Product Description

Pizarro's infectious enthusiasm for Spanish cooking permeates every page. His message couldn't be simpler: use fresh, good-quality, seasonal ingredients and they will speak for themselves. Season by season, he explores his favourite ingredients from different Spanish regions, the culture and history behind them and how best to use them with his exceptional and yet simple recipes. With anecdotes about typical Spanish pastimes and stories from his youth growing up on a farm in Extremadura, this is a truly Spanish approach to the cuisine, which has integrity and charm. From Scallops with Serrano Ham in autumn to Chocolate Pimenton Puddings in spring, you will turn to this book again and again for recipe ideas for any occasion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1144 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-12
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

About the Author
José Pizarro's first head chef job was at El Mesón de Doña Filo, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Spain. He then worked as Head Chef at Eyre Brothers restaurant in London and now runs Tapas Brindisa, named after the Spanish foods import company set up by his colleague Monika Linton. Over 2,500 people eat at Brindisa every week, with the new restaurants Tierra in Soho and Casa in South Kensington having opened at the end of 2008 to great acclaim.

Customer Reviews

Hungry? You will be . . .
Fans of the Brindisa tapas kitchens (Tapas Brindisa in Borough Market, Tierra Brindisa in Soho and Casa Brindisa in South Kensington) will need no introduction to José Pizarro, the talented and ebullient executive chef who has done so much to popularise top-quality Spanish cooking in the UK. An evening (or a very long lunchtime!) at one of his restaurants is quintessentially a sharing experience, and about the pleasure to be had in ingredients sourced with integrity, cooked with integrity, and eaten in great company.

This is the philosophy behind Pizarro's cooking, and his first book is totally infused with it. He shares with us an intensely personal experience of food - his formative years in rural Extremadura, family meals, festival food, the grass-roots of Spanish food production (the farm, the kitchen garden, the local producers, and most importantly the seasons). And as a chef with the enviable ability to put together wonderful flavours in imaginative ways, he has combined and refined these simple ingredients to produce dishes that anyone can cook at home, whether in Spain or the UK.

This is a beautiful and heartfelt book, lyrical and evocative both in words and pictures. The love and pride Pizarro feels for his country and his family shines out of every page, and his approach to food is a reminder that we can all be proud of our culinary heritage if we concentrate on the basics - seasonality, simplicity, locality and love.

Anyone who likes Spanish food will love this book.
I confess, I'm yet another Brindisa regular. I drag all my friends there and they are always impressed. I love this guy and his food. And I love the book. Without repeating what others have written I would like to stress that this is not essentially a restaurant recipe book - it's food from home for home. It's makeable and worth making.
Although it's about Spanish food and Spanish food is about Spanish ingredients, the book respects that many will not have access to these. Most of the recipes can be viewed as ways of making the best of what you've got. The few specialist ingredients that he mentions (like the vinegars) are worth tracking down, not just for these recipes.
The book is well laid out and a pleasure to read. The seasonal grouping is helpful because you can focus on what is available now. It's all about getting some good food out quickly to enjoy with family and friends - not labour-intensive stuff.
And it is good. There are some great things in here that I know I will be rolling out regularly. (There will be a jar of tomato jam in my fridge from now on for midnight feasts.) There are some great combinations in here that I was amazed I had not come across before. There are also some classics that deserve to be there simply because Pizarro's versions are the best I've tasted yet (eg. his tortilla de patata) There are also a few unexpected twists that are a revelation, rather than being weird. You will use them; your friends will be impressed.
He has mined his locality deeply. (I love Dioni and her pastry cake, and his Mum's baked potatoes) There's a generosity of spirit about this book in the amount of personal capital that he is sharing. The less scrupulous would have strung this out over several books. I can only assume that he hasn't done this because he has a lot more to give.
I certainly hope so.

Tapas Brindisa At Home
An excellent book - all my favourite dishes from Pizarro's restaurants are here for me to cook. The recipes are simple and straight-forward to follow. The book has lots of great photographs, and the pride and enthusiasm Pizarro has for spanish food shows on every page and in every recipe. If you like simple tasty spanish food, this book is for you.