Newsletter: 🥘Take a culinary tour of Andalucia + let’s get baking this autumn! 🍰

Fiona Dunlop takes us on her journey through Southern Spain

“My starting-point was an investigation into the culinary legacy of nearly 800 years of Muslim Al-Andalus, therefore historical; secondly I wanted to reflect contemporary Andalucian cooking in typical restaurants; thirdly I wanted to interweave travelogue to give a sense of a personal journey across this magical, diverse land, and fourthly I needed to introduce my own story. Because why should I, an Englishwoman, be writing about Andalucia?”

Fiona Dunlop

We are truly delighted to bring you Andaluz: A Food Journey Through Southern Spain, and along with it a fascinating and comprehensive feature by Fiona Dunlop into the challenges and joys of creating this critically acclaimed work.

With a home in Andalucia, food and travel writer Fiona Dunlop has a close relationship to this vast region of Southern Spain. There is a chapter on Andalucian Tapas in her book New Tapas. But, as quoted above, in Andaluz, published in a new edition in 2023, she sets herself the complex task of charting the whole region – food and travel, past and present.

Her article is both entertaining and an impressive view into just what it takes to gather the food, people, traditions and stories of such a large region with diverse cultural influences.

The book also contains over a hundred mouth-watering recipes! Top chefs are included – try Spring Leg of Lamb with Honey, Currants, and Pine Nuts from famed restaurant Eslava in Seville. Fiona has a self-confessed love of ‘country-style cooking’ which means the book is also packed with straight-forward, approachable dishes.

There is lots of seafood, thanks to the region’s fertile coastline, try Cod, Olive and Orange Salad, or Black Rice with Cuttlefish. Vegetable dishes include this Mezquita Salad of Eggplant, Tomato and Olives. Combine two of the region’s key ingredients in this Almond and Olive Oil Cake.

Visit this link for more on Fiona Dunlop and all her books on ckbk.

Read Fiona Dunlop's Behind The Cookbook feature

Pictured above: Alpujarran Chestnut Soup from Andaluz: A Food Journey Through Southern Spain by Fiona Dunlop

How to Bake with Nick Malgieri

American culinary royalty and influential pastry chef Nick Malgieri has been teaching baking and pastry skills to professionals and home cooks for half a century. His book How to Bake: Complete Guide to Perfect Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Tarts, Breads, Pizzas, Muffins, Sweet and Savory, won a James Beard Foundation award when first published in 1995.

We are thrilled to now bring you this newly updated edition of such a classic book, and a Q&A with the man himself.

As Nick puts it; “baking is to enjoy—that’s what it’s all about.” While people often say that baking is science – and this book won’t let you down on equipment or method – it is also a book to ensure you can not only make, but enjoy making, pretty much any baked goods you fancy. It isn’t a surprise to read that the working title for the book was How to Bake Everything.

From Neapolitan Pizza, to Lemon Curd Tartlets, find all you need to learn How to Bake!

This week is also the start of a new season of The Great British Bake Off. If you have caught the baking bug and want to delve even further into the world of pastry, take a look at our Baking Bookshelf – we’ve even got books from a number of Bake Off Judges Prue Leith for the UK, Darren Purchese for Australia, and Regula Ysewijn for Flanders.

Find over 230 recipes in Nick Malgieri's How to Bake

Gorgeous Grains

Wholegrains are among our most nutritious carbohydrates. They are also high in fibre, proteins and vitamins, and an easy and delicious thing to incorporate into your daily meals. Celebrate these qualities and explore our collection of Gorgeous Grains to find recipes for grains such as quinoa, spelt and freekeh.

Try Quinoa Salad with Dried Cherries & Pistachios, or Farro with Tomatoes & Mozzarella.

Ingredient focus: chilli peppers

Chilli peppers such as the jalapeño, poblano, serrano, habanero, and searingly hot bird’s-eye, are all fruit of the capsicum plant. Amazingly, there are more than 50,000 varieties of chillies in the world, each one with its own distinct flavor and level of heat.

Whenever you cook with chillies, wear rubber gloves or wash your hands thoroughly after handling them. Be sure to understand the level of heat of the variety you are cooking with and use a little chilli to start with, adding more with a measured hand as you taste your dish. There's no going back if you've added too much!

For great chilli recipes try our 12 Ways Jalapeños and Other Chilli Peppers collection – start with these Vietnamese Rice Rolls wth Chinese Peanut Chili Beef or this Salted Chicken with Green Ginger & Red Chilli.

Try adding a touch of chilli to desserts. In particular, chilli pairs well with vanilla, chocolate and tropical fruits such as mango and pineapple. Try these Chocolate, Chilli and Cinnamon Fondants, or this Griddled Pineapple & Chilli Flakes with Almond Whip.

6 of the best coffee recipes

September 29 is National Coffee Day, and while many of us love to drink it, at ckbk we like to cook with it too. The deep, pleasing bitterness of good coffee works well in dishes sweet and savory.