Browsing the Main Street Trading Company, an independent bookshop in St Boswells, I was drawn to this cookery book for two good reasons.
Firstly, the subtle front cover depicting Venice caught my eye and secondly, the author is Russell Norman, who has also written the cookbook ‘Polpo’. Having experienced several Polpo eateries in London, I was more than keen to sample the recipes.
This cookery book takes you on a wonderful culinary adventure through Venice with spectacular visual photography and well-presented recipes.
Having the book organised into seasonal sections gives the reader an opportunity to discover the delights of seasonal cooking and how to cook and prepare fresh food bought locally – and not processed!
The recipes range from:
- Wild Garlic Soup, which is available in the UK from Spring onwards (either sourced from local sustainable growers or foraged in specific woodland areas throughout the Lothians – pictured)
- A quick-and-easy Pizza recipe which consists of very few ingredients – roasted red onion slices, with copious amounts of melted mozzarella cheese and homemade tomato sauce. Delicious!
- To complete the perfect meal, Lemon Polenta Cake – not only scrumptious but an ideal recipe for those trying to avoid gluten. Simple ingredients include butter, lemon, vanilla, eggs, polenta, sugar and ground almonds. Mouthwatering alone, but even more so when served with a dollop of cream or natural yoghurt.
Readers can rekindle their ideas of real home cooking, using seasonal produce to create simple, healthy and delicious food, whilst enjoying the Venice experience.
Published by Fig Tree, an imprint of Penguin Books, in hard copy and eBook versions.
Available from Amazon and all good book shops.