Sense Of Taste, Chef Peter Ayub

Sense Of Taste has been subtitled uncomplicated food for any occasion and reading through this recipe book I can tell you that it meets this claim with ease. The opening photograph is stunning and I love the retro look of the chapter photographs. The layout is beautiful, but not very consistent.

Sense Of Taste
Sense Of Taste

Peter and I have a very similar ethos to food and this made the book even better to read. He begins with tips and useful information before heading on to the recipes. The first chapter is about vegetables and fruit and begins with interesting information like the fact the a banana is an herb. I am not a huge fan of aubergines but I would make the aubergine braised in olive oil with onion and tomato (Iamam Bayildi) (p26-27) as I love the translation “the Imam fainted with joy”. Being a huge fan of limes I would make the lime pickle (p33) in a heartbeat.

The 2nd chapter deals with pasta, rice, legumes and pulses and starts with historic trivia and some fun facts. I would try the vegetarian lasagne (p44) as well as the carrot and pea pilaf (p51). The lobia salad (p59) interests me as well as it is made with black-eyes peas. And given that I love hummus I would make my own tahini (p63). The next chapter covers eggs, dairy and sauces and includes a recipe for a classic beurre blanc sauce (p79). Beurre blanc is the first fancy thing I made for Dave when we started dating, to go with lobster, which I nearly burnt! We have so many chillies, both from when we were in Calabria and from my garden that I want to make the sense of taste chilli and garlic paste (p85).

Chapter 4 covers seafood and the first recipe is for Asian-style yellow hake and potato curry (p89). I love using hake as it is locally fished. I also would love to try the west coast fish cakes (p105). In the chapter covering poultry and game birds the chicken terrine (p112) is top of my list. I wanted to make one in December but never seemed to get it done. The sticky crispy sweet chilli chicken wings (p118) also caught my eye, as these make a great meal for work. The chapter on meat deals with beef, lamb and pork and I know that the beef Wellington (p139) is a must make recipe to add to my repertoire of classics. The North Indian Kashmiri lamb curry (p142-143) looks divine, and rogan josh is one of my favourite Indian curries. Given that I love anything homemade, the rustic fennel-and-pork sausages with onion relish (p150) is going to be the first recipe I make from Sense of Taste.

Chapter 7 is all about venison and offal and as Dave and I love lamb’s kidneys I am going to make the kidney pancetta and watercress salad (p160) for us to try. Sense of Taste ends with desserts and baking and includes a recipe for zabaglione (p182). Another must try is Peter’s recipe for naan bread (p188) as I have yet to make my own.

Publishing information:

ISBN number 9780798156547

Disclosure: I was sent the book to review courtesy of Debs Ayub. I was not required to write a positive review. This post is in line with my blogging policy.

What I blogged April 29:

Dave and I are overseas in France. I will be back in my office on the 6th of May and I will start replying to comments then. I won’t be able to read any blogs while we are away so please forgive my lack of visiting back. To follow along with us, click here.

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14 thoughts on “Sense Of Taste, Chef Peter Ayub

  1. Nice review of the cookbook…it sure sounds like a great one…thanks for the post Tandy!
    Enjoy the rest of your week 🙂

  2. Now chapter 7 definitely looks as if it would appeal to me! Must look out for this book – is he a South African chef?

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