Cookbook of the week...

 

'Three Good Things on a Plate’

by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Like many of you, I love a good cookbook and given the opportunity, I will happily sit for hours reading through the new culinary ideas inspired by others. However, with a large variety of cookbooks regularly released onto the shelves and full of colourful, appetizing imagery to draw our attention; it’s difficult to know which one to buy. The common theme on the cookery scene at present seems to revolve around simplicity, with Jamie Oliver’s ’15 minute meals’, Lorraine Pascale’s ‘Fast, Fresh and Easy Food’ and Nigella’s easy guide to Italian cooking with ‘Nigellisma’. We all like the simple things in life, who doesn’t? Though on occasion, we also welcome a little inspiration from our culinary role models on what combinations work best together to create the perfect dish and this is exactly what Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall presents to us in his new book, ‘Three Good Things on a Plate’.

A chef, TV presenter and author, Hugh is also known to many as the ‘floppy haired toff’ who, as a passionate advocate of home-grown or ethnically sourced food, can be found either digging around in his beloved vegetable patch at his West Country farm or campaigning against battery farming and wasteful fishing. Hugh also owns a series of River Cottage restaurants, canteens and delis dotted around the country and having recently dined on his seasonal and locally sourced menu at The River Cottage Canteen and Deli at The Royal William Yard, Plymouth, I seriously recommend a visit.

In the book, Hugh welcomes the desire to create simple and delicious dishes that contain three key ingredients, which do not need to be fancy or cooked using trendy textbook techniques. Instead it’s a whole new approach to cooking revolved around the combination of the textures and flavours we know and love and assembling a recipe that sends our taste-buds into an array of ecstasy. As you explore the book, you will discover a few classics – smoked mackerel, beetroot and horseradish; bacon, lettuce and tomato; plum, crumble and ice-cream; scones, jam and cream. And then you turn a page to find recipes using ham, squash and marmalade or chicory, peaches and black pudding to which you think “what is he on about?” However, before you think the man has well and truly lost the plot of cooking, he goes onto explain why these flavours work so well together. And in doing so I urge you to put your faith and taste-buds into Hugh’s hands and try it – you may hate it, or, like me, you love it, polishing off the lot and turning over to the next page to see what else he has in store.

Every page of this book brings an exciting element to cooking – firstly, it provides us with an inspiring education through introducing unknown combinations you would never have thought to put together and seeing how they work - for a foodie, such a discovery is always rather thrilling. Secondly, the book creates a kitchen game so to speak, by encouraging you to delve deep into your fridges, seeking out possible ingredients (which to achieve the best results ideally need to be fresh) and seeing what recipes Hugh can create. What I really love about Hugh’s recipes is that if you don’t have/don’t like an ingredient, he provides an alternative suggestion.

He encourages you to ‘listen to your taste-buds’ when combining textures and flavours, tweaking and improvising where necessary with your own personal touch – as he says ‘the Rule of Three can unlock a whole creative force for cooks who are willing to experiment and take a few risks’. This in itself is one of the golden rules when learning the art of cooking – known to many as ‘trial and error’.

 

Verdict: “to buy or not to buy” – this is a book that brings fun into any cook’s kitchen. It’s ideal for beginners who wish to progress their knowledge of food, to amateurs wanting to experiment and take a few risks by combining a variety of flavours and textures in Hugh’s new and distinctive recipes. Overall, it is a great way to cook and I, for one, love a good “thing on a plate”, so to have three is culinary heaven and therefore this book is definitely worth a purchase.

 

RPP: £25.00

Bargain option: £12.00 @ Amazon