Book review : Tapas Bar By The Australian Women's Weekly

Before my holidays I briefly mentioned "Tapas Bar : easy snacks form the Mediterranean". I received this book, courtesy of the Australian Women's Weekly, to review on behalf of Blogger Aid Changing the Face of Famine.
I now have had time to leaf through "Tapas Bar" thoroughly. Traditionally Tapas come from Spain but the Aussies have put a new spin on the concept. In Australia Tapas is a generic word of snacks and finger food, this book gathers over 100 recipes of tasty little morsels from all around the Mediterranee.
On the plus side:
  • £6.99 is real good value for book which is packed with so many ideas.
  • Each recipe is triple tested so there can't be any mishap though....
  • Recipes are for all abilities some are dead-easy, others require a little more skill.
  • It suits vegetarian, fish lovers, meat eaters there is something for every body.
I have now used Tapas Bar twice, once during the week when I packed up for the day rather late and had no idea what to cook for diner, and last Saturday at the annual friends and neighbours picnic.
I like the choice of countries
  • Tapas from Spain antipasto from Italy and mezze from the Middle East.
  • There is a useful glossary and a conversion chart at the end of the book
  • Each recipe has got a photo so that you can see what the outcome should look like.
For each country there is at least one double page with several versions of the same recipe for example From Italy there are 5 recipes for Carpaccio.
My only problem with it was my attempts did not quite work, the skewers were over cooked and the dip too runny. This is possibly my doing so don't let this stop you buying the book.

Lemon and chilli chicken skewers
  • 400g chicken breast fillets, cut into 2 cm pieces
  • 340g chorizo, cut into 2 cm pieces
  • 1 medium yellow capsicum (200g), cut into 2 cm pieces
  • 12 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
  • 1 tapblespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  1. Combine ingredients in large bowl, cover, refrigerate 30 minutes
  2. Thread chicken chorizo, capsicum and bay leaves, alternately, onto skewers
  3. Cook skewers on heated oiled grill plate (or grill or barbecue) until chicken is cooked through and chorizo browned lightly
prep + cook time 30 minutes / makes 12
tip soak 12 bamboo skewers in water for at least an hour before using to prevent them from scorching during cooking
recipe copied straight from Tapas Bar.

5 comments:

Deeba PAB said...

I like cookbooks with pictures...just makes life so much more interesing. I like the way you've reviewed the book. Sorry the recipe didn't work out for you, but the flavours sound delicious!

Rita said...

Even if it didn't quite work it still looks good. bet it was delicious though.

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Australian Women's Weekly books are very good. I have one that's on cakes, bars and slices and its excellent.

solange said...

Thank you for dropping by, the 2 recipes may not have worked to perfection but they were still very good and the array of ideas in Tapas bar" is great

maybelle's mom said...

interesting review. I never know when the recipe doesn't work out if it is me or the recipe. I am very bad about following the rules.

si

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