Product Description

"For as long as I can remember, I've had Africa on my mind." Award-winning chef Marcus Samuelsson may be best known for his innovative take on Scandinavian cuisine at New York's Restaurant Aquavit, but his story begins thousands of miles away, in Africa. Born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden by adoptive parents, his life transcends national boundaries, and his individual approach to cuisine is a global yet personal one that draws freely from many ethnic and cultural influences.

In The Soul of a New Cuisine, Marcus returns to the land of his birth to explore the continent's rich diversity of cultures and cuisines through recipes and stories from his travels in Africa. Stunning color images by award-winning photographer Gediyon Kifle bring the breadth of the African experience to life, from fishermen at sunset off the coast of Zanzibar to French baguettes loaded onto a bicycle in Senegal.

Marcus shares more than 200 enticing recipes, including his own African-inspired creations and traditional dishes from all parts of Africa. You can delight in spicy stews and Barbequed Snapper from West Africa and the familiar Mediterranean flavors of dishes like Moroccan Lemon-Olive Chicken, or make your way east and south for the irresistible taste combinations of dishes such as Curried Trout with Coconut-Chili Sauce from Kenya and Apple-Squash Fritters from South Africa's Cape Malay. Using ingredients that are readily available in American markets, the recipes are doable as well as delicious.

Of course, one of the keys to authentic African cooking is the use of spice blends and rubs, which elevate simple cooking techniques to an excitingly varied and intense level. Marcus includes his favorites here, with blends that go from sweet to spicy and feature everything from hot chili peppers and peppermint leaves to sesame seeds and ginger.

As he says, Africa is "a state of mind that I hope this book will help you tap into wherever you are." By cooking with a handful of this and a pinch of that, trying new foods and enjoying old ones in a new way, and lingering over meals with family and friends, you will bring the free, relaxed spirit of African cooking to your table and discover for yourself the soul of a "new" cuisine.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37178 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780764569111
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
New York City Cookbooks from Wiley
New York is one of the world's great food cities; it is also one of the most culinarily diverse. Check out these great cookbooks from some of the stars of the New York food scene, as they make their great recipes accessible to the home cook.

Fiamma: The Essence of Contemporary Italian Cooking A contemporary spin on classic Italian cuisine for home cooks from New York’s acclaimed Fiamma restaurant.

At Home with Magnolia: Classic American Recipes from the Owner of Magnolia Bakery Known for recipes evoking a homemade, uncomplicated era, Allysa Torey, the owner of New York’s renowned Magnolia Bakery, expands her repertoire with 93 great recipes for appetizers, soups, casseroles, main courses, vegetables, and, of course, desserts.

Artisanal Cooking: A Chef Shares His Passion for Handcrafting Great Meals at Home Terrance Brennan, the chef/owner of two acclaimed restaurants, Picholine and Artisanal, brings to life his passion for simple yet flavorful cuisine in this wonderful cookbook.

Go Fish: Fresh Ideas for American Seafood Celebrated chef Laurent Tourondel of New York's BLT Fish and BLT Steak, reveals how creating elegant, mouthwatering seafood at home can be marvelously easy–and faster than you might think.

