This week finds me in a New York state of mind – and not just because I happen to have a cookbook from King, my favourite New York restaurant, to tell you about today! King is a place of enchantment: the food unfussy but pitch perfect, drawing on the cuisines of France and Italy; the small dining room cosy and welcoming, all golden light and happy chatter; “the kind of place”, as the introduction puts it, “where you’d end the night hours later than intended, drunk on deliciousness and the pleasure of company.” That was the aim, and it is what they have absolutely achieved. “They” by the way, are three Englishwomen (two of whom are River Café alumnae) and between them they have created an enduringly successful restaurant that always feels like a treat, but in the most relaxed, gorgeously cocooning way imaginable.
Many restaurant cookbooks are just glossy showcases, but that couldn’t be further from the case with The King Cookbook: its remit is expansive, offering a proper cook’s primer and a comprehensive selection of recipes, but its voice is intimate. Reading the book, just like visiting the restaurant, feels like being looked after. It also makes me very hungry! There is so much I long to eat, and can’t wait to make: Bottarga Butter; the delectable, creamy signature Panisse, a kind of chick-pea-flour polenta they serve in soft, fried batons; Radicchio with Persimmon, Hazelnuts and Gorgonzola; a greener-than-green Potato Watercress Soup; Tagliatelle with Zucchini and Clams; Pappardelle with Saffron and Speck (the prosciutto of the Alto Adige, though they also suggest pancetta or bacon in its stead); Asparagus with Anchovy Butter; Pork Chops Roasted with Cherries, Thyme and Prosciutto; Sea Bass with Leeks, Anchovy and Vermouth; Salt-Baked Figgy Quail Stuffed with Rice; Duck Legs Braised in Beaujolais with Prunes and Thyme; Ricotta and Pine Nut Cake; Fig and Almond Tart; and Rhubarb Clafoutis. I know this is rather long for a shortlist, but this is me showing restraint: frankly, there’s not a recipe in this book I didn’t want to tell you about. And the recipe I just had to share with you today is their Potatoes with Lentils, Chicories and Anchoïade, which seems to me like the perfect potato salad for Autumn, Winter and beyond.
Copyright © 2025 by Clare de Boer, Jess Shadbolt and Annie Shi. Reprinted with permission of Flatiron Books. All rights reserved.
Photo by Matt Russell.
