This year, an incredible series of gastronomic books have been published or re-published.
If you are a polyglot, you can enjoy them immediately; otherwise, there is always hope for a translation.
As the cosy season approaches, I have some recommendations for your reading. Something in these books completely took me, captivated me, and kept me off my phone without distractions.
POP Palestine Cuisine
This book is a cookbook and a Travel Diary: Salam cuisine between Gaza and Jenin. As all of you readers know, it is crucial that in this time and age, we do everything in our power to preserve and protect Palestinian heritage, as the land is currently witnessing the most atrocious prolonged attack in our lifetimes.
A form of resistance is also culinary: let us fill our mouths with Palestinian food, such as the incredibly touching recipes shared by Sami Tamimi.
Why read Pop Palestine Cuisine? These days, it is a memorial to a land that is no longer there. In the edition I bought, there are some sad actualisations about people and places that have been ripped off from us before time by the genocidal fury hammering Palestine.
I find solace in reading the recipes and eating Palestinian food. It may not be much, but it is a strenuous battle against evil.
One falafel at a time.
Comer sin pedir permiso
I have a weak spot for my friend and writer
- I always talk with my other writers and friends and how marvellous it would be to meet somewhere near Cadaqués, share a glass of wine and have some hours of gastronomic bickering.So when Albert announced his book had been published, I zoomed in to buy a copy - and a paper one, as I would chase him till the end of the beach to get a witty, sarcastic and gastronomic dedicatory just for me.
Quemo!
I fell in love with María Nicolau with her first book and her passion for the dignification of traditional cuisine, traditional food, and the domestic kitchen. She is as talented as a storyteller as a recipe teller.
I dream of meeting her, hanging around at the market, and sharing a meal with her and her stories.
Her tales entice us, and her down-to-earth approach to recipe-making is refreshing in this landscape of overcomplication. She teaches us to overcome culinary fear by making a superb crema catalana or rediscovering an escudella.
This book tells her coming-of-age as a human, cook, and chef. Recipes are scattered occasionally, and procedures are demystified for better and more frequent use. Her accurate wording is always touching, and she is relatable, authentic, and genuine to me. She casts a light on the livelihood of all those cooks and chefs working hard in the shadow of the Catalan gastronomic revolution of this century, and her tales are always fun and bittersweet.
Col and Col
This is not one book but an entire editor. Col and Col prove that, gastronomically speaking, Spain is more advanced than France, Italy, and Portugal combined.
Col&Col Ediciones is an independent publishing house based in Malaga, Spain, that began its journey in 2015 as a gastronomic blog. In a world subject to fashion, we aim for our books to be timeless, created for readers interested in gastronomy in its broadest sense, in all its manifestations. These books inform, teach, and entertain—books where cooking and its recipes, creativity, and literature combine perfectly.
Among other (interesting) publications, Col and Col edit the most significant anthology of Spanish gastronomic writing every year. Curated by incredible
and, this time, Paola Miglio is an anthology of the best written in 2023 about gastronomy in the media of Spain and Latin America.La cucina italiana non esiste: Bugie e falsi miti sui prodotti e i piatti cosiddetti tipici
I got Alberto Grandi and Daniele Soffiati’s book as a Kindle version for one of my flights. It is the ultimate debunking myths book for Italian gastronomy and the impact of marketing in the construction of an ideal gastronomy that, alas, does not have much past beyond the fifties of this century - with all good peace for those peddling garums and Roman breads and roman origins for Parmigiano.
A must read.
Insalate per un anno
Fellow writer
published a fantastic book about salads that can act a bit as a guide through the changing season, always finding something to snack on. Her blog, is equally exciting and a worthwhile reading. I bought it on paper because I want to share it as a family heirloom with my gardening mum and aunts. Plus, they are the queens of salad here at home, and a book like this is ultimately hitting the mark.Do you have other suggestions? Leave them in the comments!
I see Málaga is recurring in your writings. I couldn't imagine it was such a hot spot of culinary dedication. I was there a few months ago and I did feel a certain gastronomic vibes, but I thought it was mainly because it's a touristic town. Anyway, I'm a simple person, gimme tapas and I'm happy. 😄
Dear Sara, thank you very much, once again. I hope you enjoyed it. Hoping to exchange a dedicatory for an honest and constructive critic as soon as possible. Wine is on me!