MEZCLA: Recipes to Excite

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JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE •100 recipes for everyday eating with built-in wow factor, from the Ottolenghi protégé and co-author of Ottolenghi Flavor shaking up the food world. Each year, our staff and contributors round up their best gift ideas for cooks, eaters, and the kitchen curious. Read on for the best cookbooks of 2022. Ixta is an alchemist with flavor. Thrilling recipes full of life and imagination. I can’t wait to cook everything.” —Jessie Ware, singer and host of award-winning podcast Table Manners If you're interested in making Brazilian-, Italian-, or Mexican-inspired dishes at home and need a place to start, I recommend getting a copy of this book.

There is so much joy to be found in this book, not least from Yuki Sugiura’s photography which is almost as satisfying as eating the actual dishes. The recipes are positively unsubtle, vibrant and as if designed by algorithm for maximum satisfaction (there’s a recipe for half a loaf of sourdough with cheese, honey and chilli butter for goodness sake). And while, as mentioned, it’s Belfrage's first solo title, she co-authored Flavour along with the great Ottolenghi and is at her most contagiously confident with big, bold bright flavours. Some recipes, to be sure, include ingredients you might not have in your kitchen cupboards already, but there’s generous room for manoeuvre and plenty of recipes that provide adventure more accessibly.Ixta is what we all long for in a cook—innovative, passionate, exciting, and accessible.” —Andi Oliver, London-based chef and TV host Ixta’s journey—including her well-traveled life, her family experiences, and her writing and recipe-creating universe—is artfully represented in this book with lovely and interesting stories and absolutely terrific food. Fun and mesmerizing, it’s a book filled with not only great recipes but also is a true joy to read.” —David Kinch, chef of Manresa and author of At Home in the Kitchen What’s it about? Having spent her youth absorbing the diverse culinary traditions of Italy, Mexico, and Brazil, Ixta Belfrage’s style of cooking has always been defined by her inventive ingredient combinations and her bold approach to flavour fusions. In MEZCLA, her first solo cookbook, she draws on her many influences to create a truly exciting and unique set of recipes. The Spanish word mezcla translates as mix, blend, or fusion, and that’s exactly what this book is; expect classic Italian dishes infused with vibrant Mexican flavours, traditional Mediterranean ingredients sitting side-by-side with Brazilian spices, and thoroughly idiosyncratic twists on familiar favourites.

Who’s the author? Ixta Belfrage is a food writer and recipe developer. She co-authored the bestselling Ottolenghi FLAVOUR, and has spent the last five years honing her skills in the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen. If you want to know more about Ixta, read our Q&A here. The recipe I’ve chosen is the rapturous (and vegan-friendly) Tomato Salad with Tahini Ginger Sauce, Chilli Oil and Crumpet Croutons. And yes, I did say Crumpet Croutons! Mezcla, meaning ‘mixture’ in Spanish, is a celebration of fusion food and represents a journey through author Ixta Belfrage’s childhood experiences of Italy, Brazil and Mexico. You may recognise Ixta as the co-author of Flavour alongside benevolent culinary overlord Yotam Ottolenghi. For the roasted strawberries, place all the ingredients in an ovenproof dish just big enough to fit the strawberries in a single layer. They should be snug, but not piled on top of each other. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring halfway. Set aside to cool. When I meet Ixta Belfrage on a fall morning in East London, the vibrant pink beret she’s wearing is the exact hue used in the cover design for her hit cookbook, Mezcla , recently released in the U.S. “Oh no!” she laughs. “It’s a total coincidence, I promise.” Whether accident or design, however, it does feel appropriate given Belfrage’s unique style of cooking, in which the rich, considered color palettes are almost as exciting and varied as her flavors.It's quite a ride.' Diana Henry' Ixta is an alchemist with flavour. Thrilling recipes full of life and imagination. I can't wait to cook everything.' Jessie Ware Everyday eating with built in wow factor - from the Ottolenghi protégé shaking up the food world. First make sure to soak the rice for at least 2 hours, or overnight. When you’re ready to start cooking, turn the oven broiler to the highest setting. Place the mascarpone, yoghurt, vanilla paste and maple syrup in a large bowl and whisk together until completely smooth. Keep the bowl in the fridge until ready to serve.

One-in-a-million creativity, Ixta’s food is simply outstanding!” —Yotam Ottolenghi, chef and New York Times bestselling author of Ottolenghi Flavor Mango and cheese salad -- which both me and my partner loved so much I have made it a few times since, and also made it to bring to a friend's BBQ, and people seemed to like it there too Our overall thoughts: Almost everyone had difficulty finding at least one ingredient, and we're in a major city with many specialty groceries stories. That said, this book is a flavor bomb that taught us that sauces can do a lot of heavy lifting. Opened us up to the idea that 'cooking for entertainment' can mean entertainment for YOURSELF - you want a challenge or to learn a new technique, not just to host others. The author is upfront that this isn't a book for throwing together a 10-minute recipe, and that's accurate. I’m rounding up and giving four stars. I really wasn’t impressed overall and only intrigued by some of the larger “Entertaining” meals. JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE • 100 recipes for everyday eating with built-in wow factor, from the Ottolenghi protégé and co-author of Ottolenghi Flavor shaking up the food world.All-in-all, the recipes in this book are creative, exciting, easy to follow, and more than half of what we tested were a smash. Die Aufteilung von "Mezcla" macht allerdings schnell klar: Vegetarisch ist, ähnlich wie in der Ottolenghi-Küche, Trumpf. Die einzelnen Buchabschnitte heißen "Für jeden Tag", "Entertaining" und "Zu guter Letzt". Dabei sind die ersten beiden noch einmal aufgeteilt in Vegetarisch, Fisch und Fleisch, wobei die vegetarischen Gericht klar in der Mehrzahl sind. Während die "für jeden Tag" Gerichte meist ohne großen Aufwand zuzubereiten sind, dauert es bei "Entertaining" schon etwas länger. "Zu guter Letzt" trumpft mit Desserts, die ebenfalls nach Zeitaufwand und Komplizierheit sortiert sind. Read for our cookbook club- it's hard to mark a cookbook 'read' unless you've tested it, so my caveat is I've tasted the following recipes through our group's efforts: Truthfully, it was hard to really quantify the Italian-Mexican-Brazilian thread that supposedly ties the dishes together.