As the holidays approach, it’s fun to consult the newest cookbooks for bright food ideas. Their colorful pages can even inspire relunctant cooks.
And, of course, new cookbooks are just the thing for seasonal gifts.
Everyone will find something special in Jacques Pépin’s “Heart & Soul in the Kitchen” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
Trained in his native France, Pépin is a master of classic restaurant technique, but he says this book showcases recipes he actually cooks at home.
Like all home cooks, Pépin has shortcuts: He uses canned rather than boiled-from-scratch beans because, he writes, “They contain nothing but beans, water and salt, which is exactly what I would use.”
He also advocates some commercial sauces.
“The beauty of many Chinese dishes is the use of bottled sauces,” he writes in his recipe for Eggplant Chinois. Equally, he loves the mushrooms, rose hips and dandelions he forages near his Connecticut home, and the crops that grow nearby.
His recipes include Latin dishes from his Puerto Rican wife and vacations in Mexico, Asian dishes, and French favorites, sometimes with a twist: for example, Tarte Tatin made with tomatoes rather than apples. Pépin’s book is illustrated with his own paintings.
Similarly, the deft drawings of Cuban scenes by Ximena Maier highlight “Taste of Cuba” (Interlink Books).
Aware that she is describing Cuban food to readers who have been unable to visit the island, author Beatriz Llamas notes its origins in the cooking of its former Spanish rulers and their African slaves.
French influences arrived in 1805 with French plantation owners fleeing from Haiti’s revolution. More recipes came with Chinese immigrants. Today, Cubans eat lots of beans, rice, plantains, okra and fish.
The fish and seafood recipes are especially interesting. One is for shrimp breasts; others include tuna glazed with sugar cane and coconut, and snapper with almonds and capers.
In “Palestine on a Plate: Memories from My Mother’s Kitchen” (Interlink Books) author Joudie Kalla notes that Palestine lies on historic trade routes between Europe and Asia, and has adopted foods and techniques from both cultures.
Crucial roles are played by spice and herb blends such as dukkah — a coriander, cumin, fennel seeds, sesame and paprika mixture — and za’atar, which teams thyme, marjoram, sumac and sesame seeds. Other favorite ingredients include pomegranate molasses, tahini, pine nuts and rose water.
The pictures are enticing: among them Tahini Brownies with elegant tahini swirls, and hummus studded with enough pomegranate seeds and pine nuts to charm the birds out of the trees.
Since salmon farming developed in the 1980s, this once forbiddingly expensive fish is now among the cheapest, and it’s hard to imagine a better book about it than Diane Morgan’s “Salmon Everything You Need to Know + 45 Recipes” (Chronicle Books).
Describing salmon as “a superfood, a powerhouse, of high-quality, incredibly delicious, flavorful protein,” Morgan explores the history of salmon farming, explains how to prepare a whole salmon, and then how to cook it.
She categorizes the recipes by cooking techniques, such as baking or frying, and every chapter has something seriously tempting: Tea Smoked Salmon for example, or Salmon Baked in Parchment with Tomatoes and Corn. All the recipes will thrill salmon lovers.
These may include people who prefer the Paleo diet, which rejects today’s carbohydrate-laden fare in favor of high-protein foods such as fish and meat that apparently sustained our Paleolithic forebears. Irena Macri explains this regimen in “Eat Drink Paleo Cookbook” (Chronicle).
Macri writes breezily and invitingly rather than dogmatically, and her recipes are seriously tempting: Cauliflower Couscous or Mustard-Thyme Quail for example.
Since the paleo diet shuns wheat, Macri’s desserts, like the Macadamia Cakies (see recipe below), are gluten-free.
Jacques Pépin says this recipe is based on one in a favorite Chinese restaurant. He suggests it as “a nice dish to serve with a roast.” It’s an easy change of pace for Thanksgiving or on any holiday table.
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons hot chili sauce
cup water
4 small, narrow Chinese or Japanese eggplant (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon peeled ginger
½ cup sliced scallions
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander
Mix the soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, hot chili sauce and water together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Slice the eggplant crosswise about 1¼ inches thick, then slice the disks into wedges. (You should have about 4 cups.)
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the eggplant and sauté over high heat, covered for about 7 minutes, turning the pieces in the hot oil occasionally. Remove the lid, add the garlic, ginger and scallions, and sauté uncovered for about 1 minute, tossing the mixture a few times.
Add the soy mixture to the skillet, cover, and cook for about 1 minute. Uncover, cook for a minute longer, then add the cilantro, toss, and serve.
In her book “Taste of Cuba,” Llamas notes that the almonds and capers in this recipe are common ingredients in Cuban cooking; both were brought to the island by Spanish immigrants. Instead of fish broth you could use water from cooking vegetables or vegetable or chicken stock. This is a tasty but light dish — nice to have as a relief from some of the heavier meals of the holidays.
