Mezcla: Recipes to Excite

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen alumna Belfrage (Ottolenghi Flavour) mashes global highlights into fusion flavor-bombs in this joyous if scattered collection. Mainly an ode to the countries closest to Belfrage’s heart—Italy (where she spent her childhood), Brazil (her mother’s homeland), and her grandfather’s native Mexico—the book offers no shortage of brilliant recipes: an “onion party” combines pickled, fried, and roasted varieties, while acidic tomatoes balance luscious sticky coconut rice. Savory recipes are divided into “Everyday” and “Entertaining” (as in amusing), but those categories are amorphous: even Belfrage admits the former’s dishes don’t come together “with only a handful of ingredients” (indeed, one fish dish is served with a 10-ingredient dipping sauce). And though instructions are direct, a dizzying number of options breeds confusion: a recipe for an oozy open-face grilled cheese, for instance, specifies using the bottom of a loaf of sourdough (or focaccia), but the headnote recommends doubling with both halves. Mixed in with the veggie-forward dishes is a tempting array of meat, poultry, and fish options—including Indonesian-inflected hake served over udon—while a delectable offering of desserts hinges on the same simple (charred pineapple floating in maple crème anglaise) versus complex (loaf cake of ladyfingers and strawberries layered with chipotle-laced chocolate ganache) duality. This whirlwind of a book can be overwhelming, but the gems outnumber the frustrations. (Sept.)