Cookbooks We Love

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Cookbooks We Love: 'Claudia Roden's Mediterranean' is one of the revered author's greatest volumes

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By Leslie Brenner

Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean: Treasured Recipes from a Lifetime of Travel, by Claudia Roden, Ten Speed Press, 2021, $40

Somehow, Claudia Roden’s latest cookbook — reprising her cooking life and travels over the last three and a half decades — was passed over last year from the major cookbook awards. It’s hard to understand why, as Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean is one of the revered cookbook author’s very best collections.

Backgrounder

Born in Cairo, Egypt to Jewish-Syrian parents, and now based in London, 87-year-old Roden has made a brilliant career of studying and writing about the foods of the Middle East and Mediterranean. Her 2011 title, The Food of Spain — a 609-page magnum opus — won first prize for International Cookbooks by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Her 1968 book, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, was updated 32 years later, then inducted in 2010 in the James Beard Foundation’s Cookbook Hall of Fame. In 1997, The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York won the James Beard Award for Cookbook of the Year.

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To put together her latest book, Roden looked back at her travels all around the Mediterranean over the last thirty-five years — since her three children left home. Arriving in Alexandria at the start of the adventure, she was exhilarated to find the “city of freedom and pleasure” she remembered from childhood. “You felt the exuberant lighthearted mood in the cafés along the seafront,” she writes in the introduction. “Italian, Greek and French were spoken on the street. The city was part of another world, one to which Marseille and Barcelona, Genoa, Athens and Algiers, Beirut and Tangier also belonged.” That revelation sent her into a decades-long search of that spirit again, and this book is the result.

When the book was published in November, 2021, Melissa Clark visited Roden at her home in London to interview her for a profile — one that’s a must-read if you’re a Roden fan.

Why We Love It

Easy, breezy and relaxed, Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean is filled with recipes that feel like the way Roden might cook at home; her personality comes through in this book much more vividly than in her earlier ones. Many of the recipes serve two people (and are easy to scale up), perfect for weeknight dinners that pack maximum deliciousness into minimum effort. Others are ideal for laid-back entertaining.

When I close my eyes and open the volume, I can almost be sure to be looking at something I want to make: Eggplants with Pomegranate Dressing and Yogurt Sauce. Bullinada (a Catalan fish stew enriched with mayo). Stuffed Peppers with Breadcrumbs, Anchovies, Olives and Capers. Chicken and Onion “Pies” with Moroccan Flavors. Tagliolini with Lemon. Hazelnut Cake with Chocolate Ganache. Those are literally random page-opens.

I’m excited to write about the book now, because so many of its recipes are perfect for summer.

Fennel, Peach and Goat Cheese Salad

Case in point: a graceful salad of thin-sliced fennel tossed with fresh peaches, cucumber and goat cheese — summer on a plate.

Delay This Gratification — or Not!

This gorgeous Green Olive, Walnut and Pomegranate Salad, will be perfect come fall, but I loved it so much I couldn’t leave it out of this review. It’s a specialty of Gaziantep, a Turkish city on the border with Syria.

Should you decide to make it right away, I won’t blame you — it’s wonderfully tangy, thanks to pomegranate molasses, with earthy walnuts for crunch and a lot of parsley and scallions.

Beguiling Turkish Yogurt Soup with Chickpeas and Orzo

Also from Gaziantep is this quickly put-together chickpea and yogurt soup, enriched with an egg yolk; Roden writes in her headnote that she was charmed by at at a dinner in Istanbul to celebrate Gaziantep’s adoption by UNESCO as a Creative City for its gastronomy.

Canned chickpeas make it a breeze to assemble — perfect for weekday lunch or easy dinner.

My New Favorite Dish

Saucy, garlicky, lusty and hassle-free, this chicken dish with green olives and boiled lemons was the first thing I made from the book, and I’ve made it three more times since — it’s that good.

In her headnote, Roden writes that it was inspired by “the sharp lemony flavors of one of the most famous Moroccan tagines.” Sized for eight, and ideal for relaxed entertaining, as you assemble it in a snap, then shove it in the oven and forget about it while it bakes for an hour.

Serve it with couscous. Roden offers a brilliant hack for giving it the light, fluffy texture of the grains made traditionally, steamed two or three times in a couscoussier, but with minimum hassle.

RECIPE: Claudia Roden’s Chicken with Olives and Lemon

Only One Miss

Only one recipe I tested (there were three more) was one I wouldn’t make again: A muhammara (walnut and roasted pepper dip) had the wrong texture — it was runny rather than a thick paste — and it was overwhelmed by too much pomegranate molasses. (Nothing, of course, that a few tweaks wouldn’t fix.)

On the other hand, I loved a Spanish dish of alubias con almejas — clams with white beans. And also garlicky pan-fried fish with with Sherry vinegar and Aleppo pepper. Both are sized for two.

Meanwhile, there are so many things I still want to try. A slow-roasted shoulder of lamb with couscous, dates and almonds. A potato salad with green olive tapenade. Almond pudding with apricot compote. Maybe that last one this weekend — after all, it’s apricot season.

If you love Mediterranean flavors, may this book land in your kitchen soon.

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For Women's History Month, we're celebrating outstanding women cookbook authors

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By Leslie Brenner

Happy International Women’s Day!

I’ve long believed that when it comes to writing cookbooks, women have a serious edge: Most of my favorite all-time cookbooks were written by women. That’s why throughout March — Women’s History Month — we’ll be featuring cookbooks by some of my favorite female authors, and celebrating their achievements.

We’ll spotlight the authors in various ways: sometimes by honoring an entire long, distinguished career; other times presenting a newer author with a wonderful recent title, or maybe telling you about someone who didn’t write many books, but gave us one or two truly great ones. We’ll also feature standalone reviews of cookbooks by women.

In the past, we have honored a number of our favorite women authors in this way. They include:

• Diana Kennedy (read the story)

• Najmieh Batmanglij (read the story)

• Andrea Nguyen (read the story)

• Toni Tipton-Martin (read the story)

• Dorie Greenspan (read the story)

Build your collection

The first spotlight is coming shortly. Meanwhile, we have collected many of our favorite cookbooks by women in a mini-shop at Bookshop: “Women Have a History of Writing the Best Cookbooks.” We’re thrilled to invite you to browse the shop. Treat yourself (or a cookbook-loving friend) to one or more of the marvelous volumes. In doing so, you’ll be supporting women authors, independent booksellers and Cooks Without Borders (where it will be much appreciated).

Happy browsing, and happy Women’s History Month!

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Cookbooks We Love: ‘The Woks of Life’ brims with outstanding Chinese and Chinese American recipes

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By Leslie Brenner

The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family by Bill, Judy, Sarah and Kaitlin Leung, Clarkson Potter, $35

“The best dumplings I’ve ever had.” That’s how my son Wylie described the Pork, Mushroom and Cabbage dumplings from The Woks of Life — the debut cookbook from the Leung family behind the website of the same name. I’d made the dumplings last month and frozen most of a batch, anticipating he’d enjoy them when he visited from Southern California for the holidays.

That’s right — Wylie lives in California, which means he has access to the best Chinese restaurant scenes in the U.S., and one of the best outside of China. He loves dumplings, and eats a lot of them. That his favorite so far came from The Woks of Life is a meaningful endorsement.

Want great Chinese food? You don’t have to live on the West Coast or restaurant-rich New York to get it. Whether it’s Chinese American restaurant classics you’re after, home-style Cantonese or Shanghainese dishes or many other regional styles, you can make it at home. The Woks of Life is a great guide: fun, approachable, relatable and highly user-friendly.

Backgrounder

In 2013, the Leungs — a Chinese American family living in New Jersey — created their blog to document their family history through recipes. It grew an impressive following and evolved into the preeminent United States-based Chinese cooking site. We spotlighted The Woks of Life in a story two years ago, then featured the eldest Leung daughter, Sarah, on our first Makers, Shakers & Mavens live video event. After we finished the live event, Sarah told me she and her family were working on a cookbook, and I waited eagerly for it for nearly two years; it was published in early November, quickly became a best-seller and garnered a ton of press. The New York Times, Bon Appétit and the San Francisco Chronicle all wrote wonderful stories about it.

Why we love it

The book distills the winning personality of the site into a tangible, approachable, delightful and eminently useful volume. A good part of the fun is getting to know the family: Judy, a native of Shanghai; Bill, a Chinese-American whose parents owned a Chinese restaurant in New Jersey called Sun Hing; and daughters Sarah and Kaitlin, who bring contemporary sensibility, curiosity and enthusiasm to the family’s life-project.

I particularly enjoyed an essay by Bill depicting “The Friday Night Rush at Sun Hing,” which segues into a recipe for Beef and Broccoli — one of the “Special House Dishes” on the Sun Hing menu reproduced in the essay.

Organized by type of dish (dim sum; starters; noodles; rice; poultry & eggs; pork, beef & lamb; etc.), the book is an enticing mix of those Chinese-American restaurant dishes I’m constantly craving, plus regional Chinese specialties and Chinese home cooking as practiced by the Leungs.

Throughout the book, there’s plenty of helpful hand-holding, including things like the Leungs’ preferred brand of light soy sauce (Pearl River Bridge) and how to prevent food from sticking to your wok (before adding oil, heat it till it just starts to smoke).

Mastering technique

I also like the fact that when a video is most useful, QR codes lead you to instructions on the website — such as “How to Fold a Chinese Dumpling (4 Techniques!).” I doubt I could have achieved all those pleats without watching.

So, yes, back to those dumplings!

The filling is easy to achieve: Vigorously stir together ground pork and seasonings, then stir in dried shiitakes that you’ve rehydrated, chopped and stir-fried, plus chopped napa cabbage (which you’ve salted, rested and squeezed).

Put a spoonful of the filling in the center of a round, Shanghai-style dumpling wrapper, moisten the edges, fold it in half and make pleats as you seal it at the top. But even if you seal them simply without pleating, they’re delicious. The book gives directions on how to steam, boil or pan-fry them; our adaptation calls for steaming.

The recipe makes about 6 dozen dumplings, which (again) freeze very well; pack and stash in the freezer before they’re cooked. Steam and enjoy some right away; freeze the rest for another day. Ten or 11 minutes takes them straight from frozen to hot, tender and enticing.

Assembling the dumplings is a great cold-weather project — one that’s perfect for Lunar New Year, which will be here before you know it. (The year of the rabbit begins on Sunday, January 22.) Traditional for the holiday, dumplings represent wealth, as they’re shaped like Chinese silver or gold ingots. Making them at home is also said to be good for chopping away bad luck.

Next time I make them, I’ll try fashioning homemade wrappers. Complete instructions are included in the book, but basically it’s 1 1/3 cups of tepid water slowly stirred into 4 cups of all-purpose flour, kneaded about 10 minutes until it’s smooth, rested 1 hour, then rolled into 18-gram rounds. (If you’re that level of cooking geek, you’ll surely want to purchase the book.) Not quite there yet? Making these dumplings — or one of the recipes that follows — may well hook you.

An easy, healthy, delicious stir-fry

Looking for something much simpler to achieve? This quick stir-fry has been in the Leung family’s rotation for as long as they can remember, according to the headnote in the book, so I had to try it. For me there was a bonus: I love pickled mustard greens; I’m always picking up plastic containers of it when I go to Chinese supermarkets. I never know what to do with it, so I usually wind up just eating it straight out of the container. This dish makes great use of them.

