Always Add Lemon

Australian chef Alvarez debuts with a quirky collection of recipes meant to teach readers how to “use cooking as a way to discover new cultures, new ingredients, new and old ways of doing things.” Recipes are organized by food type (salad; seafood; poultry and meat) and each begins with a brief introduction that includes valuable tips. For crispy-skinned fish, for instance, she recommends putting the fish, unwrapped, in the fridge for a few hours before cooking to dry out, and reminds readers to check the expiration date on leaveners before starting to bake. The wide array of recipes features seasonal ingredients, though several may be hard to source, such as cape gooseberries for clafoutis, sorrel for potato gratin, and nasturtium for oven-roasted prawns with miso butter. Fortunately, there are equally adventurous dishes featuring commonly available ingredients like pork carnitas with pineapple and jalapeno salsa inspired by Mexican cuisine, and spaghetti with cauliflower, anchovies, currants, and almonds from Sicily. Though large blocks of instructions are in small type and can be hard to read, they are full of helpful explanations (“Leave the vegetables whole so you can easily fish them out afterwards,” she writes for the ribollita soup). Readers, though, who come to this expecting a heavy citrus element will be disappointed; the title is a nod to one of Alvarez’s eight “strong beliefs about cooking,” in this case, “A little bit of lemon will change everything.” This cookbook is ideal for experienced home cooks searching for adventurous eats. (Nov.)