Richard’ Till’s new cook book, One Pot Cooking, contains recipes for over 60 dishes, all of which can be made in a single pot. Some are suitable for a frying pan or saucepan, while others can be made in roasting or casserole dishes. Most of the dishes are everyday meals, including hearty soups and casseroles, salads, roast meats and pasta and noodle dishes.
I’m liking
As a busy mum of two pre-schoolers (and a person of very little innate culinary creativity), I had high hopes for this cook book because Till dedicated it to me, or more accurately, to “every cook in every New Zealand household who has to get tea on the table every night of the week – even on days when the traffic is bad, it’s raining, the kids are being a pain and not all the ingredients you need are in the cupboard”. I wasn’t disappointed. This cookbook delivers what it promises. The recipes use everyday ingredients (no trips to specialty food stores required – yay!) and they are easy to make and tasty. My favourite recipes include the simple paella and the black bean soup, both of which went down well with adults and toddlers alike.
The book is usefully divided up into sections based on the primary protein (lamb, beef, poultry etc) and includes a vegetarian section and a good index.
Things that made me go hmmmm
If you are a passionate home cook and have lots of other cook books, you will probably already have access to other versions of some of the recipes (e.g. fish pie, quiche Lorraine, coq au vin, and lasagna). And if you are looking for a particularly exotic recipe, with all sorts of ingredients your friends have never tasted before, this book isn’t for you. The book is also a paperback, so a book-stand is useful to keep it open while you cook.
The conclusion
One Pot Cooking is a good choice for busy home cooks who want to expand their everyday repertoire and grow their culinary confidence. Till advises, “Be prepared to make mistakes. As George Bush said about something else ‘It’s not rocket surgery’’’.
One Pot Cooking is published by HarperCollins New Zealand and retails for around $39.