The stir-fry starts with frozen edamame — another fine thing to keep in your freezer. Stir-fry it for two or three minutes, then stir-fry ginger, chiles, pickled mustard greens, garlic and cubes of pressed tofu, add back in the edamame and a quickly stirred-together seasoning sauce. Done! Heathy! Delicious!

Another Leung family favorite: Cantonese Steamed Fish

“No fish preparation has played a bigger role on our dinner table than Cantonese steamed fish,” writes Bill Leung in the book’s headnote for this recipe. The flavor profile is a classic Cantonese combo of ginger, scallions, cilantro and soy sauce. It’s one I’ve been improvising my entire cooking life; the Leung’s recipe finally gave me the right technique: sizzling the ginger, scallion and herbs in hot oil and pouring it over the fish only after it has been steamed. It also gave me the idea of using branzino, which means I can find it — along with all the other ingredients — in my neighborhood supermarket.

Oh, and whole steamed fish is also traditional for lunar new year –– new year’s eve in particular.

You’ve gotta try this

My favorite recipe in The Woks of Life cookbook (so far!) is what I reach for when I’m craving American Chinese restaurant comfort food: Shrimp in Lobster Sauce. To achieve it, start by blanching ground pork, then rinsing it; that gives depth and texture to the sauce you’ll build on it, but keeps it clean. Stir-fry that with shrimp and garlic, add Shaoxing wine, then chicken broth, peas and seasonings. Simmer, add a cornstarch slurry to thicken, then add, without mixing it in just yet, beaten egg and chopped scallions. Let the egg set briefly on top, then quickly fold in the egg so it forms ribbons in the dish rather than dissipating.

The dish — one of our favorites made from cookbooks last year — is delightful and rewarding. The book recommends serving it with pork fried rice, a dreamy combo to be sure (you could make this fabulous and simpler Yangzhou Fried Rice if you don’t want to go to the effort of making char siu pork). Steamed white rice is lovely as well; I happen to also love the dish with plain old steamed brown rice — a dear, old friend I’ll be spending quality time with as I try to eat as healthy as possible this month.

RECIPE: Woks of Life Shrimp in Lobster Sauce

Still wanna make

So many things! Starting with Garlic Chive and Shrimp Dumplings. I’ve spent some time on this classic har gow variation before; it requires a challenging handmade wrapper made from tapioca starch. I’m hoping The Woks of Life’s hand-holding will make me a champ. Also Classic Scallion Pancakes, Chili Oil Wontons, Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, Shanghai Cold Noodles, Special Golden Fried Rice (where the grains are coated in egg yolk before cooking), Chinese Crispy Salted Duck, Beef and Broccoli, Shanghai Street-Stall Wonton Soup, Hot & Sour Soup.

Yep, it’s a keeper

The Woks of Life has already found a permanent spot on the Chinese essentials area of my shelf. Congratulations to the Leung family on a fabulous achievement, and thank you for giving us lovers of Chinese American cooking such a valuable and delightful volume!

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Holiday gift guide: Most exciting cookbooks of 2022 (Part II)

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By Leslie Brenner

[Editor’s note: This is Part II of our two-part Cookbook Gift Guide.]

Part I of our roundup of our favorite and most promising cookbooks published this year included 8 outstanding new titles. Here is the second inspiring batch. We’re working on full reviews of a number of them, and have already cooked from most.

Any one of the books below will thrill an adventuresome cook on your list.

Mezcla: Recipes to Excite

Author Ixta Belfrage had a truly international childhood. She grew up in Tuscany, with a Brazilian mother and a New York-born father whose family relocated to Mexico during the McCarthy era (when his own British-born father was deported). Italian, Brazilian, Mexican, American and English culture — including food culture — were important parts of Belfrage’s life, as she spent a good deal of time as a child with her grandparents in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in her mother’s hometown of Natal, Brazil, and, as a 19-year-old, living in Rio de Janeiro. All of these culinary cultures come to play in her cooking, along with the outsized influence of Yotam Ottolenghi — with his wide palette of flavors. She worked for the chef-author for five years, first at NOPI restaurant, and then in the OTK (Ottolenghi Test Kitchen).

Belfrage’s first solo book celebrates this far-flung mix of influences (mezcla means “mixture” in Spanish), and the result is a collection of highly original recipes expressing a fresh, open cooking style that you might think of as joyous fusion. It’s a style very much in the idiom of Ottolenghi Flavor, which she co-authored. She divides Mexcla into two sections: “Everyday” (quick and easy recipes) and “Entertaining” (more elaborate, weekend-project-type recipes). Sometimes, but not always, the fusion is within a dish, such as Hake Torta Ahogada with Shrimp Miso Bisque. We test-drove one recipe that keeps the flavor profile Italian and preparation minimal: an ingenious vegetarian dish of tagliatelle dressed in an intensely flavorful porcini ragù that cooks in about 10 minutes. Verdict: Want to cook more!

Mezcla: Recipes to Excite by Ixta Belfrage, photographs by Yuki Sugiura, Ten Speed Press, $35.

The Vegan Chinese Kitchen

Hannah Che, creator of the excellent blog The Plant-Based Wok, has published one of the most inspiring and beautiful books to hit the shelves in some time. (Our Cookbook of the Year, Via Carota, is another.) Now based in Portland, Oregon, Che studied in Guangzhou, at the only vegetarian cooking school in China. There she immersed herself in zhai cai, the plant-based cuisine with centuries-old Buddhist roots that emphasizes umami-rich ingredients. If you like flipping through a cookbook filled with photos of dishes that are absolutely gorgeous, you’ll love this — and Che took those photos herself. I’ve marked probably at least three-quarters of the recipes as “want to cook,” and very much enjoyed the first one I tried: Napa Cabbage and Vermicelli Salad.

The Vegan Chinese Kitchen: Recipes and Modern Stories from a Thousand-Year-Old Tradition by Hannah Che, Clarkson Potter, $35.

Dinner in One: Exceptional and Easy One-Pan Meals

In Dinner in One, New York Times cooking columnist and award-winning author Melissa Clark focuses on streamlining: All 100 recipes wrap maximum deliciousness in minimum effort. Her smart introduction explains why home cooking is fundamentally different than restaurant cooking — and consequently most chef recipes — requiring a completely different approach. In her new book, she explains in the intro, “The recipes are simple but not simplistic, with complex, layered flavors that you can achieve with minimal stress.” Mission accomplished: Cooks both experienced and just starting out will love the results. Try this recipe for a sheet-pan chicken “tagine” to see what we mean.

Dinner in One: Exceptional and Easy One-Pan Meals by Melissa Clark, Photographs by Linda Xiao, Clarkson Potter, $29.99.

Masa

Jorge Gaviria’s important, encyclopedic volume is a must-have for Mexican cooking aficionados, including chefs and serious home cooks. We reviewed it last month.

Masa: Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple by Jorge Gaviria, photographs by Graydon Herriott, Chronicle Books, $35.

First Generation: Recipes from My Taiwanese-American Home

Here’s another super-appealing debut from the creator of a popular blog. If there’s someone on your list who loves dumplings and appreciates wonderful writing, choose First Generation. Author Frankie Gaw, the cook behind the delightful Little Fat Boy blog, weaves terrific personal stories into his headnotes. Excellent step-by-step visuals (expertly illustrated and photographed by Gaw) show how to pull noodles, wrap wontons, make braided bao wrappers and more. I haven’t yet cooked from it, but can’t wait to let Gaw teach me how to make Sesame Shaobing, Lau-Kee Congee, Pork Belly Mushroom Corn Soup and more.

First Generation; Recipes from My Taiwanese-American Home by Frankie Gaw, Ten Speed Press, $32.50.

In Diasporican, Illyanna Maisonet reflects, unflinchingly, on the Puerto Rican disapora and why it’s been so difficult for the cooking of Puerto Rico to take off stateside. “The truth is,” she writes, “Puerto Rican cuisine shares a lot in common with the cuisines of Hawai‘i, Guam and the Philippines — all the places that got fucked by Spanish and United States colonialism.” Winner of an IACP award for narrative food writing and former columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle, Maisonet offers a compelling collection of very personal recipes mixed in with traditional ones, many inspired by her grandmother, from whom she learned to cook when she was growing up in Sacramento, California. High on my list of dishes to try is saucy shrimp with chorizo served over funche, the cornmeal-and-coconut milk pudding that historically was eaten by enslaved people working on sugar-cane plantations. Maisonet’s holiday recipes are particularly enticing; I might just make her fabulous-looking, oregano-happy Pernil (long-roasted pork-shoulder roast) this Christmas, and her Thanksgiving Leftovers Pavochon Pasta Bake may become a serious challenger to my Turkey Tetrazzini. This much I know: Next time I see ripe hachiya persimmons, I’ll be making Maisonet’s Persimmon Cookies.

Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook by Illyanna Maisonet, Ten Speed Press, $32.50.

The Mediterranean Dish

The debut cookbook from Suzy Karadsheh, founder of the hugely popular cooking and lifestyle website The Mediterranean Dish, includes recipes drawn from the Middle East to North Africa and Southern Europe. Born and raised in the Egyptian city of Port Said, Karadsheh began to learn to cook from her mom, who loved to entertain, and after she was married and living in the United States, from her Jordanian mother-in-law. I love reading about how her mom would prepare for an Egyptian azooma (feast), or about making mahshi — stuffed vegetables — which Karadsheh describes as “a sport among Egyptian women, who compete to throw the best mahshi dinner in the neighborhood.” Better to wait for the next tomato season to make her recipe for stuffed bell peppers and tomatoes. In the meantime, her Sicily-inspired saucy baked cod, which uses Roma tomatoes, is delicious any time of year. This one’s a great choice for cooks who are just starting out.

The Mediterranean Dish By Suzy Karadsheh with Susan Puckett, photographs by Caitlin BenseL, Clarkson Potter, $32.50.

Evolutions in Bread

Ten years after the publication of the ground-breaking, IACP and James Beard Award-winning bread-baking bible Flour Water Salt Yeast, Ken Forkish gives us Evolutions in Bread. A focus on artisan pan loaves is what the evolution is all about; it was borne from Forkish’s fondness for the artisan pan loaves that are constantly selling out at his Ken’s Artisan Bakery in Portland, Oregon. But that’s not the only innovation: Forkish also developed a new, simplified, flour-efficient way to establish and maintain your sourdough — which is not required in most of the recipes, but benefits them. Ancient grains such as einkorn, emmer and spelt also figure prominently. If I were to own just one book about bread-baking, this would be it.

Evolutions in Bread: Artisan Pan Breads and Dutch-Oven Loaves at Home by Ken Forkish, photographs by Alan Weiner, Ten Speed Press, $35.

Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking

Finally, three years after the first Pasta Grannies cookbook, based on Vicky Bennison’s popular YouTube channel, comes Volume II — Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking. The myriad pasta dishes look incredible, from Ernestina’s Cannelloni Verdi Ripieni di Carne (Spinach Cannelloni with Meat Filling from Romagna) to Iginia’s Princisgras (Porcini and Proscuitto Lasagna from Macerata) to Biggina’s Fettucine con Coniglio all’Ischitana (Fettuccine with Braised Rabbit from Ischia). And the other comfort dishes are just as enticing: Enrica’s Torta Verde con Prescinsêua (Cheese and Chard Pie from Genova); Teresa’s Tajedda Salentina (Mussel Bake from Salento); Ida’s Chocolate Bunet (Chocolate Pudding from Piedmont). I love flipping through its pages and seeing the smiling faces of those beautiful nonnas and their irresistible dishes: How refreshing to see older cooks celebrated and appreciated.

Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking by Vicky Bennison, Hardie Grant Books, $32.50.

Buy Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking at Bookshop

Buy Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking at Amazon

Also recommended:

The Wok: Recipes and Technique by Kenji López-Alt, W.W. Norton, $50.

Buy at The Wok at Bookshop.

Buy The Wok at Amazon.

Masala: Recipes from India, the Land of Spices by Anita Jainsinghani, Ten Speed Press, $35.

Buy Masala at Bookshop.

Buy Masala at Amazon.

Ottolonghi Test Kitchen Extra Good Things, Clarkson Potter, $32

Buy OTK Extra Good Things at Bookshop.

Buy OTK Extra Good Things at Amazon.

Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home by Eric Kim, Clarkson Potter, $32.50.

Buy Korean American at Bookshop.

Buy Korean American at Amazon.

READ Part I of our Holiday Cookbook Gift Guide: “The year’s best cookbooks make the season’s greatest gifts”

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The year's best cookbooks make the season's greatest gifts

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By Leslie Brenner

[Editor’s note: This is Part I of our 2-part Cookbook Gift Guide. Here is Part II.

What an exciting season it is for cookbook lovers! Cooks Without Borders has reviewed a number of wonderful titles in recent weeks, including Budmo!, Kolkata and Masa — and we recently named our first-ever Cookbook of the Year: Via Carota.

Our favorite books published in 2022 cover culinary cultures from a wide swath of the world, and include volumes focused on cross-cultural cooking experiences, such as Chinese American, Korean American, pan-Mediterranean, African diasporan and California Puerto Rican.

We’re excited to present the year’s titles that most strongly captured our imagination — those that I’ve cooked from (perhaps reviewed) and already know are great, and others that I’ve pored through and marked myriad recipes that entice. We’ll work on getting as many of these books reviewed as possible in the coming year, and Part II of this roundup is coming soon!

One thing is certain: Among them you’ll find a cookbook gift for every kind of cook on your list.

The Woks of Life

We’re longtime fans of The Woks of Life — the Chinese and Chinese American cooking site from the wonderful Leung family. Sarah Leung, in fact, was our first-ever guest (two springs ago) on our Makers, Shakers and Mavens series, and we’ve been eagerly awaiting this book ever since.

The cookbook is as delightful as the site. We have a review coming soon; in the meantime, help yourself to a sample adapted recipe — a quick stir-fry of edamame, tofu and pickled mustard greens (a delicious, healthy, vegan respite between heavy holiday feasts!).

The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family by Bill, Judy, Sarah and Kaitlin Leung, Clarkson Potter, $35

Tanya Holland’s California Soul

The new book from the host of ‘Tanya’s Kitchen Table’ and the podcast ‘Tanya’s Table’ features 75-plus recipes inspired by the Great Migration of African American families from the South to California. Organized by season, it’s filled with enticing dishes. We’ve tested two so far, with great results: Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing, and Braised Chicken Thighs with Barbecued White Beans and Scallions. They’re both listed in the “Fall” chapter, but delectable all year long. I really love the barbecue beans with the chicken.

Tanya Holland’s California Soul: Recipes from a Culinary Journey West by Tanya Holland, ten speed press, $35

Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes

Know anyone who likes cakes but doesn’t want to fuss over them? This book from longtime Wall Street Journal columnist (and James Beard M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award recipient) Aleksandra Crapanzano is for them. Take a Gâteau Simple aux Noix — Simple Walnut Cake — for instance. Writes Crapanzano in the headnote: “Easily put together in ten minutes with nothing but pantry staples, it is one of those recipes that will save you a hundred times over.” Sold, right?! It took me a few more minutes than 10, but not many — and the cake’s a keeper. Meanwhile, here’s a recipe for a simple and delicious chestnut cake, which is perfect for the season. I’m also excited about a chapter on “Les Cakes Salés” — the savory cakes that are so chic in France these days.

Recipes include not one but six bûches de Noël (yule logs), and one Galette des Rois. Delightfully illustrated by Cassandra Montoriol.

Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes, by Aleksandra Crapanzo, illustrations by cassandra montoriol, scribner, $30.

Budmo!

Subtitled “Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen,” the debut cookbook from San Francisco-based chef, blogger and cooking instructor Anna Voloshyna is a winner. We reviewed it in October.

BUDMO!: RECIPES FROM A UKRAINIAN KITCHEN, BY ANNA VOLOSHYNA. RIZZOLI, $39.95.

Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico

Here’s another one I haven’t yet cooked from but can’t wait to dive into. Seeking to explore his Mexican roots, Austin, Texas-born author Rick Martínez flew to Mexico City in 2019, bought a car and ate his way through the country — visiting all 32 states and 156 cities. He asked every cook he met which of their own dishes they like best; his interpretation of 100 of them comprise the book. Martínez found himself along the way, and wound up buying a house in Mazatlán, which is where he now lives. All the food looks wonderful, and the writing is terrific. He’s host of the YouTube series Purébalo and the Food52 video series Sweet Heat, and co-hosts the Borderline Salty podcast.

Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico, by Rick Martínez, Photographs by Ren Fuller, Clarkson Potter, $35.

Via Carota

This book is so deliciously inspiring, we named it Cooks Without Borders 2022 Cookbook of the Year.

VIA CAROTA: A CELEBRATION OF SEASONAL COOKING FROM THE BELOVED GREENWICH VILLAGE RESTAURANT, BY JODY WILLIAMS AND RITA SODI WITH ANNA KOVEL, PHOTOGRAPHS BY GENTLY & HYERS, ALFRED A. KNOPF, $40.

My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef

“When a dish tells a story, it has a soul,” writes Kwame Onwuachi in the dedication (to his mother) of his second book; his first was the acclaimed memoir Notes from a Young Black Chef. The dishes in My America — inspired by the African diaspora and Onwauachi’s slice of it — look not just soulful, but insanely delicious. Raised in New York City, Onwauachi has lived in Nigeria, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. The San Francisco Chronicle called him “the most important chef in America,” he was a Food & Wine Best New Chef and a James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year. I’m dreaming of being snowed in with a full pantry to start exploring this one.

My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef, by Kwame Onwuachi with Joshua David Stein, photographs by Clay Williams, Knopf, $35.

Kolkata: Recipes from the Heart of Bengal

Send Indian food-loving cooks on your list on a delicious journey to Kolkata — the city that was known under colonial rule as Calcutta — with Rinku Dutt’s enchanting debut book. We reviewed it in October.

KOLKATA: RECIPES FROM THE HEART OF BENGAL, BY RINKU DUTT, PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVEN JOYCE; 2022, SMITH STREET BOOKS, $35.

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'Via Carota' is Cooks Without Borders’ Cookbook of the Year

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By Leslie Brenner

Via Carota: A Celebration of Seasonal Cooking from the Beloved Greenwich Village Restaurant, by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi with Anna Kovel, photographs by Gently & Hyers, Alfred A. Knopf, $40.

For those of us who love to devour new cookbooks, it has been a truly outstanding year. Exciting titles published this fall include Masa, Budmo! and Kolkata, and we have reviews of many more exceptional volumes planned for the coming weeks.

Now, after poring through dozens of titles over the course of the year and cooking from loads of them, a clear favorite has emerged: Via Carota: A Celebration of Seasonal Cooking from the Beloved Greenwich Village Restaurant.

If you’re not familiar with Via Carota, it’s the New York City restaurant Jody Miller and Rita Sodi opened in 2014 — the one the New Yorker called, four years later, “New York’s most perfect restaurant.” People who don’t live in New York, or who don’t follow such things but love to cook, might know Via Carota by its famous green salad — you know, the one The New York Times Magazine called “The Best Green Salad in the World.”

Yep, there’s just something magical and irresistible about the place, its food and its vibe — hence the generous side order of superlatives.

Yet Via Carota is anything but snazzy or flashy; in other words, not the type of place that would seem to inspire hyperbole. It’s laid-back, casual and quietly delicious — self-assured in its seasonal, produce-driven, understated way.

We’ll need to wait till spring to try the first recipe in ‘Via Carota’: Bacelli e Pecorino.

That appealing aesthetic is expressed brilliantly in Miller and Sodi’s book (the partners are co-chefs and co-owners). Flip through its pages and it is impossible not to get drawn in by its lovely images and glorious-sounding dishes. They’re beautifully photographed (by Gentl & Hyers), but as much as anything, it’s their simplicity and harmony that make it all so enticing.

It’s all right there in the first recipe: Baccelli e Pecorino — Young Favas, Radishes, and Fresh Pecorino. The lead-off for the “Spring” chapter, it’s an effortless toss of sliced spring onions, fresh favas, basil, mint, radish slices and crumbled pecorino Romano, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. Think you don’t need a recipe for that? Maybe you don’t. But Williams and Sodi’s attention to detail and proportions are what make these simple dishes great, so I’ll follow it to the letter the first time I make it, come spring.

The book has a way of making you slow down and take pleasure in the process of creating beautiful, delicious food. Sodi grew up near Florence, in Barberino di Mugello, and Williams learned to cook working at a celebrated cafe in Emilia-Romagna. They met in the West Village, where Sodi had her restaurant I Sodi, and Williams had a French place, Buvette; they loved spending time together at Sodi’s home in a restored 17th-century stone villa on Via del Carota. They both were so busy running their respective New York restaurants (and Williams had just opened a second Buvette, in Paris) that they had less time to spend in Italy, Sodi sold the villa, and they leased a space on Grove Street to open something together, not knowing what it would be.

“We did not know what to expect of our collaboration,” writes Sodi in the introduction. “We had no name or specific plans — we only had our time in Italy. We knew we wanted to recreate our experience there, the place we loved most with the food we relished most. If we were lucky, it could be a place full of life where people would feel welcome and nourished.”

Of course it became Via Carota. And of course the famous Insalata Verde — which nearly every table orders — is in the book, along with advice about “taking good care of your leaves,” and permission to eat the salad with your hands.

Via Carota’s pages are jammed with enticing recipes. Stracci — big, floppy squares of handmade pasta dressed in a Pesto di Fave (fava pesto). Garlic Scapes with Lima Beans. Braised Lamb Shoulder with Lemon Zest, green olives and capers. Lasagna Cacio e Pepe. Smashed Figs with Sesame and Honey, which also has a little aged balsamic vinegar. Here’s all there is to that one: “Slice the figs in half or tear them with your hands. Arrange them on plates and smash the interiors lightly with a fork. Drizzle with honey and balsamic vinegar. Lightly toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan until they’re aromatic, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the seeds over the figs.” How inspiring is that?

After plastering the book with Post-its marking my need-to-makes, I dove in and made one just right for the current season: Insalata di Cavoletti — Brussels Sprouts Salad with Walnuts and Apples.

