GREENFEAST AUTUMN, WINTER

NIGEL SLATER, FOURTH ESTATE, H/B, $49.99

Dictated by the UK publishing schedule, Greenfeast Autumn, Winter arrives just in time for the NZ summer. But, no mind, a Nigel Slater book is always a treat. A companion to Greenfeast Spring, Summer (see Cuisine issue 196, Sept 2019) it continues the ‘almost vegetarian’ theme, moving into the cooler seasons with gusto. Recipes lean towards soothing and sustaining, rather than stodgy and weighty, ready to gently lift the spirits when we need it most. Just one peeve: recipe titles are just the three main ingredients of the recipe, sometimes with no clue to what the finished dish comprises: for example the recipe title ‘butternut, feta, eggs’ doesn’t hint at the crunchy, creamy fritters that you’ll make. However, I can forgive a lot to a man who devotes a whole chapter to things on toast. And who describes the satisfaction of a steaming, creamy bowl of porridge as ‘a sort of internal duffel coat’. TW