Wild Garlic, Gooseberries and Me: A chef's stories and recipes from the land Book

Dennis Cotter created a considerable stir with Café Paradiso and the award-winning Paradiso Seasons, both books that brought fresh and innovative elements into food writing. Wild Garlic, Gooseberries... and Me is different from the earlier books; this is a winningly written, often very funny collection of anecdotes and tempting to vegetarian recipes. Cotter takes us on a journey which is both an introduction his favourite foods as well as a way of collecting the best possible ingredients -- and as this involves foraging in woods and hedgerows, it's not for those will have no wish to stray further than their kitchens. Want to know how to find the best mushrooms, sloes or wild greens? You'll find Wild Garlic, Gooseberries... and Me a highly useful guide. There are four themed chapters: It's a Green Thing, Wild Pickings, Nature and Nurture and Growing in the Dark; in these different sections, there are many delightful stories about the author's favourite vegetables (which turn out to have more individual character than one might expect) and valuable info regarding their preparation. Of course, it is the recipes which lie at the heart of a book like this, and those here are cherishable, from straightforward salads and soups up to more ambitious main courses and refreshing deserts. Complementing the recipes is the quirky text (the latter, of course, the speciality of the author); Cotter is the owner of the much-acclaimed Paradiso restaurant in Cork, celebrated for its use of local produce; the illustrations include striking images of the food and the locales featured within these pages. Whatever your attitude to vegetarian cooking may be, it's possible it will be changed by this book. --Barry ForshawRead More