UK edition 
US edition
Paul Gayler 4 out of 5
This book has been on my want list for some time, so I was pretty chuffed to spot this in a discount book store (£4.99) while walking home after checking out a new(ish) Taco café in Notting Hill today (Great flavour, big prices, small portions) and I’ve been reading it since I got back, obviously I haven’t tried out any of the recipes yet but…already it looks like a great book.As mentioned in my previous review of “Flavours“, Paul is my favourite chef so I’ll spare you all the hero worship and concentrate on the book, which is surprisingly the US edition and not the UK version so all recipes are in imperial (cups and ounces). I have no idea whether the UK edition differs in any other way, I doubt it.
After a history of the burger in which my long term guess that Hamburger initially meant “of Hamburg”, as Franks (Frankfurters) to Frankfurt and Wieners to Vienna (Wien in German) is verified, Paul discusses the best way to make a BEEF burger but this book is about far more than that. Despite the fact beef section has many classic and new suggestions this book also has sections on other meats, fish and vegetable versions.
Well it’s pretty clear that kibbeh, falafel and koftes are the inspiration for some of these recipes but suggestions for relishes, sauces, mayonnaise’s, salads and other accompaniments all look and sound delicious and there are some fantastic ideas in here for summer barbequeues and parties.
As always Paul’s ideas and his food combining is excellent, no doubt I’ll be updating this post as the weather warms up with the results of trying out some of these recipes. I’m particularly looking forward to the fish section, as after eating many tasty “fish sandwiches” in America I’ve often thought that there’s a lot of potential for them in the UK….
There is a section on “Sides” (sauces, salsas, relishes, coleslaws and salads) and two final sections on how to make your own perfect breads for these tempting hot sandwiches and some tasty potato, fries and vegetable dishes to go with your favourite burger.
The photos in this book are gorgeous, big and prolific, with all burger recipes having their own image (but not all sides and sauces), these burgers couldn’t look further removed from that grey, paper wrapped lump that you pick up in major fast-food chain-restaurants.
Buy from: Amazon UK Amazon USA
February 28, 2007 at 3:26 am
Looks like a great cookbook. Have to take a look at it.