Williams and Sodi have you massage the Brussels sprouts leaves with Via Carota Vinagrette (secret ingredient: water). Then add apple matchsticks, toasted walnuts, crumbled aged cheese and orange zest, and toss again. Let the salad “settle” for 10 minutes (how nice to have one that doesn’t have to get right to the table!), then top with more apple matchsticks and pomegranate seeds. Sure, it’s a bit time-consuming removing the leaves from the Brussels Sprouts, but the salad is so good, I’ll do it again a hundred times.

RECIPE: Via Carota Insalata di Cavoletti (Brussels Sprouts Salad)

Laced throughout Via Carota are interesting side notes about ingredients, scenes from the authors’ Italian days and nuggets of kitchen wisdom. For instance, I never quite know how to handle spring onions (not scallions, but the ones with the enlarged white bulbs). Williams and Sodi have you soak slices of them in water for a minute or two, to take away their edge — same thing they do with minced shallot, in their vinaigrette. (Water is an important ingredient at Via Carota — a couple teaspoons of it balance the vinaigrette.) A quick two-paragraph footnote offers a career’s-worth of actionable info about the joys of pecorino cheese, followed by the best thing I’ve ever read about how to choose, cook and peel favas. Later, we’re advised to collect Pecorino Romano or parmigiano rinds and make stock with them — which we can use to make a peppery besciamella (bechamel) with the flavors of cacio e pepe.

This book will make just about anyone a better cook; it’s the opposite of the kind of chef books that blithely assume we home cooks have access to 9,000 special ingredients and a walk-in full of advance preps.

Heartwarming in Cold Weather

Lenticchie con Cavolo Nero — Braised Lentils and Kale — is about as demanding as it gets in that regard. It calls for either black Umbrian or French green lentils, Tuscan kale (also known as lacinato or dinosaur kale) and either pancetta or guanciale, plus onion, carrot, garlic and sage. It’s a breeze to put together, and soul-satisfying this time of year. It’s in the “Autumn” chapter, but I’ll be making it all through the winter. I just bought a hunk of pancetta, sliced it and froze it; I always keep lentils and aromatics on hand, so kale will be the only necessary purchase whenever I want to simmer up a pot.

Naturally I had to try one of the handmade pastas in the book, so I went for a shape I’d never made: pici, which are hand-rolled thick spaghetti. Made from semolina and 00 flour, with no eggs, pici are traditional in the Tuscan province of Siena, where they’re commonly served with ragù of duck or boar, or with mushrooms.

The pasta dough came together easily, and Williams and Sodi’s instructions for rolling them with your fingers and palms into long, uneven snakes (like Play-Doh!) were simple to follow. In fact I was surprised at how easy they were to achieve, and it didn’t take as long as I’d expected. Making them was delightfully contemplative. It invited taking pleasure in the process; it would also be a lot of fun to do with kids of just about any age.

And they were insanely good, with fabulous texture. Delicious with the extremely rich duck ragù.

Pici — Hand-Rolled Thick Spaghetti — ready to be cooked. They’re meant to be imperfect.

RECIPE: Via Carota Pici all’Anatra (Hand-Rolled Spaghetti with Duck Ragù)

A few wee glitches

Wonderful as it is — and I highly recommend buying a copy not just for yourself, but for every Italophile cook on your holiday list — the perfect restaurant’s cookbook isn’t perfect. There was too much ragù, for instance, for the 14 ounces of pici the pasta recipe yields. (We adjusted, so our adapted recipe makes more pasta — perfect for the amount of sauce.) And a recipe for a gorgeous Crosta di Mandorle — Almond Tart — has you roll out a 10-inch circle of dough that is not large enough to go up the 1-inch sides of the 9-inch tart pan it calls for. I rolled it out as thin as I could, but it fell apart, and I wound up pressing it into the pan, without a millimeter to spare. I baked it till the almonds were golden-brown, as instructed, but the filling wasn’t quite cooked through — which I didn’t learn till I served it.

But the wee glitches were far outnumber by the wild successes — like this Torta al Cioccolata, which might well be the best flourless chocolate cake I’ve ever made. It’s puffed when it comes out of the oven, and then it collapses (it’s supposed to), and the top forms a kind of crackly crust that contrasts wonderfully with the soft interior.

RECIPE: Torta al Cioccolata

For people who love to spend time playing with gorgeous produce, communing with pasta dough or meditatively simmering, Via Carota is a true gift — one that’s sure to inspire endless pleasurable time in kitchen and at table. As my grandma — who taught me to bake and to love literature — used to tell me, I envy you the pleasure of reading it for the first time.

We’re excited to dub it Cooks Without Borders’ first-ever Cookbook of the Year.

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'Masa' is a must-have cookbook for Mexican cooking aficionados and aspirants

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By Leslie Brenner

Masa: Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple, by Jorge Gaviria; photographs by Graydon Herriott, Chronicle Books, $35.

For those of us who are passionate about Mexican cooking — whether we are practicing it ourselves or enjoying the creations of chefs and other cooks — the ground has shifted in a very exciting way in the last couple of years. The appearance of heirloom corn, in the form of dried heirloom maíz (field corn kernels) for chefs, and heirloom masa harina (just-add-water masa dough flour) for home cooks, has changed everything.

The seismic shift was fomented and forged in large part by a behind-the-scenes hero: Jorge Gaviria. Now the Miami-born chef and entrepreneur has written a book about it all — Masa: Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple. Though the book is primarily directed at chefs, there’s also plenty in it that will captivate home cooks who are serious about Mexican cooking.

WATCH: “Masa and Heirloom Corn Culture with Olivia Lopez and Jorge Gaviria”

READ: “Next-wave masa: A forward-looking purveyor and passionate chefs bring heirloom corn from Mexico to their table and yours”

Masa is an important, encyclopedic work that provides a fascinating, complete history of masa, from its Mesoamerican roots all the way up to the present — what Gaviria refers to as the “third wave masa movement.” It’s a great foundation for understanding the basis and evolution of Mexican cooking.

Gaviria’s obsession with masa began in 2013, when he became entranced with the heirloom seed movement during an apprenticeship at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Dan Barber’s famed upstate New York restaurant. That led him to focus on heirloom corn and travel to Oaxaca. Building on Sin Maíz No Hay País (Without Corn There Is No Country, a grass-roots corn culture movement that had been established in Mexico six years earlier), Gaviria went on to create Masienda— a Los Angeles-based company devoted to heirloom maíz from Mexico. Masienda imports the dried heirloom kernels from small farms in Mexico and sells them to the chefs around the U.S. who nixtamalize it (simmering it with culinary lime) then grind them to make masa.

The resulting heirloom-corn masa is far more flavorful and aromatic — and much better for Indigenous farming communities and the earth — than masa made from the genetically modified commodity corn that during the previous century was the only game around. Fans of groundbreaking Mexican restaurants such as Enrique Olvera’s Cosme in New York and Carlos Salgado’s Taco María in Southern California (among others) have been treated to dishes fashioned from heirloom masa in the years since.

Tetelas made from blue, yellow and red heirloom masa harina

In 2019, Gaviria created and began marketing a game-changing piece of equipment: the Molinito. A miniature version of the mammoth industrial molinos (mills) used to grind masa in restaurants (and the freestanding masa shop/tortillerías all around Mexico), the Molinito suddenly made grinding masa much more accessible to independent start-up chefs and food entrepreneurs stateside without deep pockets or huge kitchens. That helped spark a nationwide heirloom masa movement of pop-ups and small kitchens that includes Brooklyn’s For All Things Good, the California Bay Area’s Bolito, Nashville’s Alebrije, Las Vegas’ Masazul, Houston’s Tatemó and Austin’s Nixta Taquería — whose chef Edgar Rico earned the James Beard Award this year for Emerging Chef. And of course Dallas’ Molino Olōyō, whose chef and co-owner Olivia Lopez is Cooks Without Borders’ Mexican Cuisine Expert.

For home cooks, Gaviria and Masienda also introduced an exciting innovation: masa harina made from the new/old heirloom-corn masa. In the past, the only widely available masa harina was made from that awful GMO commodity corn, whether the Maseca brand (developed and first marketed in 1949 in Nuevo Leon, Mexico) or other brands that came later.

Red, white and blue heirloom-corn masa harina from Masienda

How the book works

The first third of Masa consists mostly of a lengthy section, primarily directed to chefs, explaining how to make nixtamal, how to operate and maintain a molino or Molinito and how to grind masa.

Next comes “Contextualizing Masa.” Here we learn how to press and cook a tortilla, the starting point for many of the shapes that follow. Gaviria explains how to get “puff” — the sought-after effect when a perfectly made tortilla fills with air after being flipped on the comal (griddle). “The puff is to tortilla making what the crumb is to bread baking,” writes Gaviria.

A tortilla made using blue and yellow heirloom masa harina puffs on the comal.

A compendium of masa shapes

The heart of the book is a valuable guide to making 28 masa “shapes” — alphabetized from arepas to chochoyotes, memelas, quesadillas, tamales, tetelas and tlayudos. The shapes originate not only from Mexico; they also come from Central America, South America and even the United States (puffy taco!). For all of them, you can use masa made from masa harina (as well as fresh masa made from nixtamal).

Home cooks will need to be self-directed, figuring out fillings and toppings on their own; recipes for those aren’t included in the book. The 3-page entry on Tlacoyo, for instance, describes “A football-shaped or oval masa pocked, commonly filled with puréed beans, favas, or other pulses and topped with cheese, crema, salsa, and/or onions with cilantro . . . “ (You can find complete recipes, along with salsas and fillings, in Cooks Without Borders Mexican Cuisine Guide, and in other cookbooks.)

What we are given are tlacoyo’s roots (Mexico — Estado de México, Hidalgo, Pueblo); the format (“stuffer and topper”) and cooking method (“comal or fried”). Next comes practical information about mixing fat into the masa if you intend to freeze the tlacoyos, and then written instructions on shaping, filling and cooking the tlacoyo. Step-by-step photos (by Graydon Herriott) are excellent visual aids.

Ten chef recipes

The final short section, “Modern Masa Explorations,” is where you find the book’s only conventionally formatted (headnote, ingredient list, detailed instructions) recipes — 10 cross-cultural recipes from chefs. Among them are Blue Masa Sourdough Bread from Philippine-born Karlo Evaristo; Lamb Birria with Masa Gnocchi from Gerardo Gonzalez (Lalo, New York City); Shrimp and Masa Grits from Sean Brock (McCrady’s, Charleston, SC); and Masa Samosas from Saw Naing (Tallula’s, Santa Monica, CA).

The one I tested — White Chocolate Chip Cookies — came from Jess Stephens, who worked in the pastry program at Empellón in New York City.

Buttery and irresistible, with a bit of masa harina incorporated into the dough, they begin with white chocolate chips that are caramelized and melted in the oven, then hardened and broken into chunks — resulting in a flavor is so much more interesting than plain white chocolate.

Gaviria tells me he has begun work on developing a second book, one geared more directly for home cooks — which is great news.

Until then, his outstanding debut effort — which I highly recommend — gives us plenty to chew on.

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The season’s most exciting new cookbook titles will thrill the adventurous cooks on your holiday gift list

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By Leslie Brenner

A highly anticipated magnum opus on pasta from one of New York’s most respected chefs! An inspired and inspiring exploration of Black foodways curated by the chef-in-residence of San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora! A gorgeous culinary tour of Vietnam and beyond, filled with the recipes of the author’s grandmother! Cookbook fans on your holiday gift list this year are in for such incredible treats.

