Articles

Something different by way of book reviews this month, as an unusual and interesting collection of books has come our way. Firstly, there is Jamie Does…(Penguin hardback, 360pp, £26) which is, of course, the book accompanying Jamie Oliver’s latest TV series – and is a sign of the times, as it’s based on six places that can be visited quickly and cheaply from the UK (volcanic ash allowing).
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An impressive book by any standards, this beautifully produced coffee table tome weighs in at 2.3kg and – thanks to Christopher Hirscheimer’s stunning photography – presents an extremely appealing, mainly rural, view of Ireland and the simple excellence that is our food culture at its best. Despite its size and weight, it’s an engaging as well as an informative read, successfully setting the renewed Irish respect for quality produce and simple cooking into a balanced historical perspective, with carefully selected recipes illustrating the point.
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Simon Dougan is one of the luminaries of Irish food, and undoubtedly one of the great influences for good in the development of Northern Ireland’s (and indeed the island’s) food culture. Television has introduced him to the wider public in recent years, but it is his simple, uncompromising philosophy of food – shared with his equally respected wife, Jilly Dougan, of Moyallen Foods – that has earned him, and his Yellow Door businesses in Portadown and Belfast, huge loyalty from an appreciative clientèle.
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A remarkable book by any standards, it comes as no surprise find that Prannie Rhatigan’s Irish Seaweed Kitchen (Booklink; full colour hardback 288pp, €35) was many years in the making – the wonder of it is that this wide ranging, searching and very beautiful work ever went to press at all, as its subject is clearly a work in progress for this gifted medical doctor, organic gardener and Slow Food cook.
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We all look for change in January and that includes food – the weather may drive us to comfort food but we also crave lighter dishes and a change of tone that spicy foods from world cuisines can offer. There’s plenty of inspiration to be found in Anjum’s New Indian (Quadrille paperback, €19.50), which offers a welcome contrast to the rich festive fare of recent weeks. While Ching’s Chinese Food in Minutes (HarperCollins, hardback €25) offers a great selection of appealing, healthy and easy Chinese dishes that use everyday ingredients – and can all be on the table in under 30 minutes, making this a really useful everyday reference for those nights when you’re tempted to resort to the takeaway. Click for more and for delicious recipes for Easy Mung Lentil Curry and Garlic chilli pepper beef & mushroom pak choy
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Tradition usually rules at Christmas if you’re cooking for a large number (see our main cookery feature for the traditional Christmas feast ) – and, if you’re lucky, there will be plenty of leftovers to ease demand on the cook for a day or two afterward. You may find the following suggestions from more of the season’s best cookery books appealing throughout the Christmas/New Year holiday.
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It’s an exceptionally good year for cookery books so, for a lot of gift lists, that could be Christmas pretty much sorted. The only question is, which ones suit your nearest and dearest best? The season’s crop breaks down roughly into three groups – first there are the heavyweights (serious books that you’ll want to keep for life), secondly the chef cookbooks (which, ironically, mainly focus on home cooking this year) – and then (don’t laugh), many of the others seem to major in cupcakes…
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The seasonal rush of books for the Christmas market is only around the corner (one I just can’t wait to see is Carmel Somers’ Eat Good Things Every Day, due to hit the bookshops in October), meanwhile the short lull allows a little time to catch up with some others. For example, anyone thinking of joining one of the many mushroom-hunting and other foraging outings on offer in the coming weeks, such as the annual event at Longueville House, Co Cork, would find the late Jane Grigson’s classic The Mushroom Feast (Grub Street, hardback) a particularly enjoyable read...
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STOP PRESS! (Or at least it would be stop press in a non-digital world), a lovely big hunk of a book has just landed on my desk and – although it’s something to come back to in more detail another time – I just have to share my initial impressions of Cliff House Hotel, The Cookbook (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt publishers, New York; hardback 238pp, €24.95).
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Two very appealing new cookbooks have hit my desk recently, and both will merit a re-visit later in the year, as there are some delicious recipes well worth sampling. What To Eat Now - More Please! by Valentine Warner is inspirational for its' use of what are mostly familiar everyday ingredients at the peak of their perfection, while Green & Black's Chocolate Recipes is full of all sorts of luscious items that should only be seen as special treats.
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