1½ pounds red snapper fillets
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
For the sauce
6 tablespoons oil
1¼ cups chopped onion
½ cup toasted almonds
2 tablespoons capers
1½ cups fish broth
Cut the red snapper fillets into pieces approximately 3 inches long and marinate them in the lime juice and some salt for 10 minutes on each side
For the sauce: Heat the oil in a skillet on low heat and add the onions and parsley, Sauté for about 6 minutes, until the onion is soft but not browned. Grind the almonds and capers separately in a mortar and add to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes and add the broth. Raise the heat and once the mixture begins to boil, reduce it again and cook gently for 10 minutes. Season with salt.
Heat the oil for the fish in a skillet on high heat, fry the fish fillets quickly until golden on each side and pour the sauce over them. When it begins to boil, cook for 1-2 minutes then remove from the heat. Serve in an earthenware dish sprinkled with parsley.
In the United States, most of us eat hummus as a party dip or sandwich topping. In Palestine, this kind of hummus is a breakfast dish. But it’s perfect for a holiday party, too. Its array of shiny pink pomegranate seeds and golden pine nuts give it an enticing festive look.
In her book, “Palestine on a Plate,” Kalla notes that it’s a good idea to have all the ingredients on hand and ready to go because the dish needs to be put together quickly once the bread and liquid have been combined.
cup tahini
Generous 1½ cups Greek yogurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 green chili, finely chopped
Juice of 2 lemons
Sea salt and black pepper
4 pita breads
Olive oil for drizzling
1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
Paprika for sprinkling
1 pomegranate seeded
¾ cup toasted pine nuts
Fresh mint leaves to garnish
For the hummus:
2 14-ounce cans chickpeas
Juice of 2 lemons
1 garlic clove crushed
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon Greek Yogurt
1 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Mix the tahini with the yogurt, garlic, chili, and lemon juice. Drizzle the pita bread pieces with the oil and place on a baking tray. Toast them in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden.
Now make the hummus. In a saucepan, warm the chickpeas with the liquid from the cans until they are heated through. Strain but reserve the liquid. Put half the chickpeas in a blender with the rest of the hummus ingredients and whiz to a smooth paste. Add this to the tahini and yogurt mixture.
Place the toasted bread in a serving bowl, adding ½ cup of the reserved chickpea cooking liquid and three quarters of the remaining chickpeas. Pour in one-quarter of the hummus mixture and combine all together until the bread is coated. Top with the rest of the hummus mixture. Decorate with chopped parsley, paprika, pomegranate seeds, the remaining chickpeas, and toasted pine nuts. Drizzle with olive oil, garnish with mint and serve.
Since salmon farming brought the price of salmon down, smoked salmon, once too pricey for all but plutocrats, has become cheaper and more popular — especially for parties. This homemade version is less oily and tastier than some store-bought offerings. It’s fun to make, too. It may well become a holiday party staple. It’s from “Salmon Everything You Need to Know + 45 Recipes.”
1½ pounds center cut salmon fillet
¼ cup Earl Grey, oolong or Lapsang Souchong whole-leaf tea
¼ cup firmly packed golden-brown sugar
¼ cup white rice
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Remove the salmon from the refrigerator 30 minutes before smoking to bring it up to room temperature.
In a small bowl, combine the tea leaves, brown sugar and rice and mix well. Set aside.
Using a stove-top smoker or wok, line the bottom with a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, Pour the tea-rice mixture onto the foil in the center of the pan and spread in an even layer. If using a stove-top smoker, spread another sheet of foil on top, covering all of the tea-rice mixture. Cover a drip tray with foil, and place it on top. If using a wok, lay a large sheet of foil loosely over the tea-rice mixture. Coat a wire rack with nonstick spray and place on top of the drip tray or foil.
Arrange the salmon on the rack and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid leaving it slightly open if using a wok, then place on medium heat. When the first wisp of smoke appears close the lid tightly on the wok. Smoke the salmon for 15-17 minutes. Turn the heat off but leave the salmon in the smoker or wok for another 5 minutes.
Transfer the salmon to a cutting board. Slide a spatula between the salmon flesh and the skin, separating them. Discard the skin. Cut the salmon crosswise against the grain and serve immediately. (Or let cool and serve in party canapes.)
Irena Macri, author of “Eat Drink Paleo,” says the cakies are “little cakes pretending to be cookies.” If you are looking for a gluten-free treat to add to a holiday cookies platter, this recipe is an answer.
cup raw macadamia nuts
2 eggs beaten
5 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
3 tablespoons raw honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1½ cups almond meal
2½ tablespoons tapioca flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch sea salt
½ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with two layers of parchment paper.
Coarsely grind the macadamia nuts, or place them in a plastic bag and whack them with a rolling pin. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, melted coconut oil, honey and vanilla. Add the almond meal, tapioca, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Fold until everything is well incorporated. Add about three-fourths of the macadamia nuts and stir. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.
Make a piping bag out of parchment paper, or snip off a bottom corner of a sandwich bag. Scoop the batter into the piping bag.
Squeeze walnut-size dollops of the batter about three quarters inch apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Press the remaining nuts gently into the tops of the cakies and use your fingers or a spatula to gently flatten them.
Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.