Turquoise - Greg & Lucy Malouf

Part travel diary through Turkey, part cookbook and part history lesson, Greg and Lucy Malouf - the Aussie pair that brought you the indispensable Arabesque - have come back with a stunning new offering whose pages are filled with a mix of gutsy and delicate dishes, many of them with their own story.

Because of where Turkey's placed in the world (it borders Europe as well as Asia), the book has been broken into sections detailing more Turkish cuisine than anyone could use in a lifetime. And it's filled with things you'll want to cook. From fried fish sandwiches (p229) to slow cooked lamb in soupy rice (p30) this book's stuffed with everything you could ever want to know about Turkish food in one sitting.

Plenty of the recipes are simple and easy to attack and most ingredients you'll be able to find either in your cupboard or at a good deli. The duck döner kebab (p201) is a cheeky but user-friendly interpretation of the original lamb döner made here with roasted duck legs, plenty of chilli and hot paprika while the section on dumplings and pastries (p235) like manti (little Turkish style ravioli) with yoghurt and simit - sesame crusted bread rings - is a little more hands on and fiddly.

There's the stuffed zucchini flowers with sumac (a tart middle eastern spice) breadcrumbs and haloumi (p67) as well as potatoes, celeriac and bitter greens slow cooked in olive oil (p87) which are similar in execution to the Spanish poor man's potatoes. The green olive, walnut and pomegranate salad (p107) is a stunner.
So while this book is visually speccy with interesting travel notes and people pieces (there's a man they call the 'fish doctor' who, though a chef and restaurateur, dresses every day in medical scrubs), it's also chockers with great, easy to follow, interesting recipes.

The test will be to see how many people are willing to stain this piece of art with pieces of köfte, sumac and bits of pilav. We certainly will be - it's a sign of love. MR

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