Spirit and Spice

Amongst my vast collection of cookery books are several by the very talented Scottish author Ghillie Basan.

The books occupy prime position in my kitchen and rarely a week passes without me dipping into them for recipe ideas. The books are a perfect reference for recipes and advice on North African, Turkish and Middle Eastern food. But most of all I love the stories of Ghillie’s family life, work and travels and woven through them all is a sense of her spirit, courage and adventure.

The story continues on home ground and the setting for Ghillie’s latest book Spirit and Spice is her beautiful remote Scottish home and this hugely enjoyable book combines her love of global flavours with the whiskies and natural larder of Scotland.

Readers are taken on a culinary journey around the world and back again – to Ghillie’s home in the Highlands of Scotland.

The author of more than 40 cookbooks, Ghillie’s journey into food and spices began in a very different part of the world. She grew up in Africa and has travelled extensively throughout Turkey, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, researching the links between culinary cultures forged by trade routes, colonisation and migration.

Childhood for Ghillie was one big safari. In the wide open spaces of East Africa with wild animals for company, she camped, cooked and learned about spices. Learning from locals in remote villages, she ground coconuts and pineapples on a stone in Kerala, stuffed pounded pork, ginger and spices into the hollows of bamboo stems in Saigon and picked argan nuts out of goat droppings to be pressed for oil in the Sous Valley.

On returning to Scotland, Ghillie moved to a deserted croft in the wind-battered hills of the Cairngorms. The primitive and harsh living conditions felt completely natural and it was here she brought up her two children.

Despite some very challenging times she grew vegetables, foraged for fungi and berries and cooked wild rabbits from the glen, while using the flavours, spices and techniques picked up on her travels to shine a new light on Scottish produce.

Spirit and Spice is an outstanding book with expert insights on pickling, preserving, smoking and outdoor cooking and features beautifully presented recipes detailing Ghillie’s fascinating life story and painting an inspirational, heartfelt picture of her family life in one of Scotland’s wildest and most beautiful corners.

Taking inspiration from the notes of spice lingering in the air from nearby distilleries, she has become an expert in identifying which whiskies enhance the flavours and spices of her recipes and in Spirit & Spice she explains how to pair the perfect dram to a dish.

Recipes include “Body-warming, Midge-busting Dhal”, a spicy, nourishing lentil-based dish, perfect for camping in Scotland; “Whisky and Spice Cured Venison Fillet with Juniper Berries and Wild Thyme” and “Fresh Fish on Sticks Over the Fire”, which Ghillie makes in her garden using fresh trout from Rothiemurchus Estate.

Over 6 chapters whisky and food are brought together in the most delicious ways.

• Flavour and Spice – how to concentrate and enhance flavour in spice mixes, preserves, pickles and flavoured spirits
• Breakfast in the Bush – inspirational ideas for cooking outside whether you’re camping in the glen or hiking through the mountains
• Wild Food & Foraging – making the most of Scotland’s natural larder
• Feeding Family & Friends – family favourites to savour and share
• Sweet Contentment, Sugar and Spice – treats from all over the world, from Ghillie’s kitchen to yours
• Spirit and Spice – a user’s guide to pairing food with whisky
• 

Ghillie talks candidly about how 2 years ago she almost her home – the very heart of this book – as she had given up everything to look after her mother who has dementia. To buy a bit of breathing space with the bank she sold her jewellery and other valuable items and then sat on the deck with a dram to draw inspiration from the view – a view that has always reminded her of Africa but on this occasion the realised  that she was in the heart of whisky country and had never done anything with the spirit, apart from drink it!  As hospitality costs nothing and is at the root of everything she have ever done, a link up with Chivas saw her opening the doors of her home to welcome international groups to experience food and whisky in a remote smugglers’ glen. By breaking down the flavours in whisky and building them up again in the food, working with flavours from different culinary cultures, the foundation for Spirit & Spice was set and Ghillie was finally on a path to save her home.

With photography throughout the book by Christina Riley and Ghillie’s son, Zeki Basan, Spirit & Spice was published in hardback by Kitchen Press on 14^th May 2019 and is available nationwide, priced at £25.

Gamba – A Seafood Cookbook.

Cook books from Scottish chefs are currently somewhat of a rarity  – only a handful have been released in the past few years. The latest being an impressive book – Gamba – ‘A Seafood Cookbook’ by Derek Marshall, Chef Patron of Glasgow’s top seafood restaurant, Gamba.

