Flavor Zone: The Best Cookbooks That Dropped in August

Welcome to Flavor Zone, a monthly column in which your kitchen-savvy VICE editors recommend the tastiest, juiciest, most appetizing new cookbooks on the shelves. This August, we studied the history of plant-based cooking, indulged our deepest bean fantasies, vibed out with winter veggie carbonara, and plotted an autumn full of tuna pasta and pumpkin spread.

It’s the end of summer. Time to say farewell to the heirloom tomatoes, kiss those last peaches goodbye, bid the corn adieu, gather the Chipotle wrappers from the floor of your car, and get in your final few summery salads (JK, salads have no season). August is a celebratory month, full of mind-blowing produce. In the past few weeks, I ate distressingly good tomatoes from a beloved local restaurant and enjoyed so much beautiful fruit from my CSA; I also made eggplant Parmesan with local eggplants and cooked an incredibly good vodka sauce from a soon-to-be-released instant classic cookbook that you need to pre-order immediately. It was a time of abundance, of healthful, produce-filled meals that capped a frankly pretty tight (though way too fucking hot) summer. Now, as fall ushers in, it’s time to totally abuse our bodies fortify our souls with substantive, warming dishes like pizza, lasagna, chili, excessive amounts of popcorn, and nap-inducing leftover turkey sandwiches. And if the cookbooks of August are any indication, it’s going to be a hella tasty few months, my brothers and sisters in beans, pasta, and cake.

Some really killer volumes came down the line this past month. Leah Koenig’s Portico is a beautiful work that celebrates the Jewish food of Rome, while Bold Beans sets the vibe to mad cozy as we gallop into September (holy shit). Also, Alicia Kennedy’s new book on the history of plant-based eating is the thrilling weekend read you didn’t know you needed. (What’s a “Flavor Zone” column without at least one noteworthy non-cookbook food volume?) Anyway, I know you’re holding some prime bookshelf real estate for September and October’s upcoming bangers, but do not sleep on the awesome books you might have missed in August. Let’s run it.

Leah Koenig’s The Jewish Cookbook is a legitimately great volume (it made our list of the best Jewish cookbooks, naturally), and not only because it yielded one of the best briskets I’ve ever had. So, yeah, I’ve been waiting all summer for her new work, Portico, a tribute to the Jewish cuisine of Rome. To say it was worth the wait is an understatement; I’ll be spending this fall working through its garlicky pumpkin spread, fried artichokes, spaghetti with tuna and tomato, and, duh, the Roman flatbread. Plus, from its typeface to its photography, this is just a classy, beautiful volume that feels upscale but approachable (read: your mother would approve).

Beans are so good. Bean recipes? Even better. Entire bean cookbooks? SMH, take my money ASAP. One of my all time favorite and most used cookbooks is Washington Post food and dining editor Joe Yonan’s Cool Beans, and I’ve waited for years for another bean book worthy of sitting next to it. In this case, the comparison isn’t even necessary—Amelia Christie-Miller’s Bold Beans is a really great cookbook in its own right, offering interesting history, deep dives into the science and nutrition of legumes, environmental considerations, and, of course, hearty recipes such as chickpea Caesar salad, soupy ‘Nduja beans, and red bean ragu.

This retro-feeling volume (like, it would slay on your coffee table, just saying) focusing on the food of Venice is a fun, new work from restaurateurs and authors Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi. Sure, regional Italian and Mediterranean cookbooks are a vibe right now, but city-centric cookbooks? Come for the spritzes, stay for the spritzes; but there’s also, you know, a bunch of great meat, seafood, pasta, sandwich, snack, and dessert recipes here, including eggplant meatballs, Meringue Semifreddo with Cherry Coulis, and Duck Breasts with Peverada Sauce and Spiced Apple Compote.

Has a more self-explanatory title ever been written? (IDK, I guess War and Peace and The Cat in the Hat are contenders.) Anyway, this is an encyclopedia of chili crisps and ways to use them. You had me at “spicy garlicky corn cheese ciabatta bread.”

Slow Food USA is the name of an institution committed to fighting food injustice and creating “the development of an equitable, just, and healthy local food system that truly works for us all.” The group’s new book, The Ark of Taste, celebrates the beautiful heritage foods of different regions and cultures within the United States. Want to understand and learn how to cook with ingredients like Long Island cheese pumpkins, American Guinea hogs, Bradford watermelons, Arkansas black apples, Cherokee purple tomatoes, white Sonoran wheat, and Guajillo honey? Well, this is the encyclopedia you’ve been craving. While those ingredients may sound tricky to find, their histories are fascinating, and are accented with recipes like Caramel Arkansas Black Apple Pie and Carolina Gold Rice and Coconut Pudding with Tupelo-Honey Roasted Georgia Peaches. This is a different way of looking at American food.

We all know that Scandinavian vibes are supposed to be chill and relaxing. Like, haven’t you heard of hygge (not pronounced “hog,” like one of my friends seems to think)? In any case, Simply Scandinavian by Trine Hahnemann focuses on comfort(ing) food from that region of the world. Think: winter veggie carbonara, fried fish, stews, and healthful veg dishes, like baked onions (as a main!) or eggs with greens—hearty, easy to prepare, and nourishing.

Interested in the history of plant-based eating? Want to learn how we arrived in this dystopian world where an incredible new vegan Mexican restaurant comes to your neighborhood and customers actually walk out when they realize it’s plant-based? (This literally happens all the time.) Food writer Alicia Kennedy’s new book isn’t actually a cookbook, but it’s an important volume for anybody interested in plant-based eating. (Kennedy’s written a plethora of amazing stories for VICE’s own MUNCHIES in the past.) And since we’re big fans of plant-based foods (to say the least) here at VICE, we’re telling you to read it.

See? We weren’t lying—we love plants. This vegan dessert book strives to hit that sweet, sweet intersection between plant-based cooking and decadent French desserts. If you’ve ever been to an inclusive cafe or just a bangin’ vegan restaurant, you already know that plant-based sweets are not only just as delicious, but in some cases even better than “regular” desserts. With recipes for everything from macarons and crepes to cakes and donuts, Voilà Vegan intends to prove that you don’t have to miss out on croissants, cinnamon rolls, or any of your other favorite sweets by forgoing dairy. RIYL: plants, sugar, pleasure.

Goodbye, fresh tomatoes; hello, lasagna.

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.