These are the new books I’m most excited to start cooking from — and reading — this season.

The eight titles described below have been published in the last four months.

Find all our cookbook reviews here, including 9 reviewed so far this year (with recipes!).

Support independent booksellers, authors and Cooks Without Borders — all at the same time — by purchasing your cookbook gifts this year through our shop at Bookshop. (Once you log in through our shop, any purchase you make there will earn us a commission.) Or, if it’s more convenient, purchase through our Amazon links, which also may earn us a (much smaller) commission.

Black Food

The inaugural volume from Bryant Terry’s new imprint at Ten Speed Press, 4 Color Books, will enthrall anyone interested in Black foodways. Terry edited and curated the collection, which includes photographs, collages, essays, poetry and (of course) recipes. “Without being overly prescriptive,” he writes in the intro, “I asked brilliant colleagues to offer dishes that embody their approach to cooking and draw on history and memory while looking forward.” Overall, the idea is to “promote a concept of food that embraces courage, commitment and self-discovery, and ultimately moves each of us to a better place.”

It’s a gorgeous, fascinating and beautiful book, with a trove of exciting stuff to explore.

Can’t wait to cook: Betty Vandy’s Potato Leaves with Eggplant and Butter Beans; BJ Dennis’ Okra & Shrimp Purloo; Adrian Lipscombe’s Collards with Pot Likker, Cornbread Dumplings & Green Tomato Chowchow; Nina Compton’s Lentil, Okra & Coconut Stew; Hawa Hassan’s Somali Lamb Stew; Sarah Kirnon’s Bajan Fish Cakes; Jenné Claiborne’s Nana’s Sweet Potato Pie; Edna Lewis’ Fresh Peach Cobbler with Nutmeg Sauce.

Black Food: Stories, Art & Recipes from Across the African Disapora, edited by Bryant Terry, 2021, 4 Color Books, $40.

Pasta: The Spirit and Craft of Italy’s Greatest Food, with Recipes

From James Beard Award-winning New York chef Missy Robbins (Lilia, Misi), this is the book all the Italo-phile chefs can’t wait to get their hands on. I’m afraid once I dive in, I’ll be sunk — pasta is my weakness, and the book’s pages are so mesmerizing, I can feel a fresh obsession coming on. How lovely to have such an inspiring guide!

Mouth is watering for: Mortadella and Ricotta-Filled Balanzoni with Brown Butter and Sage); Corzetti with Herbs and Pine Nuts; Pappardelle with Braised Rabbit Ragù; Stricchetti with Smashed Peas and Prosciutto, and so much more.

Pasta by Missy Robbins and Talia TBaiocchi; food photography by Kelly Puleio, location photography by Stephen Alessi, illustrations by Nick Hensley, 2021, Ten Speed Press, $40.

Treasures of the Mexican Table

Mexico City-born Pati Jinich traveled all throughout her native country’s 32 states to collect the recipes in this collection, subtitled “Classic Recipes, Local Secrets.” The PBS star worked on Treasures of the Mexican Table for more than a dozen years, and anyone who loves cooking Mexican food will want to give the work a permanent spot on their shelf, alongside the seminal volumes by Diana Kennedy and Enrique Olvera & Co. With enticing photos by Angie Moser, Treasures is an important, approachable and relatable trove of recipes that adds up to a rich and delicious panorama of contemporary Mexican cooking.

High on my list to cook: Potato and Poblano Sopes; Pinto Bean Soup with Masa Dumplings; Corn Soup with Queso Fresco; Vuelve a la Vida; Pescado Zarandeado; Pámpano en Salsa Verde; Chicken Mole with Mushrooms; Mole Poblano con Pollo; Tasajo; Cecina; Barbacoa de Borrego; Burnt Milk Ice Cream.

Treasures of the Mexican Table: Classic Recipes, Local Secrets, by Pati Jinich, photographs by Angie Mosier, 2021, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $35.

Middle Eastern Sweets

The elegant new book from Salma Hage — with enticing photographs by Liz and Max Haarala Hamilton — follows the success of Hage’s The Lebanese Kitchen, The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook and The Mezze Cookbook. Because I adore the Lebanese cookies known as ma’moul, the cover speaks loudly to me: I own a ma’moul mold (similar to the one at the bottom of the photo, meant for walnut-filled cookies), and I haven’t yet had the occasion to try my hand at them. I’m thinking Hage will be exactly the right teacher.

Also eager to make: Syrian Sesame & Pistachio Biscuits (Barazek); Pistachio Katmer; Moroccan Snack Cake (M’hanncha); Kunafa; Persian Marzipan Sweets (Toot); Orange & Pistachio Turkish Delight; Tahini & Pistachio Halva; Cardamom Ice Cream; Persian Saffron & Rose Water Ice Cream (Bastani); Lebanese Tea Loaf; Sweet Tahini Swirls.

Middle Eastern Sweets: Desserts, Pastries, Creams & Treats by Salma Hage, Photographs by Liz and Max Haarala Hamilton, illustrations by Marwan Kaabour, 2021, Phaidon, $35.

Tasting Vietnam

I love recipe collections that set the cuisine they cover in immersive context, and that’s the idea of this engaging family-memoir-meets-cookbook from Anne-Solenne Hatte. The book collects the recipes of Hatte’s maternal grandmother, Bà Ngoại, who grew up in the rice paddies near Hanoi, married a man who was President Ngo Đinh Diệm’s right-hand man, and lived her long life on three continents. Originally published in French in 2019 as La Cuisine de Bà, the book is part of a Rizzoli series for which Alain Ducasse is Collection Director.

Hungry to try: Bánh Bèo (Steamed Rice and Shrimp Cakes); Thịt Heo Kho (Caramelized Pork Belly with Eggs); Canh Rau Cải (Mustard Greens Soup); Đồ Chua (Pickled Eggplant, Carrots, Turnips and Mustard Greens); Bán Xèo; Nộm Hoa Chuối (Banana Blossom Salad with Passion Fruit).

Tasting Vietnam: Flavors and Memories from my Grandmother’s Kitchen by Anne-Solenne Hatte, from the recipe collections of Bà Ngoại, 2021, Rizzoli, $37.50.

Liguria: The Cookbook

Author Laurel Evans, a native Texan, moved to Italy more than fifteen years ago with her then-boyfriend, now-husband, Emilio Scoti, and promptly fell in love with his native Liguria — and everything about it. Based in Milan, with Emilio’s seaside hometown Moneglia as a summer getaway and winter refuge, Evans immersed herself in the region’s cooking. Scoti’s mother and his two aunts (“le nonne”) were Evans’ kitchen mentors. All the while, she blogged in Italian about American cooking, and published a couple of cookbooks along the way, with Scoti serving as photographer. The marvelous photos in this book are his.

Recipes flagged with Post-Its: Salvia Fritta (Fried Sage Leaves); Corzetti (Ligurian Stamped Pasta — note to self: order wooden stamp!); Pesto Traditionale (yes, Genoa, birthplace of pesto, is in Liguria); Trenette al Pesto con Fagiolini e Patate; Minestrone alla Genovese; Branzino alla Ligure; Ripieni di Verdura; Fiori di Zucca Ripieni.

Liguria: the cookbook: Recipes from the italian riviera by laurel evans, photographs by Emilio Scoti, 2021, Rizzoli, $45.

Flavors of the Sun

If you’ve ever lived in Brooklyn — or visited Brooklynites who love to cook or eat — you know all about Sahadi’s. The wonderful, sprawling emporium of olives, hummus, dried fruits, nuts, spices and every Mediterranean/Levantine ingredient or prepared food you could ever want, has been there on Atlantic Avenue since time immemorial. Written by Christine Sahadi Whelan — a fourth-generation co-owner — this bright and cheerful book includes recipes for the prepared foods that are Sahadi’s best-sellers, as well as others Whelan developed to please the palates of her young adult children, “who like almost everything better with a jolt of za’atar or harissa.”

Want to make: Turmeric-Pickled Cauliflower; Pomegranate-Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese; Whipped Feta Spread; Antipasto Salad; Za’atar-Roasted Vegetables; Fiery Berbere Shrimp; Red Lentil Soup; Spicy Escarole and Beans; Berbere-Spiced Chicken Thighs; Mohammara.

Flavors of the sun: The Sahadi’s guide to Understanding, Buying, and Using Middle Eastern Ingredients by Christine Sahadi Whelan, 2021, Chronicle Books, $35.

The Italian Bakery

From the authors of The Silver Spoon — the influential, encyclopedic Italian cookbook — this comprehensive guide to Italian desserts (baked and otherwise) includes 50 basic recipes that form the building blocks of Italian pastry and sweets and 90 other recipes besides. Accompanying the building blocks are step-by-step photos. Serious bakers and anyone who loves Italian dolci will want this in their collection.

Let me at ‘em: “Zeppole” — Italian Donuts; Poppy Seed and Cardamom Cake; Citrus and Saffron Semifreddo; Frozen Sabayon with Limoncello; Chocolate Frangipane Tart with Spiced Pears; Tartlets with Pine Nuts and Chocolate Cream; Peanut, Caramel and Chocolate Squares.

THE ITALIAN BAKER by the silver spoon 2021, Phaidon, $49.95.

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Cookbooks We Love: ‘Tu Casa Mi Casa,’ from Enrique Olvera and co., is the Mexican cooking primer you need

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‘Tu Casa Mi Casa: Mexican Recipes for the Home Cook’ by Enrique Olvera, Luis Arellano, Gonzalo Goût and Daniela Soto-Innes. With plenty of easy recipes that really work, it’s strong on explaining technique and ingredients.

By Leslie Brenner

TU CASA MI CASA: MEXICAN RECIPES FOR THE HOME COOK, BY Enrique Olvera, Luis Arellano, Gonzalo Goût and Daniela Soto-Innes, Photographs by Araceli Paz, 2019, Phaidon, $39.95.

Backgrounder

Anyone who’s a fan of contemporary Mexican cooking knows that Enrique Olvera is its most famous chef, with restaurants including Pujol, Ticuchi and Eno (Mexico City), Criollo (Oaxaca), Cosme and ATLA (New York City), Damian (Los Angeles), Manta (Cabo San Lucas) and others. He’s also widely considered to be one of the most outstanding chefs in the world. A counterbalance to his gorgeous 2015 coffee-table chef book, Mexico from the Inside Out (also published by Phaidon), this flexibound book is aimed toward home cooks. Olvera’s coauthors are involved in some of his highest profile restaurants. Luis Arellano was the opening chef at Criollo , and has served as creative director at the flagship, Pujol. Gonzolo Goût, who specializes in researching Mexican food cultures and worked on both books, was opening general manager of Cosme, and is Olvera’s partner at Ticuchi. Daniela Soto-Innes is chef-partner of Cosme and ATLA.

Why we love it

Tu Casa Mi Casa is delightfully approachable and useful, filled with easy, often quickly made recipes that even beginning cooks can make any night of the week. Cooking from it, you have the impression this is how the world’s most accomplished and talented Mexican chefs would put together laid-back dinners at home; it charmingly conveys how people in Mexico really cook and eat at home.

I found three such recipes I love in a chapter called “Weekday Meals.”