The award winning, two AA rosette restaurant has remained popular with diners since it opened in 1998 and the new book reflects Derek’s passion for cooking with sustainable Scottish seafood.

The recipes capture the Gamba ethos – ‘Using fresh, well sourced fish and seafood makes it easy to create a wonderful meal, ‘and the book represents the best of Gamba with the recipes showcasing dishes featuring fish and seafood that are perfect for simple suppers as well as special occasions.

It’s a book for anyone interested in cooking seafood and it’s one you’ll reach for time and time again. “All the recipes are essentially quite simple because my philosophy in the kitchen has always been to let the ingredients do the talking,” explains Derek. “Many can be found on our menus in Gamba while others are brand new and yet to be featured,” Each recipe calls for fresh, seasonal ingredients and Is easy to make at home in your own kitchen.”

Recipes

In addition to chapters on starters and mains, the book offers hints and tips on how to get the best out of great ingredients as well as providing foolproof methods for preparing essential recipe components such as stock and salad dressing.

The recipes for Gamba’s famous Fish Soup – known as ‘Foup is featured along with one of Derek’s long time favourites, Whole Lemon Sole Meunière a classic Gamba dish that has graced the menu since the day he restaurant opened.

 

Tempting and mouthwatering starters include

 

 

Gamba is all about sustainability and recipes for main dishes include widely available seafood favourites including halibut, monkfish, hake, cod and john dory.

 

Of course no cook book would be complete without a chapter on stunning desserts,  and the Gamba Cookbook excels with favourites like, Gamba’s Bitter Chocolate Tart and Liquorice Creme Brûlée. And cooks who like to cook with a glass of something to hand will be impressed with the the recipes for a selection of Gamba’s Signature Cocktails.

“It’s been a labour of love collating all the recipes for this book,” says Derek. “Customers often ask us for advice on cooking fish and seafood, and ‘Gamba – A Seafood Cookbook’ shows them that cooking our delicious recipes at home isn’t complicated if you choose your ingredients well and cook them simply. Scotland has some of the best produce in the world and I hope my new cookbook goes some way to showcasing the fruits of the sea.”

And a final word from Derek, “A simple twist on a traditional recipe can turn something good into something great.”

‘Gamba – A Seafood Cookbook’, priced at £25, is Derek Marshall’s second cookbook. Copies are available now directly from the restaurant.

Thanks to Derek Marshall for providing the copy of ‘Gamba – A Seafood Cookbook for Review.

Image Credits
Mark K Seater, Simple Photography, Glasgow.
www.simplephotography.co.uk

My book review for the July issue of Scottish Home and Country Magazine. 

Carina Contini’s Kitchen Garden Cookbook By Carina Contini

Published by Frances Lincoln – £25

ISBN 978-0-71123460-4

 

Some people are just born to cook, the passion for food evident in their daily life. Cara Contini is one of those people.

In her new book, Carina Contini’s Kitchen Garden Cookbook:   A Year of Italian Scots Recipes Carina tells the story of that inherited love of food, the connection to simple seasonal food, along with her personal recollections of growing up in an Italian Scottish family.

After arriving in Scotland in 1919, Carina’s grandparents opened an ice cream shop in Port Seton which developed into a thriving café, restaurant and catering business. Fast forward almost 100 years and the mantle has now been taken up by Carina and husband Victor at their two award winning Edinburgh restaurants, Contini Restaurant and the Scottish café at the National Gallery of Scotland.

At the family home on the outskirts of Edinburgh Carina and Victor established an outstanding kitchen garden that grows an abundance of seasonal produce. The garden now supplies the seasonal fruit and vegetables to both of their Edinburgh restaurants.

Each monthly chapter celebrates the best of Scotland’s seasonal produce, with a selection of simply cooked recipes. Arbroath smokies, black pudding, venison, beef and lamb, are added to the kitchen garden fruit and vegetables to create a collection of mouthwatering recipes.

The recipes include many old favourites such as Isle of Mull macaroni cheese with cauliflower, leek and potato soup with leek and barley bon bons and kitchen garden cottage pie. To celebrate Scotland’s wonderful soft fruit season, there are recipes for fennel, raspberry and cucumber salad, kitchen garden summer pudding and burnt cream with blackcurrant compôte.

Carina is a great champion of Scottish produce and was recently named Scotland 2014 food ambassador. She is also the first female chef to be appointed to the Slow Food Chef Alliance. RG