South Wind Through the Kitchen

Book excerpt: A posthumous collection of recipes and articles—recommended by her friends and fans—from “the best food writer of her time” (Jane Grigson, The Times Literary Supplement). Before Elizabeth David died in 1992, she and her editor, Jill Norman, had begun work on a volume of “The Best of,” but then her health deteriorated and the project was shelved. The idea was revived in 1996, when chefs and writers and Elizabeth’s many friends were invited to select their favorite articles and recipes. The names of the contributors—who number among some of our finest food writers, such as Simon Hopkinson, Alice Waters, Sally Clarke, Richard Olney, Paul Levy, and Anne Willan—appear after the pieces they had chosen along with their notes. The writings and recipes which make up South Wind Through the Kitchen are drawn from all of Elizabeth David’s books, namely A Book of Mediterranean Food; French Country Cooking; Italian Food; Summer Cooking; French Provincial Cooking; Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen; English Bread and Yeast Cookery; An Omelette and a Glass of Wine; and Harvest of the Cold Months. There are over 200 recipes organized around courses and ingredients such as eggs and cheese, fish and shellfish, meat, poultry and game, vegetables, pasta, pulses and grains, sauces, sweet dishes and cakes, preserves, and bread, all interspersed with extracts and articles making it a delightful compendium to dip into as well as cook from. “The doyenne of food writers . . . a touching eulogy compiled by those who loved her . . . While it contains recipes from France, the Mediterranean, and the Levant, the book is really a collection of Mrs. David’s memories of those places.” —The Dabbler