Creole is a sumptuous celebration of this unique and much-loved style of cooking. The heritage of French, Spanish and African settlers, Creole cookery takes the best of these cuisines and combines them with native American ingredients to produce a style of cooking that is rich in history and full of flavor. Containing over 160 recipes and including some of the most famous West Indian Creole dishes, from fish and shellfish dishes to cooling punches and frappes, Creole paints an evocative picture of the food in Guadeloupe and is bursting with the sun, freshness and energy of the Caribbean.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
French celebrity chef de Rozières doesn't waste any time in this sumptuous, brightly-colored collection of Caribbean dishes-a mere one-page introduction separates the table of contents from the food. De Rozières opens with a voluminous take on fish and seafood ranging from the familiar (calamari and stuffed clams) to classic native fare such as blaffs (named for the sound fish makes when added to a hot bath of water and spices) and upscale dishes such as Conch Ravioli with Crab and Lemongrass sauce. Her reliance on fresh, local food is both strength and liability; seemingly every recipe calls for something indigenous, but de Rozières provides a handy index for substituting rare ingredients like madère leaves and salt cod. Once familiar with terms and substitutions, cooks will likely dive into dishes like Mango Fricassee Parcels, puff pastry filled with sautéed mangoes; Creole Paella loaded with chicken, shellfish and octopus; as well as island versions of New Orleans standards Bananas Foster and beignets. Photographs by Akiko Ida and Pierre Javelle provide a visual feast, artfully and festively capturing native fish, ice blue seascapes and finished dishes. Delightfully different from the American approach, de Rozières' thoughtful and flavorful collection of island Creole cooking is a solid resource.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
'Even those for whom toast is a challenge will be seduced by the pictures and recipes in [...] Babette de Rozieres's sumptuous book.' The Times, 13 October 2007 '[a] bright and colourful collection of sun-drenched recipes.' Waitrose Food Illustrated, December 2007 'West Indian Creole cooking is not hugely well known in the UK, but the latest recipe book from Guadeloupean chef, Babette de Rozieres, is set to change this shoddy state of affairs. - Intriguing dishes include conch ravioli, mardi gras beignets, deep-fried shark, and stuffed clams.' Restaurant Magazine, 7 November 2007 'hot stuff' Tom Jaine, The Guardian Christmas books, 24 November 2007
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a superb book, with excellent genuine and well-researched recipes. I have a large cookbook library with over 600 volumes, and own quite a few books about creole cuisine already, including several 'classic' in French and Spanish, that I bought locally. This is one of the best. The recipes are clear, and well laid-out. They each have high-quality pictures, and there are numerous photographs of local ingredients to help you identify them at your store. The book can be purchased as paperback or hardbound in some kind of oil-cloth. For a couple of extra dollars, I HIGHLY recommend the latter. If you buy that book, you will use it! Trust me. The hardbound copy will last you much longer. Shipping was very quick, and packaging was perfect. Thanks.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a great, straight-forward cookbook, like most that Phaidon puts out. This book highlights the kinds of dishes that make Creole food so unique and interesting. There are sectional introductions that identify various foods in their natural state (eg, photos of the various fish and fruit) that are so unfamiliar to most continental cooks. Many of the ingredients might be hard or impossible to find outside of the Caribbean or Gulf coast, but that's no reason not to buy this book. Substitutions can always be made. While there are some recipes that many will find "weird," there are many more than are very approachable and delicious!
Living up in the wintery state of Minnesota, this book is a tease to read in the winter because everything in this book screams "summer." Grilling fish and meat, plenty of fruit, and lots of sweet drinks; all of this makes you want to get out and start cooking in the sun. Few of these meals should ever be eaten indoors, I feel. Beautiful book and very well done!
Living up in the wintery state of Minnesota, this book is a tease to read in the winter because everything in this book screams "summer." Grilling fish and meat, plenty of fruit, and lots of sweet drinks; all of this makes you want to get out and start cooking in the sun. Few of these meals should ever be eaten indoors, I feel. Beautiful book and very well done!
10 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Lady A
Format:Hardcover
Technically, I shouldn't be rating this book yet, because I've only tried one recipe, BUT it was possibly the worst meal I have EVER made/eaten! Oh god, the horror! It was the Pan-fried chicken breast with cinnamon and coconut milk on page 166. I followed the recipe pretty accurately, and what a mistake that was. Incase anyone decides to make this recipe, this is what you should know:
First of all... the ingredient amounts seem to be off. There's two pounds of chicken... and one sprig of parsley. And two whole cloves. Then, an entire "pinch" of cilantro! Obviously, common sense says to throw in as much herbs as one thinks will be sufficient. There's also two onions and two garlic cloves. I added an extra clove of garlic, as well. :)
Second, the entire prep work is suppose to be only 20 minutes. I would like to see Zeus, himself, break open and grate two coconuts, in less than 20 mins. Don't even bother with them, because it's only for flavoring the sauce, and eventually strained out. The recipe also calls for canned coconut milk, which has a stronger flavor, so you might as well just forgo all fresh coconut, and save about 45 minutes.
Third - After you brown the chicken in a skillet, you're suppose to add the grated coconut, the herbs, onion, garlic, and some water (I used the coconut water) with the chicken, then simmer for three minutes. There's a couple of things wrong with this. The chicken looses it's color and flavor, and there ends up being too many ingredients in the skillet for the 1 cup of water. Even if you stir everything up, it's mainly only the chicken that ends up in the liquid. So the chicken needs to be taken out of the pan entirely, before adding all the other ingredients. But an even bigger issue is the time, which brings me to number four.... Read more ›
First of all... the ingredient amounts seem to be off. There's two pounds of chicken... and one sprig of parsley. And two whole cloves. Then, an entire "pinch" of cilantro! Obviously, common sense says to throw in as much herbs as one thinks will be sufficient. There's also two onions and two garlic cloves. I added an extra clove of garlic, as well. :)
Second, the entire prep work is suppose to be only 20 minutes. I would like to see Zeus, himself, break open and grate two coconuts, in less than 20 mins. Don't even bother with them, because it's only for flavoring the sauce, and eventually strained out. The recipe also calls for canned coconut milk, which has a stronger flavor, so you might as well just forgo all fresh coconut, and save about 45 minutes.
Third - After you brown the chicken in a skillet, you're suppose to add the grated coconut, the herbs, onion, garlic, and some water (I used the coconut water) with the chicken, then simmer for three minutes. There's a couple of things wrong with this. The chicken looses it's color and flavor, and there ends up being too many ingredients in the skillet for the 1 cup of water. Even if you stir everything up, it's mainly only the chicken that ends up in the liquid. So the chicken needs to be taken out of the pan entirely, before adding all the other ingredients. But an even bigger issue is the time, which brings me to number four.... Read more ›
8 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By U. Maier
Format:Hardcover
My wife and I love this book. Every recipe we have tried is fantastic. Every recipe has a picture that shows the final dish. The quality and binding of the book is the best I have seen.
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