Mina Holland's job at the Guardian is the envy of every foodie worth his salt. After a short stint in advertising, Holland realised that her passion lay at the bottom of a shepherd's pie. Her food blog soon turned into a career as food writer. Now, an average work day involves travelling the globe to sample the culture of a place through its cuisine.
For Holland, memories of Madrid trigger the taste of tortillas, and shakshuka reminds her of Tel Aviv. In her justreleased book, The Edible Atlas, she shares those mouth-watering memories. The book acts as a tour guide through 39 international cuisines. Apart from recipes that were sourced from family and chefs that Holland met while travelling on work, the book explains the fusion of geography and history through an indigenous meal. A glossary of kitchen equipment, a larder list for each region and a spice guide for dummies makes this one easy peasy to use.
Mirror in an e-chat with Holland:
What made you write this book?
There's noise in the UK book market about celebrity chefs whose creations are fusions with various influences. At the other end are writers like Claudia Roden, who focus on dissecting specific cuisines in intricate detail.
What neither category caters to is the home cook, who is keen to know more about international food. This book provides the building blocks that make up, say, a typical Punjabi or Persian, or Andalucian meal.
What do you remember eating as a child?
We ate a lot of Thai food since my grandfather moved to Thailand. My mother would trawl Thai supermarkets for niche ingredients to fashion into Anglo-Thai creations. I also remember British classics - roasts, shepherd's pie (but vegetarian!), stews and hot pots.
Do you remember your first interaction with Indian cuisine?
I remember eating pretty eclectically as a child. South London had a large Punjabi community. Mum would try to recreate some of those dishes - matar paneer and tarka dal - and my grandmother had her own Anglo-Indian cuisine gleaned from her childhood in Jaipur.
Family recipes are a big part of the book.
Yes, the simple home-style recipes come from family. My mum's Thai pork mince, for instance (when we stopped being vegetarian), uncle Justin's Provencale tapenade and my grandmother's vinaigrette are all examples.
What food have you found most interesting?
Iranian. I didn't know much about it going in. When I started to explore it, I realised that it has had a huge influence on the tastes and methods of preparations in the Middle East, Mediterranean and India.
And the most underrated cuisine according to you, is?
British food. I hope to raise awareness about this cold climate cuisine in the foodie circles.
- The edible Atlas by Mina Holland is published by Canongate (distributed by Random House India) is available at Rs 799
1 Gravadlax SCANDINAVIA (Serves 10)
Ingredients » 1 side of whole salmon, deboned and cut into two fillets » 1 tbsp white peppercorns » 2 tbsp coriander seeds » 100g demerara sugar » 100g rock salt » 90g dill (For the Dill sauce) » 45g dill » 3 tbsp vegetable oil » 3 tbsp white wine » 3 tbsp demerara sugar » 3 tbsp French mustard » Sea salt
Method Check the salmon for bones then place it skin side down on a plate. Pound the peppercorns and coriander in a pestle and mortar and mix with the sugar and salt. Chop up half the dill and press this into the fleshy side of the fish, then rub in the spice mixture on top of it.
Sandwich the fillets together so that the dill spice mixture is in the centre. Rub any residual dill spice mixture into any exposed areas of flesh then wrap the fish tightly in cling film and place in a casserole dish or baking tray. Refrigerate for 48 hours.
For the sauce, simply blend all the ingredients and you're good to go.
After a couple of days, remove the cling film from the fish, wipe the herb mixture away and pat dry. Signe Johansen recommends then putting the remaining fresh dill onto the skinless side of each fillet, pressing it down without squashing the fish. Then slice each fillet into thin strips, on the diagonal. Serve on rye or sourdough bread with a little of the sauce drizzled over.
What goes into spices?
Zaataar (Israel)
» 4 tsp sumac » 2 tsp sesame seeds » 1 tsp thyme » 1 tsp cumin » 1 tsp oregano » 1 tsp marjoram (oregano)
Baharat (Turkey)
» 2 tsp dried mint » 2 tsp dried oregano » 1 tsp ground cinnamon » 1 tsp ground mustard seed » 1 tsp ground coriander seed » 1 tsp ground cumin » 1 tsp ground black pepper » 1 tsp ground cloves » 1 tsp ground fennel seed » 1 tsp ground nutmeg
Chinese five spice (China)
» 1 tsp ground Sichuan pepper » 1 tsp ground star anise » 1 tsp ground fennel seed » ½ tsp ground cloves » ½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 Peaches in white wine SICILY (Serves 4)
Ingredients
» 4 peaches, stoned and halved » 1 bottle white wine » 1 tsp ground cinnamon » 2 tsp sugar » Mint leaves, chopped, to serve » Vanilla ice cream to serve (optional)
Method
Cut each peach half into two or three slices and lay two halves' worth in a pretty glass, one glass per person. Work out how much wine you will need to submerge the peaches and pour it into a jug. Add enough wine for each portion of peaches. Mix the cinnamon and sugar thoroughly into the wine. Drench the peaches in the wine mixture, cover, and refrigerate for at least three hours (the longer the better). Top with the fresh mint before serving, with ice cream if you're feeling piggy.
3 Chicken with barberries, yoghurt & orange peel IRAN (Serves 4)
Ingredients
7 heaped tbsp Greek yoghurt » 5 tbsp olive oil » 2 medium onions, finely sliced » 4 chicken legs (drum sticks and thighs separated and skin removed) » Sea salt and pepper to taste » 2 large oranges » Big pinch saffron » 15g dried barberries, rehydrated » 2 tbsp flaked almonds to garnish (optional), toasted
Method
Strain the yoghurt through a muslin bag for several hours, preferably overnight - you can do this by hanging it from the tap over your kitchen sink.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan and fry the onions, sprinkled with a pinch of salt, over medium heat, until golden - approximately 15 minutes. Add the chicken to the onions and fry for 3 minutes, in a single layer or in batches, to seal the meat. Half cover the meat with water and add salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pan and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, skin the oranges with a potato peeler, taking care not to include any pith with the peel. Cut the peel into matchstick-sized strips. In a small pan of boiling water, simmer the strips for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Grind the saffron in a pestle and mortar and soak it in four tablespoons warm water for 10 minutes. Add the saffron water, orange peel and barberries to the chicken, turning the meat from time to time. Test for seasoning and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces and keep them warm.
Keep the sauce on a gentle simmer, add the strained yoghurt and stir until it is dissolved. Then return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them over in the sauce for 2 minutes to heat through. Place the chicken in a serving dish, pour over the sauce and garnish with the flaked almonds. Serve with chelow rice.
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