MEAT & THREE

KATHY PATERSON, H/B, $49.99

The title is an affectionate reference to New Zealand’s national dish of days gone by, the much-loved meat and three veg: as the book is produced in association with Beef + Lamb New Zealand Inc, these are the meats focussed on here, with more than 80 recipes arrayed by the seasons. But not content to give only recipes, Paterson and photographer Tam West travelled throughout New Zealand visiting farmers, recording here the stories of backcountry stations, committed guardians of the land and generations of farming families determined to raise the best-quality animals for us. Beautiful, evocative photos show New Zealand in all its rural beauty. Not just for the hard-core carnivores, there are dozens of salads and vegetable recipes and even a handful of ‘afters’, as well as ‘how to’ sections on cooking methods and carving. As the spring lamb is just hitting the shops I’m dying to try the spring lamb cutlets with three types of peas and, in a few months’ time, the summer farmers’ market salad could just be filling my salad bowl every weekend. TRACY WHITMEY