And how was your Christmas? Ours started on Christmas Eve and went from strength to strength …
My gifts had a theme and guess what it was: well, no prizes, it was cooking of course!
I now have the addition of no fewer than three beautiful new cookbooks to add to my burgeoning collection. The top one isn’t a cookbook per se but according to the blurb is an ‘astonishing first novel’ about Tarquin Winot who relates his life story through that ‘most basic and sublime of human passions: Food’! So the theme continues…
Yesterday afternoon I sat down and enjoyed a thoroughly pleasurable moment browsing through them all.
Here are my first impressions:
- The Edible Atlas: Around the World in Thirty Nine Cuisines by Mina Holland is a real treasure trove. 39 cuisines? Wow. I checked out the Turkey section and liked what I read although I have never heard of Rebecca Seal who the author uses as her source for the recipes. Sorry Rebecca! But I’m going to really enjoy this book, I can see. Not only is it very well-written but the two Turkish recipes she chooses to describe in the Middle East section are well-loved and true: deep-fried anchovies ie hamsi tava, and beef kofta/köfte. From there Mina Holland goes on to the Levant and Israel with tabbouleh and baba ghanoush, humus and shakshuka. These are just a fraction of the 39 cuisines. I’m really looking forward to a good read of the others.
- Turkey: Recipes and Tales from the road by Leanne Kitchen. Absolutely fabulous beautiful photos of all the aspects of Turkey that we know and love: at first glance, this is a gorgeous book. I looked curiously at the recipes and was disconcerted to find that she doesn’t use enough Turkish to describe the ingredients. I guess someone like me, who lives here in Turkey, is not the target audience. For example, what on earth is silverbeet? She adds Swiss Chard so I suppose that brings us back to pazı. I would also like to know which region the recipes hail from eg pekmez, roasted pear, feta, watercress and hazelnut salad: is this really Turkish or did she create it? Maybe it’s from the Black Sea because of the nuts but the other ingredients don’t sound authentic. But maybe it is. I would just like more info! But overall, it looks like a stunning cookbook.
- Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond by Sabrina Ghayour. This was the winner of the Observer Food Monthly Awards in 2014 and I can see why. It reminds me of Ottolenghi as all the ingredients are familiar indeed. The photos of the finished dishes are plentiful and make you want to dive into the kitchen to have a go! I am familiar with lots of them as you might imagine but the ones I don’t know, sound and look, delicious.
So I’m all set in the culinary department.
How about you? Did your presents reflect your favourite hobbies and pastimes like mine did? Above all, I hope that Christmas 2014 was as warm and wonderful as mine was:)
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