I've never eaten at El Bulli, and I know Chef Adria only via some guest appearances on TV. I can't say enough good things about this cookbook. It will work for novices and experts alike. There are tons of tips, and many of the sauces have freezing instructions as well. Pretty much every step has a full-color photo, so it's hard to make a mistake. There are no strange ingredients either. My only complaint (if I can say that) is nearly every meal contains a fish course--and I'm not a fan of fish. My husband is, however, so thinks it's the best cookbook I own. :)
When I bought it, Amazon did not have any way to preview it. So, I'll try and tell you what's in it.
First, there are the basic recipes. Each one of these has step by step close-up pictures.
Picada, Tomato sauce, Sofrito, Bolognese sauce, Romesco sauce, Pesto sauce, Barbecue sauce, Teriyaki sauce, Chimichurri sauce, Croutons, and Aiolo. Most have two different quantities you can make depending on your needs.
Stocks: One nice tip he gives is that they reboil the stuff they made a stock with, calling it second stock....and then use that as the water the next time they make stock.
Fish stock, chicken stock, beef stock, and ham stock.
Now the meals. There are 31. Each one contains ingredients for 2, 6, 20, and 75 people. Each one contains step by step pictures and a timeline.
Meal 1: Caesar salad, Cheeseburger & potato chips, Santiago cake
Meal 2: Pasta bolognese, mackerel & potato stew, chocolate cookies
Meal 3: Vichyssoise, lamb w/mustard & mint, chocolate truffles
Meal 4: Beans w/clams, salt cod & vegetable stew, baked apples
Meal 5: Polenta & parmesan gratin, sesame sardines w/carrot salad, mango w/white chocolate yogurt
Meal 6: Potato chip omelet, pork loin w/ peppers, coconut macaroons
Meal 7: Saffron risotto w/mushrooms, Catalan style turkey, Yogurt foam w/strawberries
Meal 8: Roasted eggplant w/miso dressing, sausages w/tomato sauce, creme Catalane
Meal 9: Lime-marinated fish, osso buco, pina colada
Meal 10: Miso soup w/clams, Mackarel w/vinaigrette, almond cookies
Meal 11: Fried egg w/asparagus, chicken wings w/ mushrooms, sangria w/ fruit
Meal 12: Potato salad, Thai beef curry, strawberries w/vinegar
Meal 13: Farfalle w/ pesto, Japanese-style bream, Mandarin oranges w/Cointreau
Meal 14: Tomato & basil salad, crab & rice stew, coconut flan
Meal 15: Bread & garlic soup, Mexican-style slow-cooked pork, Figs w/cream & Kirsch
Meal 16: Noodles w/shitake & ginger, duck w/ chimichurri sauce, pistachio custard
Meal 17: Baked potatoes w/romesco sauce, whiting in salsa verde , rice pudding
Meal 18: Guacamole w/tortilla chips, Mexican style chicken w/ rice, Watermelon w/ menthol candies
Meal 19: Spaghetti w/tomato & basil, Fried fish w/garlic, Caramel foam
Meal 20: Cauliflower w/bechamel, pork ribs w/bbq sauce, Banana w/lime
Meal 21: Gazpacho, black rice w/squid, bread with chocolate and olive oil
Meal 22: Peas & ham, roasted chicken w/potato straws, pineapple w/molasses & lime
Meal 23: Tagliatelle carbonara, cod & green pepper sandwich, almond soup w/ice cream
Meal 24: Garbanzo beans w/spinach & egg, glazed teriyaki pork belly, sweet potato w/ honey & cream
Meal 25: Potatoes and green beans w/Chantilly, quail w/couscous, caramelized pears
Meal 26: Fish soup, sausages w/mushrooms, oranges w/honey, olive oil, and salt
Meal 27: Mussels w/paprika, baked sea bass, caramel pudding
Meal 28: Melon w/cured ham, rice w/duck, chocolate cake
Meal 29: Roasted vegetables w/olive oil, salmon stewed w/lentils, white chocolate cream
Meal 30: grilled lettuce hearts, veal w/red wine and mustard, chocolate mousse
Meal 31: Waldorf salad, noodle soup w/mussels, melon & mint soup w/pink grapefruit
There are not that many vegetarian options--and none of these are bargain meals. Still, Chef Adria gives good tips like on what to do with leftover almond pulp after making almond milk, tomato pulp, etc. Sounds like nothing is ever wasted.
