Book review: Easy Wins by Anna Jones
Jones offers chefs "daily moments of triumph", and in that, she easily wins.
One of the dishes in Anna Jones' latest collection of recipes is pappa pomodoro, an unpretentious soup with a hint of extra virgin olive oil and the gentle kick of garlic-infused cherry tomatoes. It's a dish she used to cook both professionally and personally, as a young chef in the restaurant kitchens of Mallorca and Tuscany, and at home after returning from work. Its versatility represents how certain ingredients can elevate "something simple to incredible" in a "little moment of kitchen alchemy". In short, an easy win, as the title of her fifth book suggests.
Over the course of 125 recipes that hone in on 12 hero ingredients, Jones demonstrates the joy of a seemingly effortless and pared-back method of cooking. All of her ingredients are readily available and, for the most part, affordable: lemons, olive oil, vinegar, mustard, tomatoes, capers, chilli, tahini, garlic, onions, miso and peanuts. In between recipes she offers flavour profiles for each ingredient, as well as tips on layering textures, along with a thorough herb chart that lists complementary flavour combinations, favourite uses and possible replacements. For example, she recommends aubergine with the aromatic notes of oregano, while capers go well with the liquorice tang of tarragon.
Ingredients are spread across both savoury dishes and desserts: miso is made savoury in a lime and sweet potato bake and turned sweet in the miso banana caramel whip. Jones also indulges in creative and practical incarnations of these ingredients, with recipes such as pantry pasta with capers and lemons and a tomato, peach and tahini sandwich. The breadth of her meals can be a little overwhelming at first, so make good use of the index.
All of this culminates in a discussion of why an easy win in cooking is an easy win for all. Her recipes provide a shortcut to sustainably minded dishes with a focus on plant-based produce and making the most of what would otherwise be waste products.
Easy Wins by Anna Jones (4th Estate, £28)
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