Written by its star chef Virgilio Martinez, it’s a vibrant collection of simple, healthy recipes that showcases the creative talent of this Peruvian powerhouse and the wealth of flavours the cuisine is known for.  At 224 pages, it’s a generous tome featuring plenty of gorgeous photography, and it covers everything from small plates to drinks and afters. Highlights include Martinez’s introduction, plus a glossary to quickly bring you up to speed on traditional ingredients like chia seeds, quinoa and ceviche. There’s even a visual breakdown of how to make a pisco sour (because if there’s one thing I wouldn’t mind mastering in life, it’s that!).

To find out more about the cookbook, visit Octopus Books. 

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• Steak tartine sandwich – For the carnivores like me! Sourdough bread sounds delish, along with the garlic aioli and caramelised onions. Courtesy of Chef Spike Mendelsohn
• Open prawn sandwich – Came across this on the Jamie Oliver recipe network and liking the idea of zucchini (orcourgettes), rocket, mushroom and prawns.
• Arugula and goat’s cheese tartine – My best friend is a vegetarian, so I think she’d love this. You can’t go too wrong with goat’s cheese either in my book.
• Hot tartines – This is less of a recipe but more ideas for tartines, from the New York Times

  Do you love tartines too? Any recipes you recommend?

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 The Methi & Chickpea tikki with Red cabbage Achar  (Serves 4)

Ingredients

For the tikki 

• 300g Fresh Methi (Feugreek leaves)
• 200g Cooked Chickpeas
• 100g Boiled Potatoes (Grated)
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 20g Green chilli
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 20ml Vegetable oil
• Salt (to taste)

For the Achar / Pickle 

• 250g Red cabbage
• 50ml Vinegar
• 5ml Vegetable oil
• ½ tsp Mustard
• 1 Whole red chilli
• Salt (to taste)

Method

Prep for Tikki:  10 mins

•  Roughly chop the methi and green chilli, grate the potatoes and smash the chickpeas
•  Heat oil in a pan, add cumin until oil crackles and follow by adding the green chilli then methi. Sauté over slowly, add turmeric powder.
•  Add the chickpeas and potatoes and mix thoroughly. Add salt to taste.
•  Cook until if forms a good mixture and a consistent green shade. Remove from pan and allow mixture to cool.
•  Roll out balls of approximately 60g, place between palms and press gently to form a patty. Keep refrigerated.

Prep for Achar / Pickle:  10 mins

•  Shred red cabbage as thin as possible. Rinse in cold water, to remove excess colour. Soak in vinegar for 1 hour. Drain excess water
• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and allow to crackle. Add chopped red chilli, cabbage, sauté for few minutes, add salt to taste and the remove the pan from the hob
•  Once cool, store in an air-tight container

Cooking & Presentation:  5 mins

• Heat a thick bottomed grill pan over a slow flame, add oil sparingly. Gently add patties, turn around after two minutes or until golden brown on either side
• Add a spoon full of your favourite chutney, push it across the plate with spoon edge to make a nice arch, place two patties per person, and a tsp of red cabbage pickle

Chef’s Tip:

•  May add red wine vinegar instead of normal vinegar, to enhance flavour

Tandoori Baby Chicken (Serves 4)

Ingredients 

• 300g Baby Chicken-Poussin
• Butter
• 1 lime

For marinade

• ½ g Saffron
• 200g Greek Yoghurt
• 10g Cumin powder
• 15g Garam masala
• 30g Ginger & garlic paste
• 3 chopped Green chillies
• 15g Vegetable oil
• Salt (to taste)

Method

Prep: 10 mins

•  Cut chicken in halves and remove skin
•  Mix all your marinade ingredients together
• Apply this over the chicken, cover and leave in fridge for an hour

Procedure to cook: 20 mins

•  Pre heat oven to 180^oC, place the chicken in centre and cook for approx 15 minutes
•  Baste the chicken applying butter or oil regularly while cooking. Check the thickest part towards the bone is fully cooked before serving
•  Once cooked, remove the chicken from the oven, apply a knob of butter and finish with a generous squeeze of lime

Vishnu Natarajan, chef:  “This is not a normal red coloured Tandoor chicken that you find most places. It should be a yellowish colour due to saffron, with golden brown marks obtained from roasting. Personally I love to have it with a bit of curry – presented on a bed of curry in a serving dish with the Tandoori chicken on top to bring all the senses together: colours for eyes, flavours, temperatures, textures and finally the taste to remember”

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a solid week trying out everything from smoothies to cauliflower mash and I’ve got to say, it’s a pretty fabulous book, featuring a broad range of creative and tasty recipes. It’s also a good look for those trying to kick the refined sugar habit – like me! – or lower their carb intake. My favourite recipe so far is for the muffin frittatas. It’s easy to make, looks and tastes gorgeous and costs hardly anything to whip up – plus, if you’re inviting friends around for brunch, this would go down a treat (although I’m planning on giving it a Jamaican twist by serving it with ackee and salfish next time I give it a whirl). Check out the recipe on the Daily Mail website, and for more details about the book visit www.hemsleyandhemsley.com.    

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