The River Cottage Family Cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Fizz Carr
Posted: 19 October '09 by Niall
The River Cottage Family Cookbook
“This is a cookbook for everyone in the family to pick up and use.”
The River Cottage Family Cookbook is exactly that – a cookbook that everyone in the family can use – a how-to guide for good cooking. More than that though, the recipes are perfect day-to-day eating, having a heavy emphasis on good food and healthy, satisfying rustic grub. No fancy or sophisticated dishes here, just good staple dishes that are good to have in your repetoire.
The book is broken down into clearly defined sections: Flour; Eggs; Fruit; Vegetables; Fish; Meat; and so on. Each chapter comes will useful insights and recommendations, as well as a selection of reliable recipes intended for frequent use, such as:
- Creamy fish pie
- Spaghetti Carbonara
- Chicken Curry
- Roast Chicken
- Eggy Bread
- Custard ice-cream
- Gooseberry Crumble
- Your own ice-lollies
Another theme in the book is getting your kids into the kitchen and getting them involved in cooking. The recipes are designed so that 10 to 12 year olds can make them, with help – while older children should be able to make most of the dishes on their own.
The recipes aren’t just a list of ingredients either, but give the reader a full explanation of how and why things are done. The cookbook is well worth getting for this reason alone – inexperienced and/or young cooks can learn a lot, and there are plenty of photos throughout the book for reference.
The book also comes with lots of useful extras – I particularly like the step-by-step projects and how-tos:
- Make your own sausages
- Experimenting with steak
- Building a campfire for outdoor cooking
- How to make bread
- Making your own pasta
- Growing tomatoes
Details
- Title: The River Cottage Family Cookbook (hardback)
- Author: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall & Fizz Carr
- Pages: 415
- Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
- ISBN: 0-340-82636-3
- Cost: £20
- Where to get it: From www.amazon.co.uk
Our Verdict:
The River Cottage Family Cookbook manages to be both a cookbook for the inexperienced and a way to involve children in cooking – and succeeds in both areas without patronising either group.
A great resource for everyone – and a useful source of inspiration for feeding the family. Highly recommended.
Other Information:
You can read more about River Cottage at: www.rivercottage.net
Categories: Books for Cooks
