First published in 1980 as “The Cook Book,” Terence and Caroline Conran’s encyclopedic how-to aimed to be as self-sufficient as its title implied. If it was biased toward its English origins (with full-color photos of dead widgeons and woodcocks dangling from a rod, for instance, and step-by-step pictures on how to clean a pheasant), it still fulfilled its mission of taking home cooks firmly by the hand and leading them through an array of raw ingredients, their preparation and presentation.
Although the first edition was somewhat Americanized for its U.S. release, the 1997 revision, now called “The Essential Cookbook” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $39.95), should be a better fit for American audiences. The Conrans received help in the revision from English chef Simon Hopkinson and American teacher and ghostwriter Rick Rodgers, who adapted the previous book’s recipes and added almost 100 dishes deemed more suited to American tastes.
Although the authors succeeded at omitting information not “essential” to the average American cook, they retained a vast amount of information, and the clarity of its presentation draws the reader in.
The first half of the book still educates the reader in identifying, purchasing and handling everything from sea urchins to cracked wheat to mustard sprouts, aided by hundreds of well-reproduced color photos. (Poultry, wild and otherwise, now is depicted plucked and neatly tied, minus heads and feet.)
It’s easy to get sidetracked going from fish to meats to vegetables to herbs. The more you read, the more you want to know. Could there truly be that many varieties of salad greens, apples and citrus fruits? Step-by-step photographs walk you through techniques and numerous photo identifications help to take the mystery out of items that not so long ago were obscure to the average cook: lemon grass, balsamic vinegar, oyster mushrooms. A small section of the book provides a general overview of equipment and small appliances, useful if cooking is an all-new experience.
More than 450 diverse recipes take up the second half of this 432-page book. Recipes range from old familiars like chicken pot pie to others more trendy, such as a Chinese beef brisket and its use of star anise. Cooking for the most part is from scratch; convenience foods are pretty much limited to dried pastas and condiments. Although the exhaustive reference section might suggest that the book is aimed at the experienced cook, most recipes are within the ability of beginners. The intent is to prompt cooks to experiment, be creative and to learn something new.
A great feature is the cross-referencing in the margins: Next to a recipe for a French daube will be the page number for the entry on beef cuts for stewing, for instance. Passages in the chapters on ingredients and methods will refer you to recipes that demonstrate the information just acquired. Directions are clear and the recipes we tested worked well as written. “The Essential Cookbook” is a fine reference volume for someone just getting started, or would make a great addition to an existing collection.
SEA SHELLS WITH SHRIMP, FETA AND OLIVES
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Standing time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
“The flavors in this dish are as lively as a busy Greek taverna. The sauce is made with uncooked tomatoes, so they must be very flavorful.” From “The Essential Cookbook.”
3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 cup Mediterranean black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill or oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound conchiglie (sea shells) pasta
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, 2 tablespoons oil, the dill, garlic and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Let stand for 1 hour.
2. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until firm and pink, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover the pan to keep the shrimp warm.
3. In a large pot of boiling salted water over high heat, cook the pasta until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain well. Return the pasta to the empty pot and add the tomato mixture, shrimp and feta. Toss until the feta begins to melt, then season with salt and pepper and serve.
Test kitchen note: You can use any black olive, such as Kalamata or nicoise, in this dish. If ripe fresh tomatoes aren’t available, consider good-quality canned instead.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ……. 840 Fat …………. 30 g Cholesterol .. 200 mg
Sodium …… 970 mg Carbohydrates .. 102 g Protein …….. 41 g
