Jon Croft Editions Gaucho: The Spirit of Argentina: A Cookbook

The first book from award-winning steak chain Gaucho, brimming with Chef Director Anthony Ekizian's infectious passion for Argentine food, wine and culture. A beautiful and evocative cookery book to sit alongside bestselling titles such as Dishoom and Polpo. Gaucho has been serving Argentine steak – widely considered the best in the world – for over 20 years. Through more than 80 recipes, this book brings together the restaurant's expertise for parilla cooking (cooking over hot coals on a metal grill ) with its passion for all things Argentina - from the gauchos who farm the cattle across the pampas, to the street-cart owners selling choripan buns and empanadas to the chic urbanites who sip cocktails into the small hours in Buenos Aires' hippest bars.Throughout the book, evocative stories of history, food and culture, punctuate the carefully curated recipes, brought together by Gaucho's Chef Director, Anthony Ekizian to balance the influences of traditional and modern Argentina.The recipes draw on Gaucho restaurants' unrivalled reputation for exceptional fire- cooking. The book starts with a chapter on Beef, including expert guidance on choosing the right steak cut, cooking it to perfection and serving it with sauces and sides that match each steak's particular characteristics. Chapters on Chicken and Fish follow, before the spirit of easygoing Argentine food is celebrated in Relax (street-food, including choripan, chivito, fugazzeta and croquetas), Sundays (Gaucho's fusion Sunday roast for family feasting), and Sweet (dulce de leche, churros, chocotorta ). The book concludes with Drinks –celebrating Argentina'swine from the vineyards that nestle in the foothills of the Andes to Gaucho's modern twists on favourite cocktails that shake up the bars in Buenos Aires. Illustrated with breathtaking specially commissioned photography of the people, places and food of the country itself, as well as photography of every recipe, the book brings to life Gaucho's fiery passion for Argentina, and shows how the magic of this South American cultural mosaic can be reimagined with delicious results at home. Autorid: Anthony Ekizian