About the Book
The word 'spice' should not only mean heat or quantity of chilli in a dish. Spice is a reference to the myriad of unbelievable ingredients that for centuries were one of the primary causes of war, of piracy, of exploration and of empire building. They were hunted all over the globe and sent back thousands of miles to royal courts as exotic bounties from far flung, mysterious lands. They were and are spices.
We now have these wonderful ingredients on our doorsteps, or even closer, in our spice cupboards, but we still fear them or treat them with a degree of confusion if not suspicion. In this cookbook, Dhruv will instil an understanding of the characteristics of individual spices, which will then lead to an ability to blend or fuse more and more spices to give an enhanced culinary experience with the addition of each extra layer of flavour. Some recipes will include:
Fennel and saffron butter poached lobster
Pork tenderloin fritters, achari mayonnaise
Cardamom and vodka panacotta
Cinnamon and star anise hot chocolate
Spice has the ability instantly to transport otherwise bland dishes to a monsoon of smell and taste. This is the power of spice.
About the Author :
Dhruv Baker is the winner of the BBC's MASTERCHEF 2010 and has a rich cultural background which has helped shape how he cooks and the spices he uses in his dishes - from living in Mexico to India, Spain and Tanzania, Dhruv is the perfect chef to introduce cardamom, turmeric and saffron to the modern lexicon using approachable and delicious recipes.
http://www.dhruvbaker.com/
https://twitter.com/DhruvBaker1
Review :
Spice is the perfect book to turn to if you want to use spices more adventurously and thoughtfully.
Dhruv, the 2010 winner of Masterchef, has an Indian mother and an English father. He spent most of his formative years in India, but this is only one of many countries that have influenced his distinctive, delicious and accessible recipe style.
Another first book success, this time from the 'palate of an angel' MasterChef winner Dhruv Baker. The recipes span the globe but are just the sort of thing you'll want to cook at home.
If you are a MasterChef fan and your memory stretches back as far as 2010, you will remember Dhruv 'palate of an angel' Baker. He won the competition with a deft use of spices and flavouring, and now he has written a book about cooking with spices. 'My spice cupboard is my haven, my treasure trove of flavour,' he says. 'I want to share this love with you.' Along with more than 100 recipes (chicken chukka, Malabar prawn curry, rum- and star anise-poached figs, cassia custard and so on), Baker has included a spice guide (for example, 'allspice: the dried unripe fruit of the allspice tree, good in desserts') and a flavour map. Thus armed, you can transform a plain diet into a thing of wonder.
So many people are hesitant or become hidebound with their spicing, and yet one of the great pleasures of cooking is in playing with flavours that give food oomph and subtle complexity; spices do not have to mean big-bang taste explosions, though they have their place. This book is, for me, a must-have and it gives me great pleasure to introduce it to you. I've chosen a recipe that highlights one of my favourite spices - cumin - in the form of Cheese and Cumin Croquettes, but there is plenty, plenty more in this book to get the taste buds tingling.
Dhruv Baker, the 2010 Masterchef winner, knows exactly how to use spices to liven up the palate and get your dishes really noticed. An Anglo-Indian background and a childhood spent in Mexico have given him an incredible insight into flavour. Whether he is addding a few cumin seeds and a macadamia crust to cauliflower cheese or slipping vanilla into mashed potato, his ideas are simple but the results are magical.
Staying in the zone of aromatics is the brightly designed Spice: Layers of Flavour by Dhruv Baker, a former Masterchef winner and new proprietor of the Jolly Gardeners in south London.
Baker uses spices creatively. Green beans are dressed with coconut, black mustard seeds and red chilli; aubergine is grilled, glazed with ginger and miso; beef is roasted with fenugreek and cardamom is added to a lemon and lime curd tart. I'd give this book to anyone who loves cooking as an adventure; and with Baker's palate you are in safe hands.
Spice is the perfect book to turn to if you want to use spices more adventurously and thoughtfully.
Dhruv, the 2010 winner of Masterchef, has an Indian mother and an English father. He spent most of his formative years in India, but this is only one of many countries that have influenced his distinctive, delicious and accessible recipe style.
Another first book success, this time from the 'palate of an angel' MasterChef winner Dhruv Baker. The recipes span the globe but are just the sort of thing you'll want to cook at home.
If you are a MasterChef fan and your memory stretches back as far as 2010, you will remember Dhruv 'palate of an angel' Baker. He won the competition with a deft use of spices and flavouring, and now he has written a book about cooking with spices. 'My spice cupboard is my haven, my treasure trove of flavour,' he says. 'I want to share this love with you.' Along with more than 100 recipes (chicken chukka, Malabar prawn curry, rum- and star anise-poached figs, cassia custard and so on), Baker has included a spice guide (for example, 'allspice: the dried unripe fruit of the allspice tree, good in desserts') and a flavour map. Thus armed, you can transform a plain diet into a thing of wonder.
So many people are hesitant or become hidebound with their spicing, and yet one of the great pleasures of cooking is in playing with flavours that give food oomph and subtle complexity; spices do not have to mean big-bang taste explosions, though they have their place. This book is, for me, a must-have and it gives me great pleasure to introduce it to you. I've chosen a recipe that highlights one of my favourite spices - cumin - in the form of Cheese and Cumin Croquettes, but there is plenty, plenty more in this book to get the taste buds tingling.
Dhruv Baker, the 2010 Masterchef winner, knows exactly how to use spices to liven up the palate and get your dishes really noticed. An Anglo-Indian background and a childhood spent in Mexico have given him an incredible insight into flavour. Whether he is addding a few cumin seeds and a macadamia crust to cauliflower cheese or slipping vanilla into mashed potato, his ideas are simple but the results are magical.
