Granja Viader for churros con chocolate. A few minutes’ stroll from La Boqueria.© Jeff Koehler

What is surely one of the year’s highest points, the Sunday New York Book Review has named Spain: Recipes and Traditions one of the best twelve cookbooks of the year.

Jeff Koehler does justice to another regionally complex country in SPAIN: Recipes and Traditions From the Verdant Hills of the Basque Country to the Coastal Waters of Andalucia (Chronicle Books, $40). The author, a food writer who has lived in Spain for many years, focuses on roots cooking, the simple, flavorful dishes that warm Spanish hearts.

Koehler is an expert guide, providing highly informative headnotes to each recipe, often explaining regional variations in the same recipe and suggesting some clever tips. In his recipe for clams with oloroso sherry, for example, he suggests substituting dry white wine with a little brandy if sherry isn’t at hand. These pages abound in seductively rustic dishes like pork baked in a salt crust and served with fruit compote, chestnut purée or a blue cheese sauce.

Happy to share that Mother Jones selected Spain: Recipes and Traditions as one of the top seven cookbooks of the year.

Wintery vineyards the weekend the olive oil harvest began. Tarragona. December 7, 2013. © Jeff Koehler

There is pleasure in being sent on assignment to a place far from home, a new city with new places to discover and people to meet. But there is pleasure, too, on being on assignment in your own city — in my case, Barcelona. This (cold) morning shooting in a favorite bar. January 16th, 2012. © Jeff Koehler

making trid in the medina of Fez. ©Jeff Koehler

Morocco: A Culinary Journey with Recipes

There are few sights as surprising as hearty goats grazing up in thorny argan trees. These were taken recently coming down the Tiz-n-Test pass and into Morocco’s Anti-Atlas. ©Jeff Koehler

 

 

Morocco: A Culinary Journey with Recipes

Happy to report that Morocco: A Culinary Journey with Recipes has been selected by the CS Monitor as one of the best cookbooks of 2012, and sits at number 4 on the list. Their justification:

Like Burma, Morocco stands at a culinary crossroads, with influences from many different food traditions. (In this case, West African, Middle Eastern, French, and Spanish are the most pronounced.) Also like Burma, Morocco’s rich culinary offerings have too often been ignored in North America. This excellent book includes recipes that represent the diverse culinary offerings found throughout the country.

 

I am happy to share that The Daily Meal has named Morocco: A Culinary Journey with Recipes as one of the best 25 cookbooks of the year.

“Moroccan food is filled with all kinds of mysterious and exotic twists that often make it difficult to master for new home cooks. In his book Morocco, Jeff Koehler de-mystifies the cuisine by explaining the true science behind the many different components of the fascinating food. While it’s not the first Moroccan cookbook we’ve seen, his beautiful photographs and simplified recipes make it a top pick on our list this year.”