Last
week, my column was packed with suggestions for edible presents. This
week. I’m going to suggest some recently published cookbooks – some for
beginners, others for culinary creatives, cake makers, nature lovers and still
others to delight the food historians, and one outstanding bread book for the
baking nerds in your life.
Richard Hart’s Bread: Intuitive Sourdough Baking Book arrived on my desk just
yesterday. This much anticipated book written by legendary and I don’t use that
term lightly, bread baker Richard Hart considered by many to be one of the
world’s great bakers. He founded Tartine in San Francisco with Chad Robertson,
then went on to work with René Redzepi at Noma before establishing the still
hugely successful Hart Bageri in Copenhagen and more recently he has launched Green
Rhino bakery in Mexico City. There’s nothing in the world that Richard cares
more about than bread except perhaps, his beautiful wife Henrietta, aka
The Rare Tea Lady whose book INFUSED, about tea is also worth seeking out. It’s
a deep dive into the story of exquisite teas, made by small farmers who are
totally passionate about
Next up – Anna Haugh, one of our own
According to Gordon Ramsay “Anna Haugh is definitely one of the most talented
chefs ever to come out of Ireland’.
Anna hails from Tallaght in Dublin. Many of you will know her from her TV
series, NO PLACE LIKE HOME. Anna lives for cooking, she’s super driven and as
long as she can remember has been determined to learn more to hone her craft.
She worked in the kitchens of many of the greats, Derry Clarke of L’Ecrivain,
then onto Gaultiero Marchesi in Paris, back to London to work with Philip
Howard, Shane Osborne, Gordon Ramsay…
Anna was inspired by my mother-in-law’s Myrtle Allen’s philosophy at Ballymaloe
House so she named her restaurant in London, Myrtle as a tribute.
You’ll love her first cookbook Cooking with Anna, modern home cooking with an Irish
heart.
Next, a little book given to me by a friend as a present saying “I think you
might just love this”, Recipes for my London Kitchen by Cathy Gaynor (self-published).
No bells and whistles but so many delicious recipes that you’ll be tempted to
cook, including this little jam.
I
have indeed become very fond of it. We all need to have a few quick and
easy standbys in our repertoire. Not all the recipes are as quick as these, but
they are all ‘keepers’. The book is sold
in aid of charities in Suffolk benefiting disadvantaged youth and elderly.
Afterwards I saw that Cathy’s book has drawn praise from both Rick Stein and
Albert Roux – how about that?
For historians in your life, it would be difficult to beat the following two –
An Irish Food Story, a hundred foods that made us, by the remarkable JP McMahon.
A brilliantly researched and beautifully written book with notable end pages by
Nataliia Dragunova. The chapters are short, hope JP will forgive me for saying
that it’s a perfect book to pick up in the loo…
Book of the Year for my money is Irish Food History – a companion by Máirtín
Mac Con Iomaire and Ballymaloe Cookery School alumni, Dorothy Cashman with
contributions from multiple scholars. A meticulously researched tome that has
garnered praise and awards from many quarters including Bookselling Ireland Food and Drink Book of the
Year at
the recent An Post Book Awards.
Finally for the times that are in it, Staying Alive in Toxic Times written by
inspirational speaker, Dr. Jenny Goodman, a medical doctor and member of
the British society for psychological medicine whom I came across at the
Groundswell Festival in the UK last summer.
I can’t finish without mentioning Nature Boy, written by ecologist and
ornithologist Seán Ronayne, an extraordinary young man from Cobh who has made
such a huge contribution to mankind and nature by recording the bird song of
all our species in Ireland and beyond. Gift it, to the nature lover in your
life, it’s an enchanting book, beautifully written and recipient of the
An Post Biography of the Year Award.
There are two others to seek out, Wild Honey Inn by Aidan McGrath, recipes from
the much loved Inn of the same name just outside Lisdoonvarna in County Clare. And
The Irish Bakery by Cherie Denham and Kitty Corrigan – two other gems for
special friends….
All Recipes are taken from A London Kitchen by Cathy Gayner
Creamed Eggs
This is my standby recipe when I am in a hurry or when a guest turns up unexpectedly; you will probably have all the ingredients already but if you don’t have any cream, just substitute milk.
Serves 6
45g Cheddar, grated
45g Parmesan, grated
125ml milk
125ml cream
3 eggs
6 rashers, smoked streaky bacon, cooked until crisp
pepper
Divide the bacon between 6 ramekin dishes. Stir the cheese into the mixture of milk and cream, whisk in the eggs and season with plenty of black pepper.
Pour into the ramekin dishes and cook at 200°C/Gas Mark 6 (180°C fan) for 10-15 minutes or until the tops are puffed up and golden.
Smashed Potatoes
Potatoes cooked in this way can be done hours ahead and even frozen – just reheat them for 10 minutes at 200°C/Gas Mark 6 (180°C fan).
Serves 4
500g small potatoes, boiled until just tender
25g Parmesan, grated
1 heaped tsp smoked paprika
1 heaped tsp oregano or thyme
1 plump garlic clove, crushed
100g butter
salt and pepper
Melt the butter and cook the garlic for no more than a minute. Season well and stir in all the other ingredients. Coat the potatoes in this mixture and arrange them on baking parchment in a roasting tin. Gently squash each one with a potato masher and cook at 200°C/Gas Mark 6 (180°C fan) for 25 minutes.
Pistachio Pesto
In the early 1970’s my father decided to simplify the kitchen garden and only grow his three favourite things: potatoes, asparagus and basil. Saturday lunch was invariably pesto which at that time in Suffolk was considered eccentric rather than innovative. It has made me very superior about shop bought pesto, but it has also made me inquisitive about other combinations of this delicious invention and I often use leftover herbs, nuts and whatever cheese I happen to have to make an instant supper.
This is one of my favourite combinations.
Serves 3
100g basil leaves
75g pistachios
1 garlic clove
70g Pecorino
120ml olive oil
salt and pepper
In an ideal world, this should be done in a pestle and mortar, but I am no purist, so I whizz everything up in a food processor and it takes no more than a moment to produce something irresistible.
Christmas Fudge
I am rather ashamed to admit that I buy our Christmas mincemeat and worse, I always seem to buy too much. However, because I am incapable of throwing food away, the surplus gave rise to this extraordinary but excellent recipe for fudge. It’s really a complete cheat, it takes a moment to make, and it absolves my guilt at having taken a shortcut in the first place.
500g best white chocolate
400g jar of mincemeat
Over barely boiling water, melt the white chocolate you can find, while still on the heat, stir in the mincemeat. Pour into a lined loaf tin and refrigerate for a couple of hours before slicing. Wrapped prettily, it makes a good present.