I’d been looking for ages for a worthwhile version of tinga de pollo (chicken tinga), usually put off by how seemingly too simple the recipes were. Tu Casa’s headnote explains why: “The first recipe any Mexican will cook as soon as they move out of their parents’ home and live on their own is chicken tinga.”

Chicken tinga overhead.JPG

Made from ingredients you can get at any supermarket, Tu Casa’s version is delicious.

To achieve it, poach a chicken breast in salted water with white onion and garlic, shred the meat, add it to sautéed sliced onion and garlic, along with chipotle chiles chopped to a paste, lots of roughly chopped plum tomatoes and some of the chicken’s poaching liquid, then cook about 10 minutes, till the tomatoes break down. That’s it.

We had it both ways suggested in the headnote: The first night we loved it served on rice with tortillas; Next day for lunch, I cooked down the leftover tinga a bit to thicken it, then used it make chicken tinga tostadas. To make them, I layered corn tortillas dried for an hour in a low (200 degree F.) oven with shredded lettuce, the tinga, crumbled queso fresco, a drizzle of crema and a spoonful of Raw Salsa Verde. I’ll make these again and again.

Chicken tinga tostada with queso fresco, crema and raw salsa verde — what a lunch!

Chicken tinga tostada with queso fresco, crema and raw salsa verde — what a lunch!

Another weekday recipe — fish fillets wrapped in banana leaves with citrus and herbs then baked — was equally simple, but impressive enough for a dinner party.

Banana-Leaf Fish from ‘Tu Casa Mi Casa’ by Enrique Olvera, Luis Arellano, Gonzalo Goût and Daniela Soto-Innes.

Banana-Leaf Fish from ‘Tu Casa Mi Casa’ by Enrique Olvera, Luis Arellano, Gonzalo Goût and Daniela Soto-Innes.

In making the dish, you learn how to make a banana leaf square pliable enough to fold (hold it over an open flame a few seconds till it blushes emerald green), and how to fold it around the fish, herbs and citrus tamal-style. (We give you the step-by-step in our adaptation of the recipe.)

I also enjoyed a simple dish of Calabacitas a la Mexicana — Mexican-style summer squash — that vegans will love.

Calabacitas lede.jpg

Its headnote explains that the dish is “one of the most classic expressions” of the mexicana style, which it defines:

“A la Mexicana — a preparation with tomatoes (red), onions (white) and serrano chiles (green) — gets its name from the colors of our flag.”

For more experienced cooks and those who want to dive deeper into the cuisine, Tu Casa Mi Casa is super strong on technique — explaining how to judge when masa is the right consistency for tortillas or tamales; how to season and maintain a clay comal; how to press and cook a tortilla or tlayuda, fold a tetela and shape a tlacoyo. It runs down how to cook beans and explains how make requesón (fresh cheese). It lays out the different types of salsas, gives basic recipes and explains how to use them and riff on them.

The salsa verde, which I used on the chicken tinga tostada, is so simple you don’t need a formal recipe: Put 5 large tomatillos (husked, washed, quartered), a quarter of a large white onion, 1 or 2 seeded serrano chiles, a charred then peeled garlic clove, and half cup of chopped cilantro in a blender or food processor with salt to taste and blitz.

‘Tu Casa Mi Casa’ aguachile, with halibut swapped out for the hamachi

‘Tu Casa Mi Casa’ aguachile, with halibut swapped out for the hamachi

Still wanna make

I loved an aguachile with charred corn and avocado, but couldn’t get the hamachi the recipe called for so used halibut, will try that again with hamachi. High on my list of dishes to try: Cream of Squash Blossom Soup (Sopa de Flor de Calabaza); Cactus Salad (Ensalada de Nopal); Seafood Cocktail (Vuelve a la Vida); Raw Fluke with Salsa Macha; Broccoli Tamales; Chiles Rellenos (those beautiful ones shown on the cover); Barbacoa; Sweet Corn Tamales; Mexican Chocolate Ice Pops (Paletas Heladas de Chocolate); Cashew Horchata. That’s a lot of still-wanna-makes!

One tiny wish, if there’s ever a new edition

Buried on the very last page, in a tiny “recipe note,” is one that says “All chiles should be destemmed, seeded and deveined unless otherwise specified.” Would be much more useful to have that up front.

And I very much hope there is a new edition because it was first published in the spring of 2019, only months before Masienda began selling masa harina made from heirloom corn. Now that this fabulous masa harina is easy to purchase, I’d love to see how the authors — who played an important role in the founding of Masienda — would incorporate the ingredient.

In any case, I can’t recommend this book more highly. It belongs on the bookshelf of anyone interested in Mexican cooking, whether a dabbling beginner or an experienced chef.

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Cookbook Review: Roxana Jullapat's 'Mother Grains' has all the makings of a new classic

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‘Mother Grains: Recipes for the Grain Revolution,’ by Roxana Jullapat. Jullapat is the renowned baker and co-owner of Friends & Family in Los Angeles.

By Leslie Brenner

Mother Grains: Recipes for the Grain Revolution, by Roxana Jullapat; photography by Kristin Teig, 2021, W. W. Norton & Company, $40.

As we begin to break through to the liberation side of The Great Confinement, finding the silver linings of what we’re leaving behind feels like a sunny way to try to make sense of the world and what we’ve been through.

One of those silver linings is that as a society, we seem more able to take some control of our food choices, and we are moving on from long-held assumptions about the foods available to us. Sourdough obsession illustrates that in microcosm. People couldn’t get great bread. They dove in, devoted themselves to the science and feeding of sourdough, to the baking of bread, and figured it out. It has been transformative for many.

Related to that phenomenon is a new interest in grains: where they come from (geographically and historically), who farms them, how they’re milled and how supporting, purchasing, baking or cooking with and eating them can improve lives all around and in many ways.

I’m not a frequent bread baker, but when I do make my occasional no-knead, Dutch-oven number, it is always whole grain. During pandemic I became hooked on the heritage flours offered by a local(ish) miller, Barton Springs Mill. Outside of baking, I also became obsessed with the heirloom corn sold by Masienda, the Los Angeles-based purveyor that sources its dried corn (and masa harina made from it) from small-scale farms in Mexico. That has been life-changing for me, as I no longer have to settle for tortillas made from commodity corn and bread made from commodity flour. The flavors and textures I’m enjoying are so much better — as is the way I feel about supporting the farmers and millers who make it all possible.

Both Barton Springs Mill and Masienda are part of a larger “grain revolution” — which is the subject of Roxana Jullapat’s outstanding new cookbook, Mother Grains.

Spelt Blueberry Muffins with streusel topping, from Roxana Jullapat’s ‘Mother Grains.’

Spelt Blueberry Muffins with streusel topping, from Roxana Jullapat’s ‘Mother Grains.’

Jullapat, the renowned baker and co-owner of Friends & Family in Los Angeles, became inspired by the grain farmers and small mills whose products she worked with back when she and her husband, chef Daniel Mattern, had a restaurant called Cooks County (it opened in 2011). “I began using whole grains in our breads and pastries and, for the first time, paid attention to how these new ingredients could transform the way I baked,” she writes in the introduction.

Born in Orange County, CA to immigrant parents — a Thai mother and Costa Rican father — Jullapat lost her mother when she was just two years old; her father moved the family to Costa Rica and remarried. She grew up there, then studied journalism in college, contemplated grad school after getting her degree, but wound up returning to California and attending the Southern California School of Culinary Arts. There she met Mattern, and they both wound up working at Campanile, Nancy Silverton and Mark Peel’s celebrated restaurant. Jullapat went on to serve as pastry chef at two other wonderful restaurants — Lucques and A.O.C. (Mattern was chef de cuisine at A.O.C.)

After she and Mattern closed Cooks County in 2015, Jullapat took two years to experiment with heirloom grains from all over the United States and around the world — and to travel. “I went to Bhutan,” she writes, “where I tasted Himalayan crepes thin and thick and sampled earthy Bhutanese red rice. Then I headed to Turkey, where whole ancient wheat berries are common in savory dishes . . . . Back in Costa Rica, I discovered heirloom blue corn grown organically in the northern region of Nicoya.” Between trips, she visited Southern California farms that were leading the local grain movement.

The book offers a wealth of knowledge about the eight ancient “mother grains” that inspired the title: barley; buckwheat; corn; oats; rice; rye; sorghum and wheat. Did you know that rye is a newer grain — only 2,000 or 3,000 years old — and that it originated in Anatolia, near modern-day Turkey? That it thrives in cold, damp climates, which is why it’s ubiquitous in Scandinavia, Russia and Eastern Europe? Or that buckwheat is a pseudograin, like quinoa, which means it comes not from a grass but from a leafy, flowering bush?

Did you know that flour — especially whole-grain flour — is perishable, and that purchasing from artisan mills or local distributors is a great way to ensure freshness?

Spelt, I learned from the book, is probably the best-known “ancient” wheat, the one Jullapat considers a “gateway” for bakers starting to explore ancient grains. (Other ancient wheats are einkorn, emmer, also known as farro, khorasan wheat and durum.)

Want to discover spelt’s charms? Treat yourself to Jullapat’s Spelt Blueberry Muffins. I did, and they turned out to be far-and-away the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever tasted.

In fact, Jullapat’s recipes are generally spectacular — which is why I think her book deserves to become a classic. I’ve marked dozens of pages of recipes I want to try, and nearly all of the seven I’ve made so far have been exceptional.

The Macadamia Brown Butter Blondies that Jullapat has baked “every day since opening Friends & Family opened in 2017” are a case in point. Brown butter and barley flour give them a wonderful depth, but don’t worry — they’re rich and decadent enough to charm all comers, including kids.

Macadamia Brown Butter Blondies, from ‘Mother Grains’ by Roxana Jullapat. Jullapat writes that she has baked them ‘every day since opening Friends & Family in 2017.’

Macadamia Brown Butter Blondies, from ‘Mother Grains’ by Roxana Jullapat. Jullapat writes that she has baked them ‘every day since opening Friends & Family in 2017.’

They’re baked in a round cake pan, “ensuring that each piece has a chewy, toasted exterior and a soft center.” Jullapat points out that because they’re so easy to make, they keep for a few days and they travel well, “they’re an ideal homemade gift you can ship to friends and family all over the country.”

Not all the recipes are sweet. In fact one of my favorites is a savory: Buckwheat Blini with Dungeness Crab Salad.

Blini, as you may or may not know, are leavened pancakes that are traditional in Russia. There, they’re topped with sour cream or melted butter and treats like smoked salmon, whitefish, herring or caviar. According to Anya von Bremzen, author of Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking, blini are saucer-sized, “never cocktail-sized, and these days people prefer wheat to the archaic buckwheat.”

That’s fodder for another story, one about blini culture. In any case, I so loved the archaic buckwheat mini-blini in Jullapat’s book that I’ve made them twice in two weeks. Or maybe we could say four times: Her recipe makes enough batter for about 3 dozen blini, and both times I made them, I saved some of the batter to cook blini the following day. They’re so good — and so much fun to make — that I’m contemplating making them again tomorrow.

On the subject of the topping, Jullapat suggests that if you’re not a West Coaster, and don’t have access to Dungeness crab, using whatever is locally available. I used defrosted frozen lump blue crab, and that was fine, but I know it would be spectacular with Dungeness. I have also topped these with a smear of crème fraîche and a bit of smoked salmon or smoked trout, a squeeze of lemon and a sprig of dill or snip of chive. So good.

