Newsletter: 🫒 Marvellous Mediterranean cuisine + classic budget cooking 💡

🫒 Marvellous Mediterranean cuisine + classic budget cooking 💡

🫒 Enjoy a culinary trip to the Med & save 25% on a ckbk subscription 🍅

A culinary trip to the Med

The Mediterranean never loses its appeal, land of sun and sand, olive trees, and tomatoes that taste as sweet and full-flavored as tomatoes truly can. In culinary terms we know that the Mediterranean diet, rich in vegetables, seafood, and that precious olive oil, is not only famously vibrant and delicious, but also highly nutritious. We are thrilled to bring you two new books celebrating the flavors of the Med, both published this week.

Mediterranean Bowls: 100 Fast, Flavorful, and Nourishing One-Bowl Meals is an approachable collection of recipes that brings all the goodness of a Mediterranean diet into your everyday. Cooking instructor and food blogger Mahy Elamin shares one-bowl recipes inspired by the region with enthusiasm and understanding of the many culinary cultures she references—she is the daughter of a diplomat, so was raised in 11 different countries, and is of Turkish and Egyptian descent. In her own words:

“These bowls are inspired by authentic Mediterranean dishes from real regions, most of which I’ve lived in or visited. You will find just a few twists and hacks to simplify the process of cooking and assembling the bowls, or to infuse some flavors together in a way that unites the rich flavors of the sea.”

Try Egyptian Creamy Walnut Chicken Bowl, a Greek Lamb Meatballs and Orzo Bowl, or a Seven Veggie Moroccan Couscous with Raisin Caramelized Onions Bowl.

Chef Marc Fosh began his career iN celebrated kitchens in the UK, before moving to work in Spain in 1991. In 2002 he became the first British chef to be awarded a Michelin star in Spain at his eponymous restaurant in Palma, Mallorca. The Sun-Soaked Plate: 20 Staple Mediterranean Ingredients, Endless Flavors shares his excitement about Spanish recipes and ingredients, the food scene in Mallorca, and his interpretation of his adopted culinary home.

“Mallorca’s food revolution is now in full flow – we have a group of innovative chefs who cook with good, local, organic and seasonal produce, who reinvent traditional, Mediterranean recipes with a modern touch while keeping alive the colours, freshness, flavours and textures of the region.” Marc Fosh

The 20 ingredients of the title—from Almonds via Lemons and Peaches to Truffles and Wild Mushrooms—come with detailed guidance and are the organising principle of the book. The 123 recipes might be informed by a stellar career in top kitchens, but they are very inviting and entirely unfussy. Try Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Pomegranate, Lemon and Tahini, or these Lemon, Anise and Olive Oil Madeleines.

Find all the recipes in The Sun-Soaked Plate

Pictured above: Baked Feta Pan-Fried Eggs Bowl from Mediterranean Bowls: 100 Fast, Flavorful, and Nourishing One-Bowl Meals by Mahy Elamin

The Pauper’s Cookbook

From the newly published to a classic. First published in 1971 The Pauper's Cookbook remains in print after more than half a century. The book’s strapline: “The classic collection of 250 recipes on a budget” was its unique selling point. Its continuing appeal is down to the practical know-how and care with which it is written by journalist and businesswoman Jocasta Innes. Now celebrated also for her books on home decorating and Paint Magic range of paints and home decorating stores, The Pauper’s Cookbook was her first book

The edition newly added to ckbk has a foreward by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and an introduction by Jocasta setting out how the book and its concept has been updated over the years, and why it is dear to her.

Find recipes for everything from Minestrone to Chocolate Mousse and beyond.

Then also go on to explore Yashim Cooks Istanbul by Jason Goodwin, author, historian, and Jocasta’s son. His cookbook is inspired by his detective series in which the sleuth is an amateur Ottoman chef, and is both a five chapter culinary visit to the novels, and a collection of recipes that bring Istanbul to your home kitchen.

Browse our Frugal Cooking bookshelf for more dishes to make on a budget.

Find all 250+ recipes in The Pauper’s Cookbook

Remembering Ian McAndrew

It is with sadness that we learned of the recent death of legendary chef Ian McAndrew. Britain’s youngest ever chef to lead his restaurant to a Michelin star in 1980, he was continuously accoladed across his long, stellar, and hugely influential career. His recipes are preserved in his books, such as his debut A Feast of Fish, which we are proud to have on ckbk.

Ingredient focus: quince

A relative of the apple or pear, and often resembling a large, lumpy yellow cross between the two, the quince originates in the Caucasus region. Unlike its close relatives it requires cooking to be edible and palatable—although the raw fruit can be grated and steeped in gin or vodka to produce a fine Fruit Liqueur.

Even fully ripe the fruit is hard, and sour, although it emits a glorious scent, which hints at the unique beauty of its flavor—the stuff of myth, the honeyed, aromatic quince is as close to ambrosial as a fruit gets. Retaining both texture and complexity once cooked, quince is a fine component of both sweet and savory dishes, with a particular affinity to Middle Eastern dishes such this Quince and Lamb Stew.