Gourmet Food for a Fiver by Jason Atherton

Gourmet Food for a Fiver? Is that really possible? Dig into Jason Atherton's latest book and you'll find it is, well almost. First things first though. You're looking at £5 a head for two courses and that's banking on you having all the basic storecupboard ingredients, like olive oil, balsamic vinegar, saffron, maple syrup and so on, all of which are pretty pricey. However, that aside, if you choose inexpensive cuts of meat such as beef flank, pork belly or lamb shoulder and the cheaper pollock, mackerel and gurnard, you can cook gourmet food relatively cheaply.

HOME COOK FRIENDLY

Jason Atherton, formerly head chef at Maze, one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants, has always been good at combining interesting and unusual flavours and this is the strength of this book. His first book, Maze: the cookbook, didn't translate well to the home kitchen but recipes in this book are definitely more user friendly. You'll use more pots, pans and bowls than you probably knew you had and spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen but the results are most definitely worth it. The recipes are so well concieved, each flavour standing out whilst complementing the others and for this, it's a masterpiece that challenges the home cook into a new way of pulling a meal together.

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It's a rare cookbook where nearly all the recipes appeal and Gourmet Food for a Fiver is one, with 80 recipes and menu suggestions. Atherton also gives ideas on how to plate the dishes, which adds another interesting strand. To give a taster of what's on offer, the salad of roast beetroot with goat's cheese has a lot going for it with a toasted walnut dressing, all of which is rounded off with a honey glaze. Serve with some delicious sourdough bread and you've got a winner. Have you ever thought about serving meringues with a pink peppercorn syrup or panna cotta with tomato and passion fruit syrup? Well if not, why not?

This is a good book for the home cook looking for some inspirational ideas and flavour combinations. And thankfully the entry price isn't prohibitive either. It's £14.99.

Publication details:
Quadrille Publishing
£14.99
ISBN 1844008169
Photography by Yuki Sugiura
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