Buckwheat blini with crab salad, avocado and dill, from Roxana Jullapat’s ‘Mother Grains’

Buckwheat blini with crab salad, avocado and dill, from Roxana Jullapat’s ‘Mother Grains’

We do need to end with a sweet though, and Mother Grains’ Chocolate Dynamite Cookies are winners. Called “dynamite” because of Jullapat’s observation that they elicit explosively positive reactions in those who try them, the fudgy, brownie-like cookies are wheat-free (made with dark rye flour) and completely whole grain. Pretty astonishing for something that tastes so indulgent. Jullapat promises that if you make them, you’ll be invited to “every potluck, picnic and dinner party.” I’m sure she’s right!

Chocolate Dynamite overhead.jpg

I did have a small problem with them the first time I baked them, though I can’t exactly say that it’s the recipe’s fault. The cookies turned out as wonderfully as promised, but I lost my favorite Oxo mixing bowl in the process, thanks to some quirk of physics in which a vacuum was created by the chocolate-melting set-up Jullapat prescribed. I had to throw away that bowl and the pot to which it became permanently and irrevocably adhered. My adaptation won’t get you into that quandary, because I tweaked the melting method, substituting one favored by chocolate expert Alice Medrich.

I also tweaked the mixing instructions for cooks who, like me, do not own a stand mixer, but have a hand-held mixer instead.

Which brings me to the one small wish I have for the book. Because I’d like it to stay in print forever — finding a wide audience and passionate fans — I’m hoping that a future edition will get a fresh round of closer editing than it got the first time around. Among the 7 recipes I tested, nearly all lacked helpful info — particularly about what size bowls to use for various tasks — requiring more guesswork and/or extra dishes to wash than is ideal in a classic cookbook.

There is also a significant error in the book — of the sort an attentive editor or copy editor should have caught. A recipe for Vegan Pozole Verde calls for “2 cups, or 170 g.” of dried hominy. In my kitchen, 2 cups of dried hominy weighs more like 300 g., while 170 grams is 1 generous cup. I prepared the pozole using 170 g. rather than 2 cups, which was the right guess.

In any case, these are small flaws, easy to fix on the next go-round, should that come to pass. The important thing is Mother Grains is a wonderful book, one whose surface I have barely scratched. There are so many more things I want to try: Nectarine and Blackberry Crisp made with rolled oats. Grapple (grape and apple) Pie made with Sonora Wheat Pie Dough. Semolina Cookies with Fennel Pollen. Oatmeal Date Cookies. Crepes Suzette with Blood Orange and Mascarpone.

I could go on and on.

Want in on the deliciousness? Try one or more of the recipes we’ve adapted here at CWB. If you love them as much as we do you’ll want to buy Mother Grains lickety-split.

But wait; there’s more! You’re invited to join us as we host Roxana Jullapat, along with our favorite artisan miller, David Kaisel — founder of Capay Mills in Northern California — at a live video event, part of our new Cooks Without Borders Makers, Shakers and Mavens Q & A series. Attendance is free (limited to 100 people), and we know you’ll want to be there with your questions for Jullapat and Kaisel.

Cooks Without Borders Makers, Shakers and Mavens: The Grain Revolution with Roxana Jullapat and David Kaisel
Thursday, May 27, 3 p.m. PST, 5 p.m. CST, 6 p.m. EST

Sign up now to reserve your spot!

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Author Andrea Nguyen brings unforgettable Vietnamese flavor into every home cook's wheelhouse

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‘Vietnamese Food Any Day’ by Andrea Nguyen

‘Vietnamese Food Any Day’ by Andrea Nguyen

By Leslie Brenner

Editor’s note: Women have a history of writing the best cookbooks. That’s why throughout March — Women’s History Month (and maybe even into April!) — we’ll be featuring cookbooks by our favorite female authors.

Over the past year, I’ve been working on developing a few Vietnamese-inspired recipes with the invaluable help and guidance of my dear friend An-My Lê — Cooks Without Borders’ Vietnamese cooking advisor. I want to get them just right, so I’ve been moving slower than I meant to on them; they will be coming sooner than later, I hope!

A brilliant photographer by profession, An-My happens to be one of the best cooks I know — in many idioms, including French (as well as Vietnamese). When I asked her some months ago to recommend the best Vietnamese cookbooks for home cooks, she didn’t hesitate. Andrea Nguyen’s books, she said, along with Charles Phan’s Vietnamese Home Cooking.

Author Andrea Nguyen / Photograph by Aubrey Pick

Author Andrea Nguyen / Photograph by Aubrey Pick

An-My is not alone in her opinion, obviously; Nguyen’s work has been honored with many prestigious awards, including a James Beard Cookbook Award for The Pho Cookbook and an IACP Cookbook Award for Unforgettable: The Bold Flavors of Paula Wolfert’s Renegade Life, which she edited.

Nguyen, who lives in Northern California and describes herself as “a bank examiner gone astray,” has published five other books as well, including Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, Asian Dumplings, Asian Tofu and The Banh Mi Handbook, as well as her most recent, Vietnamese Food Any Day, with which I’m currently obsessed. One of the dishes in that last title — a rice-noodle salad number — was a dream-bowl for us last summer.

Happily for her fans (me included), she also has a fabulous blog — Viet World Kitchen — where you can find a wealth of delicious stories, videos and recipes.

I’d recommend Vietnamese Food Any Day for anyone wanting to dive into Vietnamese cooking, whether you’re a newbie or have lots of experience. The book is wonderful for teaching us how to bring the Vietnamese spirit and style of cooking and eating into our American home kitchens, starting with what to keep on hand — including brands: Red Boat or Three Crabs fish sauce! Three Ladies rice paper and jasmine rice!. But Nguyen has a great palate and delightful creative flair, with plenty to offer even someone like An-My (who can make spectacular bánh xèo with her eyes closed).

Nguyen’s parchment parcels of fish baked with ginger, garlic, baby bok choy and scallions is a great example — a quick and easy dish that’s as appropriate for a weeknight dinner as it is for a special evening (post-vaccine reunion?!) with friends when you want to really celebrate.

Halibut and baby bok choy with ginger, garlic and scallions roasted in parchment, from Andrea Nguyen’s ‘Vietnamese Food Any Day’

Halibut and baby bok choy with ginger, garlic and scallions roasted in parchment, from Andrea Nguyen’s ‘Vietnamese Food Any Day’

It’s just the thing to keep in mind to as we come into halibut season. It’s so damn easy to overcook or otherwise ruin halibut (which is expensive!), and this foolproof method gives you an impressive, fabulous slam-dunk. Let your guests or family tear open the parcels at the table, and they’ll find fish that’s gorgeously silky throughout, absolutely elegant, bathed in umami-rich and gingery-bright sauce that melds marvelously with the bok choy. I can’t recommend the recipe highly enough. It’s a great example of why you need this book.

Want something fancy to start that’s also easier than it might seem?

Mushroom pâté puffs from Andrea Nguyen’s ‘Vietnamese Food Any Day’

Mushroom pâté puffs from Andrea Nguyen’s ‘Vietnamese Food Any Day’

I’m a sucker for puff pastry, especially the all-butter frozen, buy-it-at-the-supermarket variety, and Nguyen’s Mushroom Pâté Puffs take full advantage. Their filling is a simple yet perfect mix of rehydrated dried shiitakes, white button mushrooms, shallots, butter and thyme. Nguyen’s recipe, which yields about 30, is meant to serve 8 to 10, but unless you are far more restrained, reasonable and mature than the four of us still-sequestered together (though not for long!), you will devour them like some insane, puff-pastry-starved maniacs. I shouldn’t be admitting this, but just want you to know how good they are.

On tap, for the very near future, I have bookmarked recipes for Baked Shrimp and Celery Toasts; Grilled Trout Rice Paper Rolls; Shaking Tofu; and Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chops.

All of which is to say many thanks, Andrea Nguyen, for improving the quality of our lives.

Looking for a new cookbook to make your spring and summer light, elegant and delicious? Look no further.

RECIPE: Andrea Nguyen’s Ginger Halibut Parcels

RECIPE: Andrea Nguyen’s Mushroom Pâté Puffs

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Author Najmieh Batmanglij is the revered ‘goddess of Iranian cooking'

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Food of Life lede.jpg

By Leslie Brenner

Editor’s note: Women have a history of writing the best cookbooks. That’s why throughout March — Women’s History Month — we’ll be featuring cookbooks by our favorite female authors.

The Washington Post called her “the grande dame of Iranian cooking.” Yotam Ottolenghi called her its “goddess.” Super-chef José Andrés has called her “a wonderful guide to the Persian kitchen.”

We’re talking, of course, about Najmieh Batmanglij — the author of seven books, including Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies; Joon: Persian Cooking Made Simple; Cooking in Iran: Regional Recipes and Kitchen Secrets and other titles.

I’m embarrassed to say that Batmanglij’s wisdom only came into my life last year, when I started exploring Persian cooking in earnest. Food of Life — the magnum opus that she first published in 1986, revised for a 2020 25th-anniversary edition and is once again updating — is a great place to begin, if you want to explore this magnificent cuisine.

Sabzi polow — rice with fresh herbs — prepared from Najmieh Batmanglij’s ‘Food of Life’

Sabzi polow — rice with fresh herbs — prepared from Najmieh Batmanglij’s ‘Food of Life’

Some of my happiest memories of annus horribilus 2020 involved Food for Life. For my late-September birthday, a masked celebration in the backyard of dear friends, my son Wylie and his girlfriend Nathalie prepared (at my request) an elaborate, insanely delicious rice dish from the book: Sabzi Polow,* Rice with Fresh Herbs. There are a full seven cups of fresh chopped herbs in the dish: dill, chives, parsley and cilantro, and it sports a crisp tah-dig crust. (Once I prepare it myself — soon! I’ll be sure to write about it.)

Persian Chicken soup lede 2.jpg

A couple months later, I spent a luxurious afternoon preparing abgusht-e morgh ba kufteh-ye nokhodchi — Persian chicken soup with chickpea-and-lamb meatballs. The aromas of dried rose petals, cardamom, saffron and fresh herbs lifted my spirits and transported me to another time and place.

The book has been on my mind lately because Nowruz — Persian New Year — begins this coming Saturday, the first day of spring. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with Batmanglij’s Fresh Herb Kuku, which is traditional for the holiday. It’s like a Persian frittata packed with dill, parsley, cilantro and spring onions, beautifully spiced (more rose petals!) and garnished with quick-confited barberries.

[If you’re cooking with kids this weekend, consider quick-ordering Batmanglij’s Happy Nowruz: Cooking with Children to Celebrate the Persian New Year.]

Fresh Herb Kuku.jpg

Najmieh’s other six books are all on my wish-list(Joon is at the top.)

Still if I had to choose only one cookbook to cook from for the rest of my life, I would seriously consider Food of Life. The 330-recipe volume has enough delicious culture in its 640 pages to keep me delighted cooking and discovering Iran for a long time.

RECIPE: Najmieh’s Fresh Herb Kuku

RECIPE: Persian Chicken Soup with Chickpea and Lamb Meatballs

Related story: “Take a moment to honor 98 year-old Diana Kennedy, the “Queen of Mexican regional cooking”

Related story: “Outstanding cookbook author Toni Tipton-Martin puts history at the center of the American table”

Related story: “Dorie Greenspan knocks it out of the kitchen with books about baking and French cooking”

*The dish is the vegetarian variation of Sabzi Polow Ba Mahi — Rice with Fresh Herbs and Fish. We dropped the fish as the dish was meant to accompany delicious lamb kebabs my friends grilled outside on the Weber.

