The Alachua County Library District's selection of cookbooks is often a highlight of the nonfiction shelves--a massive wall of big, beautiful books, full of mouthwatering photos catering to every whim and palate. Cookbooks are more diverse and interesting than ever--and that includes the representation of great cultural cookbooks from international communities, large and small.
In this series, we're going to highlight the cookbooks of different international regions and cultures. Whether this is the food you grew up with, or brand new to you, we want to help you dazzle your taste buds with these delectable choices.
This month, we're highlighting books from African communities--both in Africa as well as immigrant communities around the world. We're going to try to highlight cookbooks that represent more interesting or lesser-known aspects of these culinary cultures, as well as trying to incorporate books catering to different diets and dietary restrictions. Let's dive in!
Saka Saka: Adventures in African Cooking, South of the Sahara
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This cookbook is a brand new 2022 release! Chef Anto, a rising chef from Gabon, showcases African cuisines through 80 recipes from Gabon, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Congo, and Ethiopia. Woven through are interviews with artists of African heritage who talk about what these foods mean to them. In addition to vibrant photography, Chef Anto shares a wealth of tips for the home cook.
Afro-Vegan: Farm Fresh African, Caribbean, & Southern Flavors Remixed
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Rising star chef and food activist Bryant Terry is known for his simple, creative, and delicious vegan dishes inspired by African American cooking. In this... cookbook, he remixes foods of the African diaspora to create... recipes such as corn maque choux-stuffed Jamaican patties with hot pepper sauce, berebere-spiced black-eyed pea sliders, crispy teff-grit cakes with eggplant, tomatoes, and peanuts, and groundnut stew with winter vegetables and cornmeal dumplings. This book is also available as a digital ebook.
Food From Across Africa: Recipes to Share
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Discover the amazing cuisine of Africa with this beautiful full-color cookbook featuring classical and modern African dishes. With its diverse, delicious flavors, African food is some of the best on the planet, yet remains little known to many in the wider world. To introduce this wonderful cuisine, Duval Timothy, Jacob Fodio Todd, and Folayemi Brown started their popular bi-monthly London supper club The Groundnut to showcase the food of their childhoods, dishes that reflect their heritage in Western and Eastern Africa. Based on their sold-out events, Food from Across Africa features both traditional recipes, many of which have been passed down through the generations, as well as experimental dishes using new ingredients and combinations.
Flavors of Africa: Discover Authentic Family Recipes from All Over the Continent
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In Flavors of Africa, Evi Aki shares the traditional Nigerian dishes she grew up enjoying, as well as typical eats from all across the continent. She introduces customary recipes from each of Africa's different regions, including meals from Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Egypt, Angola and more, all of which she collected with the help of relatives and family friends. Whether you're a foodie, a spicy food aficionado or simply looking for a colorful new cuisine to try, Flavors of Africa is an excellent map for your culinary journey.
Cape Mediterranean: The Way We Love to Eat
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Cape Mediterranean food/cooking is a South African style of cooking and entertaining influenced by one of the oldest and arguably also the healthiest cuisines in the world. It has developed naturally from within the Western Cape due to its Mediterranean climate and the abundance of classic Mediterranean-style local produce. This book features more than 75 delectable recipes, from breads, dips and tapas, to lavish salads, succulent roasts, freshly made pastas and heavenly desserts. The recipes bring seasonal produce to the fore and the balance of dishes and ease of preparation will have you inviting friends and family over in no time to share in this veritable bounty.
Feast: Food of the Islamic World
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Award-winning chef Anissa Helou, an authority on the cooking of North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East, shares time-tested recipes, history, and stories from cuisines throughout the Muslim world. Born in Lebanon to a Lebanese mother and Syrian father, Helou has lived and traveled widely in this region, from Egypt to India, Indonesia to Pakistan, Qatar to Morocco, gathering an enormous variety of dishes associated with Arab, Persian, Mughal (or South Asian), and North African cooking.
Zoe's Ghana Kitchen: An Introduction to New African Cuisine - From Ghana With Love
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Join Adjonyoh as she remixes traditional Ghanian dishes for the modern kitchen. She looks back to tradition to understand what is new, borrowed, and what can be re-imagined. In doing so, she pushes cooks to see and use the beauty of West Africa's varied and enriching ingredients and flavors in inventive new ways, while supporting Black owned farming and agriculture. This book is also available as a digital ebook.
Yes, Chef: A Memoir
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You may know Marcus Samuelsson from his recent appearance on Netflix's Iron Chef: Search for an Iron Legend, where the chef hints at his diverse background, but Yes, Chef is a memoir that tells the whole, incredible story. Samuelsson, born in Ethiopia, was adopted after the death of his mother by a white, middle-class family in Sweden. Samuelsson's new grandmother Helga, his adoptive family, and his own ambitious spirit led him to a lifetime of food, cooking, and his need to "chase flavors" eventually led him to build new cuisine based on all aspects of his multicultural heritage.
All descriptions adapted from the publisher.