book reviews
Simply Seasonal – Recipes Inspired by Nature
by Ilse van der Merwe
I bought this book at a wine farm deli on a recent fleeting trip to Stellenbosch, South Africa’s most renowned wine-producing region – and incidentally where my parents chose to retire. It really is a hardship visiting them…
Stellenbosch is also where this award-winning author, content producer, recipe developer and entrepreneur is from. In this gloriously inspiring book Ilse explores seasonal produce in recipes split across: Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer.
From a roasted onion & gouda tart, to a creamed spinach rivalling what I used to believe was the best in town (at the now closed Ruth’s Chris). From a picture-perfect pear frangipane tart to ricotta gnudi with pomodoro sauce. I’ve made the gnudi twice now. Light, pillowy and absolutely moreish. Quick to prepare, perfect for a weeknight dinner or al fresco lunch party. I hesitated at making quenelles but far easier that one thinks, and a marvelous opportunity to display ones cooking prowess to impress your next party guests.
Next recipe I’m going to try is her ‘Extra crusty ciabatta loaf (baked like Bertus Basson)’, which made me smile and brought back fond memories, as much-admired chef and restauranteur Bertus Basson was the chef who catered my wedding many years ago.
A worthy edition to my overflowing cookbook collection.
Available on Amazon.
Truffle Hound: On the Trail of the World’s Most Seductive Scent, with Dreamers, Schemers, and Some Extraordinary Dogs.
by Rowan Jacobsen
A truffling odyssey and scentual adventure that takes you from Italy, to Istria, the UK to Hungary in search of truffles, giving the reader fascinating insight into the surprisingly large number of different truffle species.
Rowan whisks you along on his humor laced global explorations of this prized delicacy, with beautifully descriptive stories of his hunting experiences, diving into regional history, and meeting captivating characters along the way – both human and hound. This book makes you salivate and want to grab your passport and book a flight with every chapter.
Lines that stayed with me:
“The late food writer Josh Ozersky may have come closest, describing [truffle] as ‘a combination of newly plowed soil, fall rain, burrowing earthworms and the pungent memory of lost youth and old love affairs’”
“Our rich repertoire of feelings evolved from a system designed to respond to scent, and in a sense we each recapitulate this evolution: smell is the one sense that forms fully in the womb; it may be how the awakening of consciousness begins”.
A great read.
Available on Amazon and at Kinokuniya, Dubai Mall.