Wild Garlic, Gooseberries and Me: A chef's stories and recipes from the land [Hardcover]

Dennis Cotter created a considerable stir with Café Paradiso and the award-winning Paradiso Seasons, both books that brought fresh and innovative elements into food writing. Wild Garlic, Gooseberries... and Me is different from the earlier books; this is a winningly written, often very funny collection of anecdotes and tempting to vegetarian recipes. Cotter takes us on a journey which is both an introduction his favourite foods as well as a way of collecting the best possible ingredients -- and as this involves foraging in woods and hedgerows, it's not for those will have no wish to stray further than their kitchens. Want to know how to find the best mushrooms, sloes or wild greens? You'll find Wild Garlic, Gooseberries... and Me a highly useful guide.

There are four themed chapters: It's a Green Thing, Wild Pickings, Nature and Nurture and Growing in the Dark; in these different sections, there are many delightful stories about the author's favourite vegetables (which turn out to have more individual character than one might expect) and valuable info regarding their preparation. Of course, it is the recipes which lie at the heart of a book like this, and those here are cherishable, from straightforward salads and soups up to more ambitious main courses and refreshing deserts. Complementing the recipes is the quirky text (the latter, of course, the speciality of the author); Cotter is the owner of the much-acclaimed Paradiso restaurant in Cork, celebrated for its use of local produce; the illustrations include striking images of the food and the locales featured within these pages. Whatever your attitude to vegetarian cooking may be, it's possible it will be changed by this book. --Barry Forshaw

`...engaging narrative as well as stunningly innovative recipes.'

It is a book you can actually read, that tells you in a pleasantly discursive way a lot about your greens - from the familiar … to the more esoteric…’ - Book of the Month, Telegraph Magazine

‘No other book on vegetables in my library is so beautifully written or so thought-provoking. The recipes are intriguing and original but even if you never cook a single thing out of this book (which would be a crying shame), its worth buying for Denis’s beautiful prose - you’ll never think of vegetables in the same way again.’ Darina Allen in the Irish Examiner, 17th November 2007

‘Not only the most gorgeous book title of the year, but also the most stylishly produced volume, and it’s a cracking read too.’ The Irish Times

‘A cookbook to lust after.’ Image Magazine

‘Vegetarian cookery with delicious style.’ BBC Good Food Magazine, January 08

‘Whether you get a veg box every week or shop at your local supermarket, you can't fail to have noticed that the variety of veg on offer has increased markedly over the last couple of years. This is exactly the kind of book you need to make the most of them. Denis Cotter, owner of Café Paradiso in Cork, Eire, has a way with veg, and his passion for them really comes through. Celeriac fritters with caper and rosemary aioli were earthy and sweet and the aubergine and cime di rape (turnip tops) with chillies, feta, citrus and pomegranate is packed with flavour, with none of the gloom associated with salad in winter. We guarantee you won't even notice the lack of meat.’ Book of the Month, Olive Magazine

`No other book on vegetables in my library is so beautifully written or so thought-provoking. The recipes are intriguing and original but even if you never cook a single thing out of this book (which would be a crying shame), its worth buying for Denis's beautiful prose - you'll never think of vegetables in the same way again.'

`Vegetarian cookery with delicious style.'

`Whether you get a veg box every week or shop at your local supermarket, you can't fail to have noticed that the variety of veg on offer has increased markedly over the last couple of years. This is exactly the kind of book you need to make the most of them. Denis Cotter, owner of Café Paradiso in Cork, Eire, has a way with veg, and his passion for them really comes through. Celeriac fritters with caper and rosemary aioli were earthy and sweet and the aubergine and cime di rape (turnip tops) with chillies, feta, citrus and pomegranate is packed with flavour, with none of the gloom associated with salad in winter. We guarantee you won't even notice the lack of meat.'

`...his latest book gives us an earthy and lyrical insight to his passion for food and the land it comes from. In what is much more than just a cookbook, Denis regales us with his ruminations on vegetables and adds quirky reminiscences and amusing anecdotes. The tone is fun and reverential - it's as though he treats the vegetables as stars and each recipe as one of their performances...the future for vegetarians never tasted so good.'

