Eat to live
From plant-based diets to Italian staples and different ways of cooking eggs, this month’s cookbooks highlight ways to eat better and live longer.
Eggs Author: Michel Roux Publisher: Quadrille Price: RM99.90
THE egg, says Michel Roux, “is an undervalued food, invariably overshadowed by expensive, luxury ingredients”. In writing this book, he shares his secrets on what has become his “most faithful companions” and offers 130 recipes and ideas for using eggs.
Roux devotes the first six chapters of the book to the mastery of key cooking methods – such as boiling, poaching, and scrambling – and the remaining seven chapters to the egg’s “genius in all forms of cooking”. Here, he instructs readers on the important role of eggs in batters, pastries, sauces, ice creams, sponges and more.
In this new edition (first published in 2005), classic recipes – such as eggs Benedict and boiled eggs with special soldiers – are presented alongside many modern and creative takes on the egg. For example, soft-cooked eggs with vanilla caramel and brioche is made for those with a sweet tooth, while scrambled eggs masala sounds right up our alley.
This is a great book for all its technicalities on preparing eggs, and it can help you take your egg cookery up to pro chef level – but, as with many cookbooks by Michelinstarred chefs, there is that tendency towards some time-consuming recipes using ingredients that are harder to get.
That said, eggs – the most simple and complete food – are easily available, and it’s always good to know as many ways as possible to cook them. – Jane F. Ragavan
Gennaro’s Fast Cook Italian Author: Gennaro Contaldo Publisher: Pavilion Price: RM124.90
IF you’ve ever watched British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver cooking Italian food on television, there’s a 90% chance you’ve also heard him mentioning his mentor, Gennaro Contaldo. The man is so inexorably intertwined with Oliver that when I went to one of Oliver’s popular Jamie’s Italian outlets in London, the first thing I saw on the specials was Gennaro’s pasta!
His connection to the famed celebrity chef aside, Contaldo is a popular Italian chef and cookbook author who has even nabbed a Guinness World Record for the most ravioli made in two minutes.
In this cookbook, Contaldo highlights easy Italian dishes that require little in the way of elaborate preparation. You’ll discover all sorts of delightful Italian recipes like smoked salmon carbonara, quick fish soup, anchovy-infused lamb cutlets, steaks in a herb-infused tomato sauce, and squid with olives.
The recipes are beautifully photographed (although it would have been nice to have more pictures, as many of the recipes do not have accompanying images) and it is evident that the meals are designed with modern, timestrapped people in mind. Ingredients listed are generally minimal and most of the dishes look like they can be prepared by anyone, from beginners to seasoned cooks.
So if you’re after a range of wholesome Italian dishes to complement your existing stable, you’ll love Contaldo’s easypeasy, fuss-free recipes. – Abirami Durai
Oh She Glows Every Day Author: Angela Liddon Publisher: Avery Price: RM110.50
FOLLOWING the success of her New York Times bestselling The
Oh She Glows Cookbook, food blogger Angela Liddon returns with more plant-based treats for her fans.
This new cookbook contains 100 new recipes that are all vegan and predominantly soyfree, gluten-free, grain-free and nut-free. In other words, it caters for every conceivable allergy and dietary restriction imaginable.
The recipes are imaginative interpretations of classic favourites – you’ll find recipes for a stuffed avocado salad, mac and peas (with a cheese-less sauce), fresh cherry tomato salsa, golden French lentil stew and the ultimate flourless brownies.
In many ways, Liddon herself is the perfect advertisement for a plant-based diet – she looks golden and glowing and just radiates good health, which might be the kick in the butt you need to actually try these recipes. Because while many of them look appealing, it is difficult to shake off the idea that they are but poor copycats of the real deal.
But if you’re looking to seriously improve your diet and commit to a drastic lifestyle overhaul, Liddon’s inventive recipes (roasted garlic and sundried tomato hummus, anyone?) will strike a chord. –AD
The How Not To Die Cookbook Authors: Michael Greger, Gene Stone & Robin Robertson Publisher: MacMillan Price: RM104.90
TO be perfectly honest, I wasn’t all that excited when I first saw this book. After all, who wants to read a cookbook that has the word “die” in the title? But as it turns out, while the title may sound ominous, the book is actually a very sensible approach to extending life spans and reversing diseases.
Written by physician Micheal Greger (the author of the bestselling How Not To Die book), with recipes by vegan cookbook author Robin Robertson, the book does an incredible job of drumming in the importance of a plant-based diet in the introductory pages, with comprehensive information from studies, reports and journals thrown in for good measure. –AD