White, Jenny and Joanna Farrow. Best Ever Three and Four Ingredient Cookbook.
Hermes House: London, 2009
For busy cooks who love simple and elegant dishes without skimping on flavor.
When there never seems enough time during the day (or night) to cook, the easiest thing to do is to forgo it all together and resort to the faithful takeout menu. I have many of them. But sometimes, Chinese and pizza or even Thai just doesn’t cut it. And I’m not about to go through a 30-minute meal rush. Is it just me, or does cramming in a whole bunch of ingredients and prep time and cooking time into 3o minutes something I DON”T want to do at the end of a long day?
Instead of figuring out shortcuts that can leave your dish looking sloppy or made from pre-cooked food, why not limit yourself to 3 or 4 fresh ingredients and call it a day? You can have the quality of good food, the satisfaction that you cooked it yourself, and lots of time to spare. Now that sounds like a solution.
After a short introduction of ingredients and kitchen basics, there are 400 recipes ranging from Breakfasts to fish to salads and desserts. I was intrigued when I saw the meat dishes. Could you really make a meat dish with only four ingredients, including the meat? And what about cookies? After all, I already found my cookie bible (review here), but could this make it even easier?
As you know, the reason why I love these cookbook series are the pictures. The dishes look amazingly delicious and clearly simple. Recipes such as Steak with Warm Tomato Salsa and Oven-Baked Porcini Risotto are true to their name, literally. An experienced cook can use this book for quick inspiration without the need to read the directions, and the beginner cook can use it as a guide in learning how to handle certain ingredients. Some dishes that traditionally use a list of ingredients are stripped to their bare bones here, such as the Moroccan Carrot Salad and Fettuccine Alfredo. I’m interested to see how those recipes hold up.
The book is great for anyone wishing for some finger food or something that can be thrown together in minutes. I like how the recipes come from many global cuisines, such as Tandoori Chicken or Japanese Spinach with Toasted Sesame Seeds, so there is always an easy and unique dish available. The book is a must for a beginner as well as a nice selection for busy cooks. I will definitely be trying out these recipes very soon.
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