Mark Hix British Seasonal Food

Most ingredients are now available all year round, flown in from afar as necessary, but there is no doubt that food eaten in season - and preferably grown as close to home as possible - tastes far, far better. Mark Hix cares passionately about British food and is keen for readers to experience the excitement that cooking seasonally offers. In British Seasonal Food, he draws attention month-by-month to the homegrown ingredients at their seasonal best. He provides information on where to source the foods, how to prepare and cook them, and suggests simple ways to serve them - to enjoy their flavour to the full. For each featured ingredient, he also presents a selection of inventive mouth-watering recipes - Chilled Pea and Lovage Soup, Fried Green Tomatoes in Beer Batter, Roast Goose with Sprout Tops and Quince Sauce, Autumn Fruits with Sloe Gin Jelly. Superbly photographed by Jason Lowe and with original drawings that capture the mood of the seasons, this book is guaranteed to become a British classic.

A recipe book full of gorgeous sounding dishes, made, however with many expensive ingredients. The book calls itself a year round celebration of the finest produce, which it definitely is.

The book is a month by month book, detailing British, seasonal ingredients. Each month highlights three seasonal ingredients and each ingredient has at least four different serving ideas.
Each ingredient has its own section, complete with introduction to the ingredient. Some of the ingredients are not on every ones shopping list and include: mallard duck,crayfish and game birds although many ingredients are more popular; strawberries, mackerel and beetroot.

The recipes are accompanied by full colour photographs, although when I opened the book I was surprised to be faced with a mallard duck staring up at me. The recipes appear to me to be 'posh' meals, one I would expect to see in an expensive restaurant. Not all recipes had accompanying photographs though.

I would recommend this book to those who like fine dining and enjoy creating a meal, rather than just cooking.

Thank you to Mark at Quadrille for sending me this book to review.