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New cookbooks crop up like superblooms in spring, when the vitality of the season propels us to get into the kitchen. In the same way that each spring feels like life anew, every book is yet another way of looking at how we cook. (It’s why we keep adding books to all of our overflowing collections, right?)
This season we’re diving into the first Salvadoran cookbook released by a major publisher; the first book from the vegetable-loving chefs of Kismet; humanitarian chef José Andrés’ Greek, Lebanese and Turkish recipes; Joan Nathan’s latest food memoir; the unhinged culinary feats of the Mythical Kitchen; market-inspired Niçoise cooking; and more.
You’ll want recipes for Nathan’s sticky buns, the creamy marinated feta with grapefruit and roasted tomatoes from Kismet, chilled yogurt soup garnished with cucumber and pistachio and barberries, Salvadoran chicken sandwiches dipped in recaudo … and we have them!
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The SalviSoul Cookbook
At last, after nearly 10 years, Karla Vasquez’s “The SalviSoul Cookbook” is being published by Ten Speed Press with terrific Salvadoran recipes you’ll want to make and stories of the women who shared them.
THE RECIPES
Salpicón De Res (Salvadoran Minced Beef Salad)
Time 55 minutes
Yields Serves 4 to 6
Panes Con Pollo
Time 2 hours (including marinating and roasting times)
Yields Makes 6 sandwiches
Salvadoran Sopa De Res
Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Yields Serves 4 to 6
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Kismet: Bright, Fresh, Vegetable-Loving Recipes
Learn to cook vegetables in all the best possible ways from the new cookbook “Kismet: Bright, Fresh, Vegetable-Loving Recipes” by Sarah Hymanson and Sara Kramer, the chefs of Kismet and Kismet Rotisserie.
THE RECIPES
Kismet's Marinated Feta
Time 1 hour (including marinating time)
Yields Makes about 1 cup
Marinated Feta With Spice-Roasted Tomatoes And Grapefruit
Time 40 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Broccoli With Pumpkin Seed Jazz
Time 1 hour
Yields Serves 4
Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner Soup
Time 30 minutes
Yields Serves 4
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My Life in Recipes
Her stories and recipes from the Jewish diaspora set the template for other food writers seeking their own identity.
THE RECIPES
Joan Nathan's Passover Pecan Lemon Torte With Lemon Curd Filling
Yields Serves 8 to 10
Joan Nathan's Ann Arbor Schnecken (Sticky Pecan Rolls)
Time 9 to 36 hours (30 minutes active time)
Yields Makes 12 sticky buns
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Zaytinya
José Andrés spends much of his time contemplating the unifying nature of food, both in and out of the world’s most dangerous conflict and disaster zones.
THE RECIPES
Buttery Shrimp With Dill (Garides Me Ánitho)
Time 15 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Zaytinya's Chilled Yogurt Soup
Time 2 hours, 5 minutes
Yields Serves 6
Butternut Hommus
Time 1 hour, 15 minutes
Yields Makes about 3½ cups
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Rhett & Link Present: The Mythical Cookbook
With the spring release of ‘The Mythical Cookbook,’ Josh Scherer, Rhett and Link embrace culinary mayhem with unhinged recipes
THE RECIPES
French Onion Ramen
Time 55 minutes
Yields Serves 1
Milk Chocolate-Dipped Bacon Ice Cream Sandwiches
Time 50 minutes plus chilling time (overnight for best results)
Yields Makes 4 sandwiches
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Koshersoul
Michael Twitty’s second book “Koshersoul” explores the links between Black and Jewish culinary traditions with conversations, personal essays and recipes, including a matzoh ball gumbo.
THE RECIPES
Okra Gumbo
Time 2 hours
Yields Serves 6
Matzoh Balls
Time 45 minutes, plus resting time of a few hours up to overnight
Yields Makes about 20 matzoh balls
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Niçoise: Market-Inspired Cooking from France’s Sunniest City
There’s a certain reverse snobbery that some travelers may feel when they first arrive in Nice.
THE RECIPE
Tourte De Blettes Sucrée (Sweet Swiss Chard Pie)
Yields Serves 8
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The Crawl with Benny Blanco
Benny Blanco talks tacos, Thai food, his new cookbook and getting someone to make their “O face” on the latest crawl.
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Award-winning Australian chefs Josh Niland and Jo Barrett come from Australia to collaborate on a dinner for 300 on the Malibu Pier.
It’s spring cookbook season. Take a look at the cookbooks from these Los Angeles authors: the chefs at Kismet, the couple behind All Time, a ‘Mythical Kitchen’ star, a former Martha Stewart recipe developer and the writer of the first Salvadoran cookbook from a major publisher.
