Exciting books for adventurous cooks

That inveterate traveller and television cook, Rick Stein has a new book out - Rick Stein's Spain (Ebury) which ties in with a new four-part television series.

It shows his characteristic enthusiasm for simple dishes made with pristine local ingredients - wild mushrooms fried in olive oil and served with a raw egg yolk and fresh bread; clams with garlic, anchovy, chilli and slow-cooked onions; spinach with pinenuts and raisins, chickpeas with chorizo; or spicy Moorish kebabs from Andalusia.

Many are his versions of the food he ate in restaurants and bars away from the tourist areas, or in people's houses. A delectable and fascinating book.

 

• Anna Hansen, a New Zealander flying high in London with her acclaimed cafe, restaurant and deli, The Modern Pantry, has produced her first book, The Modern Pantry (Ebury). A former colleague of one of the few true masters of fusion cuisine, Peter Gordon, she brings a similar inspiration of fusing what might seem like bizarre combinations of ingredients to produce food described by the Guardian reviewer as "simply beautiful. My God, this young woman can cook".

Her book, with Ebury's signature stylish production, features recipes that range from unusual to homely. Often they have a simple twist, like carrot and miso puree; krupuk quail eggs with chilli lime dipping sauce (a version of Scotch eggs with prawn crackers); or feta, date and sweetcorn fritters, but there are also many from her New Zealand childhood - Aunty Soss's roast leg of lamb; banana and chocolate muffins and hokey pokey ice cream. An exciting book for adventurous cooks.

 

• In the current revival of eating well but not expensively and making the most of seasonal food, Ghillie James' Fresh from the Freezer (Kyle Cathie) brings a modern take to making the most of your freezer. She covers the best ways to freeze left-overs, making, freezing and finishing dishes from pies and casseroles to custard, sauces, pastes and pancakes, what to do with frozen ingredients, what to do with gluts of fruit and vegetables. There's also a section on preparing and freezing baby and infant foods.

It's a useful book for those who would like to be more organised in the kitchen.

 

• A culinary classic, The Alice B Toklas Cookbook (Serif), came across my desk recently. Part recipe book, part memoir, it was first published in 1954. Toklas met her future partner, American writer and art collector Gertrude Stein, in Paris in 1907 and for many years the two women hosted a salon that attracted writers and artists such as Ernest Hemingway, Thornton Wilder, Picasso, Matisse and Braque.

Despite its age, the recipes are perfectly usable - in fact, like many people today, Toklas appreciated good ingredients cooked with care. At the end is a section of recipes from friends, including Brion Gysen's infamous haschich fudge, later known as "Alice B. Toklas brownies", one of the ingredients of which is canibus sativa (sic).

It gives a fascinating insight into the food discerning people ate in France and the US in the first half of the last century, and a few insights into travel and art of the time.