In the Heat of the Kitchen Gordon Ramsay Makes It Easy International superstar chef Gordon Ramsey, owner of the forthcoming New York hot spot "The London," reveals all, from techniques and short cuts to clever cooking tips.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Born Ethiopian, raised Swedish, and now one of New York City's top chefs, Samuelsson (Aquavit: And the New Scandinavian Cuisine) has written an exotic yet accessible book that will hasten the coming of the African fusion cookery he envisions. His 204 recipes and 258 color photos are enriched with personal and political history; as in his many condiments and sauces, the balance is right. While he stresses the diversity and bounty of the second-largest continent, he repeatedly describes African cuisine as poor people's cooking, crafted with simple tools and necessarily emphasizing starches, vegetables and big flavors. Whether it's rosemary for Honey Bread or turmeric, ginger and cinnamon in his Vegetable Samosas, herbs and spices are always sauteed in oil or tossed in a hot dry pan, to intensify and mellow. He even proposes toasting the cinnamon for the whipped cream accompanying his Ethiopian Chocolate Rum Cake. The recipe for the cake is typical: the batter is prepared in a single bowl, mixed with a spoon, and bakes up moist and gingerbread-like, with great keeping properties. Toasting the cinnamon takes seconds and is impressive in the complexity it delivers. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Samuelsson established his reputation as one of the foremost exponents of contemporary Swedish cookery through Aquavit, his celebrated New York City restaurant. Now he travels to wholly new territory by returning to the land of his birth and the glorious traditions of African cooking. From his native Ethiopia he prepares injera, the country's staple fermented flatbread. Moroccan cooking, one of Africa's most sophisticated, contributes harissa, a fiery spice paste that warms many North African dishes. Cassava stuffs shrimp for a satisfying West African meal. Samuelsson substitutes beef for lamb in South Africa's renowned bobotie but takes care to preserve the dish's curry-influenced spicing. Jerk chicken, more generally associated with Jamaica, shows how African eating traditions have spread abroad. He does not flinch at using contemporary ingredients such as arugula and Yukon Gold potatoes to make his recipes attractive. The immensity and diversity of Africa make it difficult to comprehend a continent's varied cooking styles in a single book, but Samuelsson's achievement celebrates a little-known cuisine. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Fabulous Recipes
I agree with B. Marold that the writing is weak, but who "reads" cookbooks? I got the book for Xmas and have made a few of the recipes, and they are HEAVEN. Last night: a roast chicken stuffed with olives, ginger, cardamom, lemon rind and rubbed with a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, cardamom and ginger. Each bite burst with the individual flavors. I was in love. That recipe alone was worth the $26.40. And there are dozens more that I can't wait to try. This is food porn at its best.

Unbelievably Good Recipes.
I am obsessed with this cookbook, especially now that I have had a chance to make some of the recipes. If you are looking for new flavors and interesting and challenging new foods to cook then I highly recommend you buy this book. Unlike some other reviewers, I did not buy this book for the travelogue aspect. I wasn't looking for an in depth encyclopedic knowledge of any specific country's cuisine. I was just looking for something new and different and delicious. I'm a cook and a foodie and I love ethnic cooking. This book is a great introduction to the trendiest new food in the US. My favorite so far has been the Crab Burgers, which feature easy black bean crab burgers topped with pickled cabbage and chili mayonnaise. I can still taste how unique and delicious they were. Everyone who tried them was blown away by their flavor, which can't really be imagined before you take a bite. While making all the components was a bit time consuming (but really not that bad) none of the recipes were terribly difficult. But I would say this book is geared more to more experienced home cooks and adventuresome eaters. Those with mundane palates probably should stay away.

In response to an earlier critique, I think that reviewer missed the gist of the book. The idea was to take the cuisine of various African countries and get the basic idea of it but then to expand that idea to something bigger. So the recipes keep a common ingredient but fix it in a unique way or use a technique with a unique combination of ingredients. I love this about the book. Samuelsson keeps techniques, such using a morter and pestle, that can't be matched with modern methods but uses modern technology, such as the mandoline, when it performs the needed task more easily, and in this case if your knife skills are lacking, with better results. I do agree, however, that the photographs that go with the recipes can be misleading. I'm still not sure what the Stir Fry Beef Stew is supposed to look like. The pictures on the pages with the recipe are vastly different and not labeled but both could be the stew in question.

All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves cooking and ethnic foods. The flavors are out of this world and the recipes are highly inspiring.

Daring and Fun
If you enjoy "new eating adventures" this is a great source to use.
The author does an outstanding job a giving alternative suggestions for ingredients that might not be easily accesible to you. Loads of great background information on the indigenous countries of the recipes used - I read it cover to cover like a non-fiction!