The Food of Spain

by Claudia Roden

Overview

One of our foremost authorities on Mediterranean, North African, and Italian cooking, Claudia Roden brings her incomparable authenticity, vision, and immense knowledge to bear in The Food of Spain. The James Beard Award–winning author of the classic cookbooks A Book of Middle Eastern Food and A Book of Jewish Food now graces food lovers with the definitive cookbook on the Spanish cuisine, illustrated with dozens of gorgeous full-color photographs that capture the color and essence of this wonderfully vibrant nation and its diverse people, traditions, and culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061969621
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	06/07/2011
Pages:	624
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 10.40(h) x 2.40(d)

About the Author

Claudia Roden was born and brought up in Cairo. She finished her education in Paris and later studied art in London. She now lives in London. Roden writes about food with a special interest in the social and historical back-ground of cooking. Her books include The Book of Jewish Food, which won eight international awards, as well as The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, Arabesque, Coffee: A Connoisseur's Companion, The Food of Italy: Region by Region, Everything Tastes Better Outdoors, and Mediterranean Cookery. In 1989 she won Italy's two most prestigious food prizes, the Premio Orio Vergani and the Premio Maria Luigia, Duchessa di Parma. She has also won six Glenfiddich awards.

What People are Saying About This

Sam Sifton

“After a series of fascinating essays on the historical forces that led to the creation of various Spanish cuisines (among others: Celts and Jews, Frenchmen, monks, peasants and royals), Roden slips into the kitchen to deliver the goods.”

Editorial Reviews

After a series of fascinating essays on the historical forces that led to the creation of various Spanish cuisines (among others: Celts and Jews, Frenchmen, monks, peasants and royals), Roden slips into the kitchen to deliver the goods.” — Sam Sifton, New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher

After a series of fascinating essays on the historical forces that led to the creation of various Spanish cuisines (among others: Celts and Jews, Frenchmen, monks, peasants and royals), Roden slips into the kitchen to deliver the goods.

Sam Sifton

OK, I am not a big fan of the typical "The Food of . . ." The copy often falls into the tourism category, the recipes are a bit hoary, and, well, the whole thing feels like it was served up as leftovers. Ms. Roden's effort does occasionally fall into a few of these traps especially when one reads catchphrases extolling the region's "breathtaking gastronomic diversity." What country would not meet this definition? And darling photos of young, snowy white sheep across from a recipe for lamb shanks have made it past a less-than-discriminating editor. But the author gets a free pass due to the recipes—clean, solid, and quite doable in an American kitchen. The Medley of Spring Vegetables (fava beans, artichoke hearts, and asparagus bathed in chicken broth), Eggplant with Béchamel and Cheese, Beans with Cured Pork and Sausages, and a simple Almond Cake are all in-your-face, I-want-to-eat-it-now examples of rustic appeal and hearty country cooking. Despite its timeless and often predictable formula, The Food of Spain does deliver on the food and that's where it counts.
— Founder and Editor, America's Test Kitchen

Christopher Kimball

…a sweeping and tightly edited overview of the varied cuisines of the Iberian Peninsula.
—The New York Times

Sam Sifton