Best cookbooks of 2025: Soju Party, Good Things, Salsa Daddy, Linger, and more

An Italian friend who joined us for dinner asked: “Is this made with fried eggplant?” She took one bite of Parmigiana alla Napoletana, her face an expression of appreciation for the effort, her voice a symbol of the guttural satisfaction of having an itch on a genetic level. It took a long time to fry the eggplant, but it was tossed with tomato sauce, basil, parm, and a little mozzarella for a nostalgic final product.

The recipe came from a book I was skeptical about, but quickly fell into; Italian cuisine can offer delicious food and frequent cookbooks. This article was written by a foreigner who runs a travel company, which my experience has taught me can be a recipe for disaster. Smartly, the author stays out of the spotlight, instead focusing the spotlight on the friends of the title, the food experts in the Tuscan village of Gaioli in Chianti. There’s Luciano the mushroom man, the restaurant chef who looks ready to play a mafia movie role, the women who run a restaurant, and the wine shop owner. The photographs by Neko Shinko are artistic, but there is a frankness in them that shows we are seeing a real slice of life.

Rigatoni all’amatriciana was made by Bersani under the supervision of his Roman friend Sergio. The differentiating factor of the dish, which can be served on a weeknight, is the play between the red sauce and fatty guanciale – aged, cured pork – that highlights the meat’s funky taste.

With minimal ingredients, farro soup somehow creates deep sweet and salty flavors. Roasted waxy potatoes are brushed with olive oil, have crispy edges, and we massage them with the filling.

For a book that seems to appear out of nowhere, the recipes are surprisingly well explained, with art integrated into the language. These potatoes are first parboiled and then “roughened” in a pot to create more surface area and therefore more crunch. He advises using restraint with rigatoni, because “you want to garnish the pasta like a salad, and it shouldn’t be swimming in sauce.”

The magic of this book is its ability to teach you about these dishes and turn you into a resident of Gaioli in Chianti. This happens partly with language, partly with images, and partly by cooking and eating their food.