipe below) is a revelation for me–it is two things I would not have thought to combine, and they make so much sense here.

Zucchini pasta is a dish that has taken social media by storm the last few years. There are many adaptations of this dish, and if I am going to trust anyone with this simple and deeply flavorful dish, it is Giulia. I am honored to feature her recipe below.

I am pairing this meal with Frascati Superiore DOCG, 2024 - a crisp and refreshing Italian white wine that pairs beautifully with light pasta or vegetable forward dishes.

To complete the menu, grab a copy of Giulia’s cookbook and enjoy this summer feast in your own green space. Happy summer friends.