Photo by Matthew Donaldson
First of all, let me say that I love, love, love this book. It’s a cookbook, but it’s a very different kind of cookbook, not because it strives for originality (which is always a danger sign) but because it has a fresh approach that springs authentically from Ruth Rogers’s own sensibility. There are few words in the book, but it says so much. Here is the basic premise: the first half of the book contains only pictures: the photograph of the food of each one of the recipes with, facing it, a photograph of “images which speak to them, whether in shape, colour or texture”, as the introduction states; the second half contains the actual recipes. To some extent, you could describe the first half as an art book — and Matthew Donaldson's photographs are stunning — but that’s not quite how I see it. For me, it’s about conjuring up (or allowing the reader to conjure up) connections, the connections that lie at the heart of food and cooking: beauty, playfulness, discovery, and both the order and messiness of life.
You could also say that the first half is rather like a picture-only menu: you feast with your eyes, to choose what you’d like to cook. And there’s very much I’d like to cook! In fact, all of everything in here, though I shall restrict myself to highlighting just a few of the recipes that lure me in from their boldly, brightly coloured pages: Broad Bean Bruschetta; Pizza with Taleggio, Potato and Thyme; Penne all’Amatriciana; Spaghetti with Peas and Prosciutto; Pumpkin Soup; Tuscan Roasted Potatoes; Spatchcock Chicken in Milk; Almond Meringue with Strawberries; Hazelnut Praline Semifredo; and Pear and Almond Tart. And the recipe I’ve chosen with such delight to share with you today from this upliftingly beautiful book is the Penne with Quick Sausage Sauce, which I feel will go on to earn a place on repeat in your kitchen.
The River Cafe Look Book: Recipes for Kids of All Ages by Ruth Rogers, Sian Wyn Owen and Joseph Trivelli is published by Phaidon, £24.95 (Phaidon.com).
Photography by Matthew Donaldson.