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Cookbooks We Love: 'Ottolenghi Simple' is one of the most inspired — and inspiring — cookbooks in a decade

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‘Ottolenghi Simple,’ by Yotam Ottolenghi with Tara Wigley and Esme Howarth

By Leslie Brenner

Ottolenghi Simple, by Yotam Ottolenghi with Tara Wigley and Esme Howarth, photographs by Jonathan Lovekin, 2018, Ten Speed Press, $35.

Backgrounder: Unless you’ve been cooking under a rock for the last decade (or only started cooking recently), you probably know who Yotam Ottolenghi is. The London-based, Israeli-born chef probably has had greater influence than any other in the world on contemporary American (and other Anglophone) cooking in the last decade. His kind of free-form, casual, herb-strewn, plant-based (whether vegetarian or vegan or not), sun-kissed, Mediterranean-inflected aesthetic informs the creative endeavors of cooking writers, chefs and recipe developers for mainstream generalist sites like New York Times Cooking or Washington Post Voraciously, as well as a generation of cooking bloggers, restaurant chefs and Instagram posters. If formal, carefully arranged, tweezer-food plates feel out-of-date, it is largely thanks to Ottolenghi.

Ottolenghi’s first title, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook — co-written with his business partner, chef Sami Tamimi, was published in Britain in 2008, followed by Plenty (2010); Jerusalem (2012, again with Tamimi); Plenty More (2014); Nopi (2014, with Ramael Scully); Sweet (2017, with Helen Goh); Ottolenghi Simple (2018, with Tara Wigley and Esme Howarth); and Ottolenghi Flavour (or Flavor, for the U.S. edition, 2020, with Ixta Belfrage and Tara Wigley).

Puy lentils with eggplant, tomatoes and yogurt from ‘Ottolenghi Simple’

Puy lentils with eggplant, tomatoes and yogurt from ‘Ottolenghi Simple’

Why we love it

Simple may not be as exciting or groundbreaking as Plenty or Jerusalem were when they were published (they are still two of my favorite cookbooks), but it is packed with an astounding number of recipes we want to cook over and over again, as well as recipes we can’t wait to try. As with his other books, the recipes work; rarely is there anything about them I’d change or tweak. Yet unlike many of his other books, these recipes are do-able by ordinary cooks who don’t want to chase down a long list of obscure ingredients or start preparing sub-recipes the day before you want to eat.

Most are designed to be simple enough so that you can achieve them on a busy weeknight — which is a big part of why the book is so incredibly appealing. It’s a book for the way so many of us want to eat — we want dishes that are delicious, plant-forward, interesting, healthful, satisfying and unfussy, and that’s what this book delivers, over and over again. If you keep a few key ingredients in your pantry (things the author calls “Ottolenghi Ingredients” — sumac, tahini, preserved lemon, black garlic and za’atar, to name half of them), plus staples like yogurt and green lentils and basic seasonal produce, you can often pull together these dishes without making a special shopping trip. Other times, there’s an easy swap you can make, if, for instance, you don’t have the suggested herb.

Two cases in point

Puy Lentils with Eggplant, Tomatoes and Yogurt (pictured above) is fabulous garnished with the fresh oregano leaves it calls for, but I’ve also subbed in parsley, mint or cilantro when I didn’t have any oregano, to delicious effect. I’m sure basil would be great as well.

Chickpeas and Swiss Chard.jpg

And for a dish of Chickpeas and Swiss Chard with Yogurt, Ottolenghi grants permission in the headnote to leave off his suggested cilantro garnish should you find yourself without. The night I made it — entirely pulled together from stuff I had on hand — parsley and mint did the trick perfectly. The dish is the kind of satisfying and interesting main course I’m always wishing for on days when I want to do without meat. That night, I happened to whip it together to go with a dish my son Wylie had spotted and was making also from Simple — Lamb and Pistachio Patties with Sumac Yogurt Sauce. Both were wonderful.

Brussels sprouts with browned butter and black garlic, prepared from a recipe in ‘Ottolenghi Simple’ by Yotam Ottolenghi.

You’ve gotta try this

Brussels Sprouts with Browned Butter and Black Garlic. When I spotted packages of black garlic (intensely umami-forward fermented garlic) at my supermarket a few weeks ago, I grabbed one; it lasts for two or three months unopened. Then, the other day when I was trying to imagine how not to be bored by the pound of Brussels sprouts I’d envisioned for that evening, I found this exciting-looking recipe in Simple. Fortunately I happened to have some pumpkin seeds and caraway seeds (of course those are easy to find). The dish was brilliantly quick to prepare: a 10-minute roast in a blazing oven, followed by a toss with browned butter and a quickly made paste of black garlic, caraway seeds and thyme. A big squirt of lemon juice, a drizzle of tahini and dinner is served. It was insanely good.

Maybe you’ve already tried this — Stuffed Zucchini with Pine Nut Salsa. We wrote about it last summer in a story about zucchini. I’ve also made and loved more dishes than I could fit in this story: Cucumber and Lamb’s Lettuce Salad; a mezze spread called Crushed Zucchini; Roasted Eggplant with Anchovies and Oregano.

On a sweet note

I wanted to try one of the twelve great-looking desserts in the book, but for every one I was missing an ingredient. (I’ve been snowed in for four days!). I baked a Blueberry, Almond and Lemon Cake from the book anyway, subbing in a bag of frozen wild blueberries and I had for the fresh ones. It was a treat, but I think it’ll be even better with fresh berries, as the frozen ones were a bit dull. Stay tuned for an update once the ice melts. Come summer, I’ll be excited to make his Plum, Blackberry and Bay Friand (a friand is a light almond cake that the headnote tells us is popular in Australia, New Zealand and France).

Also still wanna cook

Most of the book! The minute it’s asparagus season, I’ll make Roasted Asparagus with Almonds, Capers and Dill. And I covet Cavolo Nero with Chorizo and Preserved Lemon; Cauliflower, Pomegranate and Pistachio Salad; Roasted Baby Carrots with Harissa and Pomegranate; Roasted Beets with Yogurt and Preserved Lemon; Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato and Marinated Feta; Pasta with Pecorino and Pistachios; and Lamb Siniyah — “the Middle Eastern equivalent of a shepherd’s pie, with a tahini crust standing in for the layer of mashed potato.”

Do yourself a favor. If you don’t have this book, and these are the kind of dishes that appeal to you, treat yourself to a copy today. Flavor has been getting lots of great press — and it’s a good book — but the recipes don’t scream “cook me” (in my ear, anyway!) as loudly as they do in Simple.

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Cookbooks We Love: Exploring Chinese cooking? ‘Every Grain of Rice’ is the first book you should buy

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‘Every Grain of Rice’ by Fuchsia Dunlop

Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking, by Fuchsia Dunlop, photographs by Chris Terry, 2012, W.W. Norton & Co., $35.

Backgrounder: If you think a British woman shouldn’t be writing Chinese cookbooks, you haven’t read — or cooked from — Fuchsia Dunlop’s books. Dunlop was the first Westerner to train as a chef at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine in Central China; she’s fluent in Mandarin and has traveled, eaten and cooked all over China. Cambridge-educated, she has been called the best writer in the West on Chinese food. “The recipes in this book are a tribute to China’s rich tradition of frugal, healthy and delicious home cooking,” Dunlop writes in the introduction. “They include meat, poultry and fish dishes, but this is primarily a book about how to make vegetables taste divine with very little expense or effort, and how to make a little meat go a long way.”

Why we love it: Dunlop has a fabulous palate, and though the recipes in this book are generally simple — it is, after all, about home cooking — everything I’ve cooked from it has been nuanced and gorgeous-flavored, as well as beautiful to behold. Hers is a finely tuned and delicious aesthetic that runs through all her books, and her recipes work magnificently.

When you cook with Dunlop, she holds your hand in the nicest way, and you wind up learning a whole lot about technique without even realizing you’re being taught. Dunlop makes it feel easy and natural.

Yangzhou Fried Rice.jpg

Her Yangzhou Fried Rice is a great example. It includes pork fillet, ham, cooked chicken, shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, scallions, egg and peas, but she gives you permission to change it up according to what you have; “the key is to have a tempting selection of colors and tastes amid the rice.” You can make it a meal on its own, or serve it as part of a special meal, such as a Chinese New Year’s celebration.

Silken Tofu with Soy Sauce, prepared from a recipe in ‘Every Grain of Rice’ by Fuchsia Dunlop

Silken Tofu with Soy Sauce, prepared from a recipe in ‘Every Grain of Rice’ by Fuchsia Dunlop

Simple yet elegant: One example of a simple dish that’s way more impressive than you’d imagine is Silken Tofu with Soy Sauce (Xiao Cong Ban Dou Fu). It couldn’t be more basic: It’s just sliced scallions scattered over silken tofu with hot oil poured over to make the scallions sizzle, quickly followed by soy sauce and sesame oil. The result is stunning.

Other simple recipes I’ve loved are Bok Choy with Fresh Shiitake and Chinese Broccoli in Ginger Sauce.

Pa Pa Cai — Tender Boiled Vegetables with a Spicy Dip

Pa Pa Cai — Tender Boiled Vegetables with a Spicy Dip

You also can get a keen sense, with many of the recipes, of what it’s like to eat like a regular person in a Chinese home, so if you’re interested in understanding the culture, this book is a treasure. One recipe that really did that for me was Tender Boiled Vegetables with a Spicy Dip — Pa Pa Cai in Chinese. In her headnote, Dunlop writes that it’s a “staple of the rural Sichuanese supper table” that she likes to make after “a day or two of eating rich food.”

It’s so plain, I’m going to skip giving you a formal recipe; it’s just boiled vegetables (without even salt added) set out, with some of the cooking liquid, in a serving bowl. On the table are small bowls of ground chiles, ground roasted Sichuan pepper, finely sliced scallion greens and toasted sesame seeds. Everyone serves themselves some of the vegetables, an in a separate small bowl mixes the condiments to their own taste, adding in a bit of the cooking liquid, as a dipping sauce.

You’ve gotta try this: Dunlop calls her Cold Chicken with a Spicy Sichuanese Sauce “one of the most marvellous of all Sichuanese culinary ideas.” I call the dish Fuchsia Dunlop’s Spicy Sichuanese Chicken Salad. It’s basically slivered cold poached or leftover chicken dressed with scallions, sesame seeds and a sauce of soy, Chinkiang vinegar, chile oil, Sichuan pepper and sesame oil. It’s so good.

Fuchsia Dunlop’s Spicy Sichuanese Chicken Salad

Still wanna cook: Oh, so many things. Silken Tofu with Pickled Mustard Greens. Sour-and-Hot Mushroom Soup. Stir-Fried Chopped Choy Sum. Sichuanese Wontons in Chilli Oil Sauce. Steamed Sea Bass with Ginger and Spring Onion. That last one would be just the thing for a Chinese New Year celebration.

I also love Dunlop’s Land of Fish and Rice. But if I could have only one Chinese cookbook in my library, it would be this one.