A FEAST OF COOKBOOKS

On Monday of this week I drooled over Nigella Lawson's KITCHEN, as well as the companion volumes from the three sisters, THE COOK'S HERB GARDEN and THE COOK'S SALAD GARDEN, and alsoTHE COOK & THE BAKER.

Hot on their heels come two more lavish & irresistible NZ cookbooks:
MADE BY HAND - Julie Le Clerc
and
MASTERCHEF NEW ZEALAND - The Cookbook Vol.1

MADE BY HAND

Julie Le Clerc

Penguin - $52

Julie Le Clerc has returned with a stunning book packed with simple food . Made by Hand is bursting with recipes that use fresh, natural and easy-to-find ingredients. The concept behind these recipes is to help home cooks find healthier ways to enjoy their favourite foods without losing anything along the way.
As Julie says in her introduction:

‘This book is all about flavour, not sacrifice. Just because the food I am
suggesting is natural, wholesome, light or gluten-free, does not mean it’s
boring or tasteless. . .This book is about having your cake and eating it too. . .
Food made by hand from natural ingredients definitely tastes superior.
As a bonus, this sort of cooking is much better for us, as well.’

Julie is also conscious of the bigger picture which is why she shares some of her tips in sections; The Natural Pantry, Food Terms, Start a Kitchen Garden, Shop Smart, Recycle, Reuse, Be Organic-Savvy, The Good Oil, and Eco Cleaning.

About the author:
Julie Le Clerc is well-known for creating innovative flavours and trusted recipes you can rely on. As a former café owner, caterer and chef, Julie was able to develop and express her own individual recipe style before turning her talents to food writing. Now this award-winning author’s life is dedicated to the pursuit of good food and culinary travel.
Reflecting her background and influences, Julie’s cookbooks are filled with accessible, uncomplicated, clever recipes that encourage keen home cooks to put together nourishing and flavoursome dishes from scratch. Also an accomplished photographer, Julie enjoys capturing her own food and styling on film – as well as eclectic collections of her favourite ingredients and kitchen things. Her charming images decorate the pages of this book.

Footnote:
Julie and her publishers have agreed to The Bookman reproducing the one recipe he has so far made from the book, a recipe that is totally seasonal -  we have been rather over-indulging in asparagus since the season opened a couple of weeks back !

Millet, Watercress and Marinated Asparagus Salad

Infinitely useful, this salad can be served anytime – either as a starter to charm your guests’ taste-buds while you get other dishes ready, as a side dish, or as a main course for a summer picnic, casual lunch or simple evening meal.

Serves 4-6



½ cup millet
300-g bunch fine asparagus spears
Watercress dressing (recipe follows)
150 g feta, crumbled (optional)
1 cup watercress leaves, picked from the stems

1. Cook millet in plenty of boiling water for 12–15 minutes or until tender to the bite. Drain, rinse in cold water and drain well.
2. Finely slice asparagus on an angle, discarding the woody ends, and place in a large salad bowl. Make watercress dressing and pour over asparagus. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Add cold millet to marinated asparagus and dressing and toss well to combine. Mix in crumbled feta and watercress leaves.

** Millet. . . Another gluten-free plant seed, millet is not just for the birds. I use it in place of rice or pasta in many dishes. With a lovely, mildly sweet, toasted-corn flavour, millet is an interesting, tasty, nutritious, heart-friendly alternative to other grains. This easily digested food is a rich source of protein and iron and also provides important magnesium, potassium, calcium and B vitamins.

** Clever idea . . . Many people don’t realise that asparagus can also be eaten raw. Delicious and nutritious, it’s best to choose tender, thin spears for this purpose. Dice, slice or shave raw asparagus and add to salads, or marinate in olive oil to create a crunchy vegetable treat.

Watercress Dressing
Makes ½ cup

3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup watercress, tightly packed
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Place garlic and watercress in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to chop.
2. With the motor running, pour in oil slowly to form a smooth dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Reprinted with permission from Made By Hand, published by Penguin Group NZ, RRP$52.00. Copyright © Julie Le Clerc 2010

MASTERCHEF NEW ZEALAND

The Cookbook Vol.1.

Random House - $50

From the television phenomenon that gripped our household and I suspect much of the nation, we now have the official cookbook from the first MasterChef New Zealand series.

1000 ambitious amateur cooks applied from right around the country all dreaming of making it big in the culinary world, and over 600,000 people tuned in for the finale to see the tense two hour showdown between Brett and Kelly. This book brings you the best recipes and highlights from the entire series.

Brimming with excellent recipes and comments from everyone in the top 24, it also features recipes from the MasterChef challenges at the Langham hotel, Ellerslie Race Day, Villa Maria and recipes for the Bracu Dégustation dishes, Simon’s Ragout and Antoine’s red Thai curry tripe.