`A book for real foodies - bringing together chef's anecdotes with tasty choices.'

`...the dishes in this book will dazzle you with their invention and tantalise your tastebuds further. Yet the book also informs you with great wit and charm, and will leave you thinking more about our own connections with the land and our evolving food culture.'

`...a real treat.'

What more can be said on the subject of growing, cooking and eating vegetables? Quite a lot, it seems. The author is chef-owner of Café Paradiso, a vegetarian restaurant in Cork, Ireland, and he has previously published two other well-received cookery books: `Café Paradiso' and `Paradiso Seasons'. A natural story-teller, Cotter doesn't believe in writing a single paragraph when ten would be more fun. Unusually, there's far more prose than recipes in this book, so it's just as well that he (unlike many chefs) can actually write.
This is a quirky, personal book, one that defies a structure that most book publishers would insist on, such as chapters divided `logically' - alphabetically, say, or by seasons. Here the four chapters, arranged rather whimsically, cover green vegetables, foraged foods, garden-cultivated vegetables, and foods grown in the dark. Great for telling a tale, perhaps, but not so helpful when you want a recipe for courgettes (`green' or `cultivated'?) or mushrooms (`foraged' or `dark-grown'?) Arbitrariness aside, the author's love of all things live and edible comes through clearly and there's plenty to capture the cook's, as well as the reader's, attention.

Cotter's globally inspired recipes are a far cry from the usual-suspect lentil and pasta dishes that are the bane of many a vegetarian cookery book; the recipes are unusually enticing, especially with such a high quotient of vegan dishes. The author writes, `I've always been more of a magpie, taking a little of this culture and that cooking style, to make dishes that are somehow coherent but not necessarily faithful to a historic culture,' and this approach shows in the fusion style of the recipes. They do require a certain level of skill (and time spent tracking down ingredients), but this is a book that rewards the slow and thoughtful approach. One for the thinking veggie, who enjoys reading as much as eating.

Following the successes of Café Paradiso and the award-winning Paradiso Seasons, Denis Cotter is back with an evocative, witty collection of tales and a superb range of exciting and delicious vegetarian recipes.

Wild Garlic, Gooseberries and Me cajoles, informs and questions our relationship to the land and the vegetables we eat. We go on a personal journey with Denis as he shares his passion for his favourite foods.

Denis drags us into muddy fields and introduces us to the growers of the best produce imaginable. Through heart-felt and charming text, he informs and amuses. The excitement of a robust blackberry jam becomes a passionate argument for us to go out into the countryside, the dazzling sight of high-trailing borlotti beans ignites a discussion on the future of artisan growing.

Whether creating a restaurant masterpiece or foraging in hedgerows and woods, Denis searches for a new connection between food, people and land … oh, and he also teaches you how to search for mushrooms, wild greens and sloes, how to cook asparagus and take on an artichoke with attitude.

Divided into four themed chapters, 'It's a Green Thing', 'Wild Pickings', 'A Passionate Pursuit' and 'Growing in the Dark', each including information and anecdotes about the vegetables that feature as well as many delicious recipes. There are simple salads and soups as well as more challenging main meals and mouth-watering desserts.

Recipes include:
Fresh Pasta with Abyssinian Cabbage, Pine Nuts & Sheep's Dressing;
Courgette Flower, Pea and Chive Risotto;
Samphire Tempura with Coriander Yoghurt;
Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Potato Pancakes and Tarragon Cream;
Cabbage Timbale of Celeriac and Chestnuts with Porcini and Oyster Mushroom Sauce

Stunning images of the landscape, the food and the finished recipes complete this delightful read and unique recipe book.

Denis Cotter was born and raised in Macroom, Co. Cork. After working in a bank for several years, he moved to London where he cut his culinary teeth. After a year spent living and working in New Zealand he returned to Ireland and, in 1993, established the now world-renowned Café Paradiso.