The Soul Of A New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa

`The Soul of a New Cuisine' by noted New York chef / restauranteur, Marcus Samuelsson, author of the earlier restaurant book, `Aquavit', is a culinary travelogue book, aspiring to the success of similar volumes by writer Naomi Duguid and photographer Jeffrey Alford, `Hot Sour Salty Sweet' on southeast Asia and `Mangoes and Curry Leaves' on the Indian subcontinent. I think Samuelsson gets extra credit for being earnest in his culinary investigation of his homeland and for covering a subject not commonly touched by the great gaggle of culinary scribes; however, the book is a bit weak when compared to Duguid and Alford and to the recent Claudia Roden work, `Arabesque', which covers some of the same territory assayed by Samuelsson.Part of my trouble with the book begins with the title, and this is never a good sign. Either by accident or by misguided intent, the title echos `The Soul of a New Machine', the classic of technological journalism from the 1970s by Tracy Kidder. Not a good echo to be heard from a book on food. The second problem is that the title creates a dissonance with its major theme and subtitle which suggests a discovery of a very old cuisine. Samuelsson would probably rescue his concept by pointing out that many of his recipes are new takes on traditional themes. I'm perfectly OK with that, but he can't really have it both ways and come out with a strongly themed book.While I am not a great fan of Duguid and Alford's travelogue books (unlike their rice and baking books, which are absolutely first rate), they are superb at their crafts of writing and photography. If you are doing premium priced books, then one expects premium quality writing. While Samuelsson's snapshot man, Gediyon is a talented professional, I constantly felt let down by Samuelsson's prose. I could sense the hand of a Wiley copy editor throughout, so there were no major gaffs, but the quality of the writing did not come up to the depth and sincerity of Samuelsson's passion for his `home continent'.I really think Samuelsson would have done much better to limit himself to one part of Africa. His native Ethiopia would have been an excellent subject, as Egypt, the Middle East, and India influenced it over the millennia. Instead, he chooses to cover the entire continent, touching lightly on Western, Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa. Unfortunately, the Africa of the Mediterranean coast, the Madgreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya) have been covered by some of the very best modern culinary journalists such as Roden, Paula Wolfert, and Joyce Goldstein. So why spend precious pages on something which has been done so well, when there is a whole sub-Saharan continent to cover?Next to the weak writing, I found the mix of native and `original' material just a bit distracting. My first notice of a dissonance was in the list of equipment. After preaching on the virtues over the humble mortar and pestle over the food processor, Samuelsson recommends using that very European tool, the mandoline to prepare a cuisine as old as the stone age! Other dissonances are when Samuelsson offers up dishes with clearly European or American origins such as corn bread or rouille, a very French Provincial soup garnish. Samuelsson can't seem to leave well enough alone. In place of a simple recipe for salt preserved lemons, a staple of Moroccan cuisine, he offers up an elaborate condiment recipe of limited usefulness.Throughout the book, I encounter small annoyances, as when there is a narrative on Morocco, followed on the next two pages with recipes from Ethiopia. Another irritation (also found in his `Aquavit' book) is illustrating a recipe with a picture that is plainly inconsistent with the recipe. On page 281, for example, there is a picture of standard encased, tubular shaped sausages gracing a recipe for a Boerewors sausage patty recipe based on bacon. This is not the kind of laxity we expect in a premium priced book.And yet, Samuelsson still gets stars for taking us to unfamiliar territory for much of the book. I especially liked the fact that since he says that flatbreads are such an important part of the cuisine, he takes the time to give us a chapter on how to make these flatbreads, especially the Ethiopian injera. I'm just a bit concerned at the brevity of the bread recipes, and you may wish to verify some of the techniques in Duguid and Alford's excellent book on flatbreads where you will find two different injera recipes, both at least twice as detailed as Samuelsson's one recipe.The book is also a great source of unfamiliar spice mixes, condiments, starters, and side dishes. I was particularly attracted to the recipe for `Fresh Cheese with Chives' as it involved actually making the cheese yourself from milk curdled by heat and lemon juice. Even the main dish recipes will offer interesting variations, especially if you are fond of lamb.This is a very personal travelogue and as such, it will resonate with anyone who has roots in Africa. It will also provide a major source of semi-authentic African recipes from all points of the compass. Samuelsson would have made the book far more valuable in this area if he would have included a good bibliography, especially for the sub-Saharan parts of the continent. For foodies in general, a worthy but not a great source of recipes.

Very pleased.

Chef Samuelson book gives wonderful recipes and beautiful illustrations of people and his food. I like his peering Pomegranates and rice.

I bought this book because I was interested in learning how to cook a few of the staples of Ethiopian cooking. Although this is not a book about Ethiopian cooking, it does contain a handful of good Ethiopian recipes. There is no recipe for the Ethiopian staple ingredient known as shiro. And the recipe for the ubiquitous (in Ethiopian terms) flat bread injera is definitely tailored to western ingredients and techniques. There is a recipe for the spicy chicken dish Doro Wat. Beyond Ethiopian cooking, recipes that caught my attention include Jerk Chicken, Harissa Roasted Turkey Breast, and a curry style Lamb Dish. These dishes hale from other parts of Africa.This is book about African cooking, with recipes from Ethiopia, Morocco, Senegal, as well as the African diaspora in the West Indies and Brooklyn. The author, Marcus Samuelsson, was born in north Africa and was adopted by Swedish parents. He went on to own the restaurant Aquavit in New York. This book is, in one sense, a cook book: it has over 200 recipes. But it is more Samuelsson travelled to many parts of the African continent to collect information about dishes and cooking techniques, and he tells his travel stories in this book. So at another level way we find the book as a story about a chef reconnecting with his roots. The theme of food and cooking as a connective social activity weaves a tight underlying structure in the book, making it somehow richer than it would be as just another list of recipes.I find it all but impossible to cook recipes exactly as I find them in any book. Instead, I use them as jumping off points for new recipes in my own kitchen. I consider a cookbook especially good if it contains at least one recipe for a food that I love to cook and that I commit to regular practice. Few cookbooks manage to do this. I expect this one to yield at least two or three - and that would put it far above average.I can recommend this book to any cook who likes to take on new ideas and integrate them into their own cooking life. The recipes are clearly explained and the techniques are completely accessible to any cook. Those who don't like new things or who hate exotic spice mixes may find the recipes to feel strange. Still, anyone who wants to be reminded about how food, cooking, and eating can serve to bind us together is likely to find this book a source of inspiration.

Interesting recipes that are not intimidating for an amateur cook. It helps expand tastes and cultural understanding.

The cookbook itself of great. However, the condition of the book is not. The spine is separating from the cover. I was under the impression this was a new book, not used. Wah overpriced for the condition.

This book is actually by Markus Samuelsson, not Desmond Tutu (although he wrote the intro).Beautiful and inspiring book. The recipes are flavourful, African inspired, but definitely European/North American friendly, too (I can find the ingredients here in Canada).

The best book ever; the third one we give as gifts. We received a « used «  version that was like new!!!

I really love the fusion of Ethiopian and African cooking, ingredients and recipes. Also gave one away as a gift, that's how much I like it.