There is also great information on basic knife skills, what to equip your kitchen with, how to stock your pantry, cook the basics, carve a chicken, fillet a fish, skin a tomato, choose the right potato and ways to give your food a wow-factor — impressing your guests and making your food a visual masterpiece, as well as a culinary triumph.

With great action shots from the show and stunning food photography from renowned food photographer Aaron McLean, there are beautiful shots of every recipe.

Here is Brett McGregor's foreword to the book:

When most of us filled out the application form for MasterChef New Zealand the last thing we were thinking about was television cameras. Neither did we give a thought to what life would be like during the challenges nor how we would cope under the most extreme pressure (I certainly didn’t forget garlic and ginger on purpose!).

We did, however, want the chance to learn from some of the country’s finest chefs. The top sixty all got to taste the pressure, the top twenty-four began to dream of things to come and finally the top twelve made it to the house.


We all loved food; there was always something to talk about and something to share. We could do nothing other than talk and eat, eat and talk. Our love of food enabled twelve strangers to settle in together and become friends amid a fierce competition.

I embraced — and grew from —the experience with its challenges and eliminations. So it is little wonder that I now feel that I’ve been through something special, something that changed me, and I am sure the others feel this too.

This competition at times seemed harsh. It was most definitely real. The three wise men stood strong and, at times, they seemed threatening. Their knowledge was impressive and palates even sharper — we all knew that we had to perform every time. In this competition you were only as good as your last dish.
MasterChef New Zealand was full of tears, sweat and passion and it was a show for the whole family. The MasterChef phenomenon got kids thinking about cooking and families back into the kitchen.


This book aims to inspire those of you at home who have a burning desire to cook, the desire to transform your food world one dish at a time. This book is full of fantastic creations just waiting to be cooked. Enjoy!

Brett McGregor,
New Zealand’s first MasterChef

And here are two recipes from the book:
Port peppered eye fillet with creamy mushroom and wholegrain mustard sauce, and parsnip and carrot minted mash - Recipe by Kelly Young

This was my audition dish. I knew that on the day my nerves would be close to uncontrollable and the pressure would be tough so I wanted to keep it simple yet tasty. The key to this dish is to source a great local butcher and a fresh produce market to get the freshest, tastiest ingredients.

Serves 2
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

2 200g beef eye fillets
1 tsp red and black pepper seasoning
¼ cup port

Mash
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
20g butter
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint

Mushroom and mustard sauce
1 onion, finely diced
20g butter
80g button mushrooms, finely sliced
100ml cream
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

½ bunch asparagus
sprig of mint for serving

1 Place the eye fillets in a bowl, sprinkle with the pepper seasoning and pour the port over. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.

2 Preheat the oven to 180°C.

3 To make the mash, bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the parsnips and carrots and cook for 10–12 minutes until tender. Drain well, then add the butter and mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, and stir through the chopped mint. Set aside.

4 Heat an oiled ovenproof frying pan over a high heat and sear the fillets for 2 minutes on each side. Place the pan in the oven for 6–8 minutes or until the beef is cooked to your liking. Remove and rest for 5 minutes. Cut into thick slices.

5 To make the mustard sauce, heat a frying pan over a medium heat and sauté the onion in the butter for 3–4 minutes or until soft. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until soft. Add the cream and the mustard, lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

6 Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Place the asparagus in a steamer and put over the simmering water. Cover and steam for 3–4 minutes or until the asparagus is tender.

7 To serve, spoon the mash and mustard sauce next to each other onto each plate. Place slices of beef down the middle of the mash and sauce, and the asparagus to the side. Finish with a sprig of mint.

Minestrone
Recipe by MasterChef kitchen

Serves 6–8
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1½ hours

¼ cup olive oil
100g pancetta, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 onions, finely diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 courgettes, diced
4 sticks celery, diced
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 x 400g tin tomatoes
2 sprigs oregano
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 375g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 375g tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup orzo pasta
8 green beans, trimmed and sliced
handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra-virgin olive oil for serving
grated Parmesan for serving
1 Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat, add half the olive oil and sauté the pancetta, garlic and onion for a few minutes. Add the remaining olive oil, carrots, courgettes, celery and potatoes, and cook for 4–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft but not coloured.

2 Add the tomato paste and white wine, and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the stock and tomatoes. Tie the oregano, thyme and bay leaf together with kitchen string and add to the pan. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3 Add the cannellini and borlotti beans and the pasta, and cook for a further 10–15 minutes. Then add the green beans in the last 10 minutes of cooking.

4 Season with salt and pepper just before serving. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and finish with freshly grated Parmesan and parsley.

Note: Add extra stock if you prefer a thinner minestrone.

The Bookman can vouch that this minestrone is absolutely delicious.
Two more outstanding cookbooks, I will need to get a larger bookshelf built in my kitchen.