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Some of the most satisfying of all supersoups are American: New England chowders, Louisiana gumbo, Philadelphia pepper pot, California cioppino, for which Ivens has traditional prescriptions. Ivens also contributes such variants as lamb and split pea soup (adding a Middle Eastern flavor with mint, dill and yogurt), a soup of short ribs and lentils, and another made with beef and beans. A summer classic rarely seen on U.S. menus is Portugal's caldo verde, a delicate blend of kale, potatoes and sausage. One chapter is devoted to vegetable potages, including the soupe au pistou of southern France, Italian garbanzo and pasta soup, and gazpacho. Fish soups include a spicy Peruvian chowder, Italian zuppa di pesce, and a Mediterranean concoction flavored with Pernod, as well as an elegant oyster stew and a striped-bass offering from Manhattan.
Ivens, who wrote the excellent Glorious Stew, whisks with authority through the steamy world of navarin, khoreshe, blanquette, ragout, jambalaya, estouffade, carbonado, col lops and pot-au-feu. She presents Italian, French and Viennese versions of Hungarian goulash, "five fragrances" stew from China, and two savory South American specialties: puchero criolla, a Latin version of New England boiled dinner, and carbonada criolla, beef stew served in a pumpkin. One notable entry is a veal stew from Jerez, Spain's sherry capital, redolent of fino; a dish from Italy is called maiale affogato, meaning drowned pork, in white wine and chicken broth. Lamb stews, to many are the most glorious of all. Main-Course selections worth adding to the cook's repertoire include an exotic Persian-style khoreshe with dried fruits, nuts and split peas; Italian abbacchio alia ciociara, in which the lamb is braised in cognac with ham; and Greek ami prassa, flavored with foaming egg and lemon stirred in at the last minute. Ivens covers the casserole front with duck stews, chicken stews, rabbit stews and even some surprisingly tasty vegetable stews. All that seem missing from this superb compendium are Lancashire hot pot and Scottish cockaleekie.
But hold the stew! Can the soup! The name of Carol Cutler's new cookbook says it all: Pâté, the New Main Course for the '80s (Rawson; $14.95). Cutler, who is chief American consultant for TIME-LIFE Books' Good Cook series and the author of three previous cookbooks, maintains that most pates and terrines (the terms here are used almost interchangeably) are too filling, too important to serve as a first course. And she effectively demolishes the myths that they are fattening, costly and difficult to make. Pâtés have another great virtue in the age of rush: they must be completely prepared in advance, eliminating last-minute booboos, and actually improve with a few days' aging. "A pate," according to Cutler, "is nothing more than a French meat loaf that's had a couple of cocktails."