Culinaria Spain

I am very pleased to have finally bought this book.I had previously seen a friend's copy.I t is much more than just another cookery book with lots of information about Spain and the many regional customs and recipes.The illustrations too are of a high quality.This is a thoroughly recommendable book..

Good

Very nice!

An excellent book which will not become dated.

I read this book in Spain, it was the hard back version. I ordered the paperback copy which I found smaller in the print. Apart from that this book is so interesting, telling you all about the specialities of food/wine in each province and some good recipe's too.

Beautiful Book, look forward to trying out the recipes. Not only a cook book but a travel manual full of beautiful pictures of interesting places not on the Costa's

'A country's cuisine is its landscape in a cooking pot', said the Catalan writer Joseph Pla (1897-1981).That glance inside the cooking pot reveals more than a country's geography. To savour a nation's culinary customs is to experience the unfolding of an entire culture. Like tasting a fine wine, it takes time and patience, and a readiness to discover some hitherto unfamiliar subtleness.This book aims to awaken the reader's appetite for Spanish variety, the countless faces of nature, culture, and cuisine which it offers.......The decision to base the choice of recipes mainly on the traditional cuisines was an obvious one.......It invites its readers to a world of enjoyment.Follow as it beckons and take a culinary journey through Spain. The way to the heart is said to be through the stomach, but the heart may find far more than food.Eating is a pleasure of the senses, and can appeal to sight as well as taste, and to the emotions and the mind as well.'A large tome of 488 high quality pages, split over 17 chapters:-(1) Catalonia(2) Balearic Islands(3) Aragon(4) Navarra(5) La Rioja(6) Basque Country(7) Cantabria(8) Asturias(9) Galicia(10) Castile-León(11) Madrid(12) Castile- La Mancha(13) Extremadura(14) Valencia(15) Murcia(16) Andalusia(17) Canary Islandswith a foreword, a glossary, a recipe index and a general index.Packed full of information, including maps and step-by-step methods of preparation, this is a very useful reference to have on your kitchen bookshelf.It contains all sorts of facts from the more familiar, such as Bullfighting, Cuban Cigars, Tortilla, Saffron, Don Quixote, Spanish Sausage Specialities and Paprika Powder, to those less so.....such as Gooseneck Barnacles, Lamprey, Orujo, Court Cuisine of the Hapsburgs and Spanish Cuts of Beef or Iberian Ham.'AlioliHow could such a brutal human being invent such a fine dish? It is the Roman emperor Nero, loathed as the man who burned Rome, who is credited with inventing the combination of garlic and olive oil now known in Spain as 'aioli' (from the Catalan words 'all' - garlic and 'oli' - oil), and so basic to Spanish cuisine.......'Over 1200 illustrations including 202 of the recipes, which are indicated, in the index, by a bold page number.A tiny taste of the recipes contained within:-Stuffed Snow-CrabBell Pepper OmeletteSpinach Salad with QuailsPotato Stew La Rioja StyleBilbao Puff Pastry RollsCantabrian-style StewHake in CiderVeal Fillet with Cabrales CheeseAsturian Bean StewApple TartMarinated MusselsGalician Almond Tart'Lacquered' Pork RibsScrambled Eggs with Wild AsparagusPaellaTortillaDuck in Orange SauceStuffed SquidPickled OlivesHot Red Pepper SauceCinnamon CookiesCrema CatalanaCannelloni Catalan StyleEach chapter has a quick-view list of contents, followed by text about the particular region.Each recipe is well laid out with the Spanish title and an English translation, along with the number of servings, the list of ingredients and method.'Paella' - 'From the Pan of Pans' ....Many call it a 'paellera' but deep-rooted Valencians disagree - the large, black pan has given the Valencian national dish its name - it must, therefore, be called a 'paella', plain and simply.The term comes from the Latin 'patella', a flat plate on which offerings were made to the gods........You cannot go far wrong when buying a 'paella pan'. Many cooks prefer iron to stainless steel as it conducts heat better.......'

a great leisurely read