Mezcla
Recipes to Excite [A Cookbook]
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE • 100 recipes for everyday eating with built-in wow factor, from the Ottolenghi protégé and co-author of Ottolenghi Flavor shaking up the food world.
“This is such a beautiful and joyful book!”—NIGELLA LAWSON
ONE OF THE TEN BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Independent
ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Bon Appétit, Saveur, Delish, Epicurious
MEZCLA means mix, blend, or fusion in Spanish, and in her first solo cookbook, Ixta Belfrage—loved for her inventive ingredient combinations—shares her favorite mezcla of flavors. Helpfully divided into quick recipes (for when you need something great on the table, fast) and longer recipes (for when you have time to slow down and savor the process), here are one hundred bold, impactful recipes inspired by Italy, Brazil, Mexico, and beyond.
There are quick, flavorful recipes such as Giant Cheese on Toast with Honey and Urfa Butter, Piri Piri Tofu with Crispy Orzo, and Chicken with Pineapple and 'Nduja, as well as dishes to spend more time over: Chiles Rellenos with Salsa Roja Risotto, Sticky Coconut Rice Cake with Turmeric Tomatoes and Shrimp Lasagna with Habanero Oil.
Creative, colorful, and always delicious, this is food for every day and every occasion.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ottolenghi Test Kitchen alumna Belfrage (Ottolenghi Flavour) mashes global highlights into fusion flavor-bombs in this joyous if scattered collection. Mainly an ode to the countries closest to Belfrage's heart—Italy (where she spent her childhood), Brazil (her mother's homeland), and her grandfather's native Mexico—the book offers no shortage of brilliant recipes: an "onion party" combines pickled, fried, and roasted varieties, while acidic tomatoes balance luscious sticky coconut rice. Savory recipes are divided into "Everyday" and "Entertaining" (as in amusing), but those categories are amorphous: even Belfrage admits the former's dishes don't come together "with only a handful of ingredients" (indeed, one fish dish is served with a 10-ingredient dipping sauce). And though instructions are direct, a dizzying number of options breeds confusion: a recipe for an oozy open-face grilled cheese, for instance, specifies using the bottom of a loaf of sourdough (or focaccia), but the headnote recommends doubling with both halves. Mixed in with the veggie-forward dishes is a tempting array of meat, poultry, and fish options—including Indonesian-inflected hake served over udon—while a delectable offering of desserts hinges on the same simple (charred pineapple floating in maple crème anglaise) versus complex (loaf cake of ladyfingers and strawberries layered with chipotle-laced chocolate ganache) duality. This whirlwind of a book can be overwhelming, but the gems outnumber the frustrations.
