Hodder & Stoughton The Borough Market Cookbook: Recipes and stories from a year at the market

Bought 3 of these (2 as presents) after my friend cooked me a dish from it last week. To be honest, despite being a huge fan of Borough Market, I wouldn't have thought to pick up their book. Sometimes cookbooks linked to specific places can be a pain to cook from as half the ingredients have to be bought from said place, but that's not the case at all with this one. Yes there are bits speaking about the market and interviews with Borough's traders but the book feels more like a celebration of seasonal, ethical market shopping generally, so would feel relevant to anyone, anywhere. Love the recipes, love that it's divided into seasons, love the 'what's best this season' style shopping lists at the start of each section, love the photography... Love it!

...That being the final quote on the back cover, from CARLO PETRINI, founder & president of ‘Slow Food’…simply but adequately summing up this beautifully presented book and, for me, the best BLACK FRIDAY bargain this year!Initially captured by the snatch provided by the current LOOK INSIDE facility above, I needed no other persuasion and have already signed up for the weekly newsletter with recipes, features, news & events (page 319 refers).Of course, going there is the ultimate experience, but this publication gives a great insight into Borough Market, a whole year presented seasonally, bringing recipes to the table interspersed with trader interviews, a bit of history & general snippets.It is worth noting that it is a market, so the occasional illustration may be a touch sensitive to some.A note about KEY INGREDIENTS:📝 ‘A number of the recipe introductions reference where you can find key ingredients at Borough Market. Often, there will be other traders who stock relevant produce – use the trader directory on page 317 or the website (full address given) to find out more about the traders and the produce they sell.In every instance it will be possible to purchase suitable alternatives elsewhere.’AUTUMN is my favourite season of the year…WINTER SQUASH RED CURRY, on pages 210/211 has already caught my eye and this chapter includes two interesting articles entitled ‘APPLE DAY AT BOROUGH MARKET’ and ‘THE FISHMONGERS’…the back story behind ‘DARREN BROWN’S SHELLSEEKERS’:📝….'His native sustainable catch is found in the heart of the Market. Rigid, silvery mackerel sit next to line-caught sea bass, long, winding hake, pearlescent Cornish octopus and other fish from England’s south-west coast. As the name suggests, though, it all began with the scallops that Darren hand-dives down in Dorset.’ooOoo❆ THE BOROUGH MARKET COOKBOOK: RECIPES AND STORIES FROM A YEAR AT THE MARKET❆ BOROUGH MARKET with ED SMITH❆ PHOTOGRAPHY: ISSY CROCKER & STEPHANIE MCLEOD❆ HODDER & STOUGHTON LTD❆ 2018‘Printed and bound in Germany’ooOooThe chunky book measures around 25 cm x 19 cm x 2.5 cm.The simple fresh design of the DARK GREEN board cover makes it stand out from the crowd; the WHITE block letters for the title, contrasted with a GOLD colour that follows through to the titling on the spine and the fabric ribbon marker to keep your place in the 320 shiny-finish pages.The DARK GREEN theme is retained throughout, continuing that fresh feel. It is well balanced with colourful photography throughout, including some stunning on-location shots (although a few may be sensitive to some) that whisk you off to the hustle and bustle, described, by CLAUDIA RODEN, in the first quote on the back cover:📝 ‘This glorious celebration of the vibrant buzzing community of traders and producers, of their high-quality products, values and ethos, and the pure simple joy of delicious seasonal cooking makes me want to run to the maze of alleys under the railway arches and run quickly back home to cook.’The inside cover pages are LIME GREEN, followed by the CONTENTS that show the main chapters:~ SPRING : March-May (page 16-85)~ SUMMER : June-August (page 88-157)~ AUTUMN : September-November (page 160-237)~ WINTER : December-February (page 240-311)Over the page is the general INTRODUCTION from BOROUGH MARKET, accompanied by one from ED SMITH. A double-page spread on USING THIS BOOK is next up, followed by a charming BLACK & WHITE map illustration, from JAMES OSES, although the tight binding traps a little of this in the spine area, which is a shame.A TIMELINE 1014-2018 is up next, again across two pages.The CHAPTER double-page spread is bold in GREEN & WHITE, suffering a little from the aforementioned tight binding in the early part of the book…then…over the page is a seasonal INTRO., with an illustration on the left-hand page & informative text on the right, which includes a list of SEASONAL HIGHLIGHTS.Then come the recipes, all clearly laid out with the bold CAPITALISED TITLE & INTRO in GREEN, followed by the SERVINGS (given as MAIN or SIDE), INGREDIENTS (metric) & METHOD in BLACK text. Some include a tip for a variation. Some have a relevant colourful illustration, although there are few of the finished dishes. Some recipe pages carry no illustration and there is a bit of white space dotted around.Each chapter includes some articles on market related topics e.g. about a trader, a scene or event,all of which make interesting coffee-break reading.At the back, pages 312-316 is an alphabetical INDEX by ingredient, followed by a DIRECTORY OF TRADERS by type, a PROFILE of ED SMITH & BOROUGH MARKET, finishing with a page of ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.📝 CHRISTMAS at BOROUGH MARKET:‘There are few places more likely to hurry Christmas cheer than Borough Market.During December the dark green arches, corrugated ceilings, glass-roofed halls, and umbrella-topped stalls are adorned with fir and foliage, decorations made from Market-sourced fruits, herbs and spices, paper-chains carrying wishes and tidings of joy, and a good number of baubles, ribbons and twinkling fairy lights.A whiff of mulled wine, cider, warm-spiced apple juice – or all three – greets shoppers as they round each bend, the bakery stalls are laden with mince pies and there’s even a specialist Christmas pudding vendor on hand for those who’ve not got round to stirring their own.Even the most Scrooge-like of characters would agree that the sights, sounds and smells make a visit at this time of the year a necessary ritual.’A small taste of the other recipes, in no particular order:====================================================EDIT 28/11/2018 : this section has been removed, as requested.=====================================================…but, the ‘LOOK INSIDE’ currently shows the first few in the book to get a feel for the general layout.(Some of the attached recipe images below are darker than in the actual book...the light not playing in my favour!)[20 images attached ©HODDER & STOUGHTON LTD/Borough Market Business Limited 2018]

This book gives a completely fresh take on cooking across seasons using seasonal ingredients. It doesn’t matter if you are not based near Borough Market as you can still get hold of the necessary ingredients. I love the stories and essays about the different characters who make up the market as much as the recipes themselves. Although I have only had the book a few weeks, it has already become a firm favourite to cook from.

Another splendid recipe book by Ed Smith. Tried three of the Autumnal ones already and all gone down a storm with the family. Also, interesting stories about the market and the vendors there in. Just bought another copy for a friend. Thoroughly recommended.

I bought this book as a Christmas present for my mum at a very reasonable price and she was absolutely thrilled with it. Of course I had a sneaky look at it before I gave it to her, and must say I want a copy for myself! It is arranged in seasons (we should all be eating seasonally) and has a lot of information and history about Borough Market. My mum lives a tube ride away, so she is looking forward to going to buy her ingredients for the recipes.