This is a beautiful book. Even if you don't think you'll make an entire meal as written, I'm sure you'll enjoy the detailed instructions and fabulous recipes for many of the different courses.
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We spent a week cooking from this book for our cookbook blog. Read about the dishes we made!
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2023
‘The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adrià’ pulls back the curtain on one of the all-time greatest restaurants (which shuttered the same year this book was released in 2011) to reveal a full month of staff dinners. If you are a visually motivated person, you’ll appreciate the step-by-step photo instructions for every recipe. The book is divided into 31 three course meals - allowing the reader to choose any, which is how we approached it. The recipes cleverly makes use of a small amount of ingredients you likely have in your pantry already. Thus, grocery shopping is minimized.Although a bit clinical in structure, the book offers plenty of useful information regarding selecting, shopping, preparing and storing pantry ingredients. Essential kitchen tools are also featured in their own pictorial. This was an easy week of low stakes, yet delicious, cooking and eating.• Tagliatelle Carbonara - Carbonara is a seemingly simple dish but that doesn’t stop people from having very strong opinions about how it should be made - ourselves included.This recipe includes the addition of heavy cream - which we have never seen before. Sorry, Mr. Adrià, we aren’t on board with that decision. Our gluten free version was totally satisfying. It was nice to revisit a comfort food classic that we often make on those nights when we crave a low effort / high reward bowl of goodness.• Osso Buco - This dish, translated from Italian, means “bone with a hole”. Proof once again that you can improve upon anything by attaching a name from a different language to it!It’s been years since we’ve eaten this classic, much less prepared it on our own. We went with beef shanks over the traditional veal - as it’s what our local butcher had available. A simple gremolata (a mixture of finely chopped parsley, garlic and citrus zest) ensures this dish will look more attractive, while lentils lend a bit of substance to the meal. Lastly, we reached for a pack of gluten free crackers as the perfect delivery vessel for that prized bone marrow!• Chicken wings with Mushrooms - This recipe combines two of our favorite things - chicken wings and bespoke mushrooms! Here, we used a mixture of varieties (oyster, chestnut and golden oyster). After searing the wings in a skillet, they went in the oven to finish. The mushrooms simply get fried in a skillet, along with that delicious schmaltz, garlic, thyme and a splash of white wine.• Mexican-Style Slow-Cooked Pork - You’ll have important decisions to make regarding what you’d like to do with this slow-cooked pork shoulder. Tacos? Flatbread? Sandwiches? Whatever you choose, you won’t be disappointed (or hungry). We kept the presentation simple, allowing the pork to remain the star. While not huge fans of corn tortillas, most of the gluten-free options we’ve tried have been underwhelming.• Crème Catalane - Real talk: we both dislike single-purpose kitchen gadgets and avoid them as much as possible (rubber tube garlic peeler, we’re looking at you!) Rather than purchase a fancy culinary torch, we just reach for our standard-issue butane torch - just like the one Grandpa used for plumbing repairs. While it doesn’t look as stylish, it gets the job done (dare we say even better?) for a fraction of the cost and the large canister of butane will last forever.Similar to crème brûlée, crème catalane differs in a few important ways. First, it utilizes more milk than cream. Therefore, it isn’t as heavy and doesn’t achieve the same firmness. The recipe also incorporates a citrus component (in this case, orange and lemon zest). Lastly, this is prepared entirely on the stovetop rather than your oven. Can we also just say how impressed we are that this was the type of “family meal” served to the staff at El Bulli?!
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2023
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Detailed Review of Contents...Book Contains Pictures for Every Single Step, Meal Plans, Timelines, etc.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 15, 2011Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 5, 2011
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