Spanish Cookery Books

[concorde]

Just been to local library in U.K. to look for Spanish Cookery books and was amazed that ther was only 2 , one on tapas and one on variations of paella and tortillas, this got me wondering and so asked friends if they knew of any dishes that sprang to mind when thinking of Spain.
The only ones they could think of were the above.
I wished now I'd asked for a Spanish recipe book for Xmas, Since I have seen some amazingly mouthwatering food on this forum, can anyone advise on a good book.
Our small inland holiday house has no oven but I do have a gas hob and a 'George Forman' also the top of our woodburning stove can be used for casseroles etc and does brilliant pizzas, jacket potatoes etc. but obviously only in winter. There are plenty of butchers and a fresh fish shop in the small town as well but haven't yet used them as we only bought the house recently and have been living off tapas etc.

[Grouser]

'Cooking in Spain' by Janet Mendel is very good.

[Shukran]

I've also got Cooking in Spain, which is very good and New Tapas by Fiona Dunlop. I can recommend both.

[Cassandra]

Ikea do a range of cookery books in Spanish. I don't know how many there are in the range though as I've not been there. I was given their Cocina Vegetariana as a Christmas gift and glancing through it many of the recipes look to be Spanish orientated.

[Bandy]

Culinaria Spain is the tome you need. It is superb and available from dear old amazon or santana books i think. it is a beautifully illustrated thick hardback about the size of a telephone directory with excellent recipes etc from every region of Spain

[zanuck]

"Floyd on Spain" sells for premium prices on eBay. Not just a cookbook but a bit of a travelogue and you can just about picture Keith Floyd talking about th dish he's cooking whilst he is slurping a glass or two of red.

Only drawback (IMHO) is that the index only lists the dishes by their English names rather than by the Spanish (as well).

[brenda]

Andalusian Cookery by Joaquin Lacalle - available in Spanish, English or French

Got it from our local Eroski at Velez Malaga last year and think it cost around 10 Euros.

Now my Bibkle along with the Janet Mendel book.

[BENIDORM]

We have quite a good selection of Spanish food cook books, all purchased from charity shops in UK, and we have never paid more than one pound fifty....We never fail to find something of interest, and also look out for French, Italian and Greek cook books, very similar ingredients to Spanish.....Now you know what we do on our visits to UK.!

[concorde]

Many thanks for all your suggestions, just for interest sake I looked for 'Floyd on Spain' on Amazon and was flabbergasted to see it was selling at £37+!!!!

Surely that can't be right for a 1994 paperback, what on earth is so special about this book? Could this be a misprint?

Will now be trawling all carboots and charity shops for copies so I can make my fortune on eBay and eat out instead of cooking.

[zanuck]

The Amazon prices are exceptionally high, often for second hand copies.

There are two or three editions, a hardback, and paperbacks. I'm pretty sure that the paperback was reprinted by a different publisher to the original and the price went up a little.

From memory (not at home at the mo), the paperback originally sold for 10.99pounds.

I bought a near perfect copy on eBay UK last August/September for 12pounds, after having visited many charity shops and not being able to find a copy. Lots of other "Floyd on..." as per an earlier poster, but never FoS.

[bassman]

Our most treasured cookery book is "The heritage of Spanish cooking" by Alicia Rio and Lourdes March. It's a very large book in hardback and is just a joy to read. The recipes range from easy peasy to fairly elaborate but the book itself is so gorgeous with prints of paintng depicting times gone by in Spain together with a detailed history of all the recipes. Just wonderfully emotive reading. My OH is Spanish and saw the book at a friends house so she was desperate to get hold of a copy. Althought the listed price is 45 dollars I got it second hand via Amazon for £13.50 including postage from the US. Just about the best deal ever!!

[freecatsrus]

Just managed to get a copy of Cooking in Spain off e-bay for £3.91, so looking forward to trying some of her recipes.

This link will be helpful for others who want to try her recipes.

http://www.ichef.com/news.cfm?itemid=309079

[Chrissie]

E-bay is great for books. Got the Keith Floyd for 2.99!

[zanuck]

The seller must be gutted! Mostly they sell for 5 times £2.99.

[pentaqua-new]

www.spain-recipes.com

[silver]

On spanish TV you can see how dishes are made.. e.g.one every day on España directa TV1 ....(there are more) and it helps your Spanish.

[alaninspain]

Contact the last two Marbella mayors - they seem to have been great at cooking the books.

[Brigitta]

One of the best cookbooks on Spanish cuisine I have come across is "The Foods and Wines of Spain" by Penelope Casas. Every single recipe I've tried has been a 'keeper' !

Buen provecho !

[daisylou]

My Mum bought out a copy of Janet Mendels 'Cooking in Spain' for me. What a fantastic book.....can't wait to get stuck in to a few recipes

[concorde]

Have just picked up Claudia Rodan book of Mediterranean Cookery, hardback for 50p in a charity shop, a fantastic book, not just recipes but culture etc
However I will not be trying the Brains in Tomato Sauce, and the description and illustrations of preparing a squid/octopus are rather stomach-churning.
The trouble is I want to keep this one in the U.K so will have to try and pick up another one to take to Spain, it's a bit heavy to keep carting back and forth.

The Ajo Blanco (White Soup with Garlic and Grapes) sounds intriguing,especially with almonds as the main ingredient.
Anyone tried this cold soup?