by Natasha Barnes (Struik, R350)
This is the first offering from well-travelled South African cook and artist Natasha Barnes and will have you cooking up a storm. I have no doubt about that!
The Culinary Adventures of a Travelling Cook shares Barnes’s experiences locally and abroad, relived through the foods she discovered during her travels.
The book is beautifully illustrated and is jam-packed with tasty, uncomplicated fare.
From the author’s childhood days in Parys, try the likes of Marmite tart or chicken liver paté with whisky and green peppercorns. Her “Bushveld” chapter is such an amusing read and has some mouth-watering recipes – chicken coq au vin potjie; venison and honey boerewors; apricot pot pudding.
Moving abroad, there are too many gems to mention, but here are a few to whet your appetite: Zanzibar coffee chicken, Ugandan garlic soup, Wasini-style crab curry, empanadas, Southern pecan pie with Maldon salt, lamb shank with bacon, smoked chilli and apple.
And it gets better: Mutton kofta with sweet smoked paprika, Cambodian caramel pork with rice noodles and mint, coconut and sesame fried bananas and Peking duck Natasha style.