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Billed as the ‘must have cookbook of the season’ the Camino team have captured the philosophy of the fire based cooking of the Californian restaurant in their first restaurant cook book, This is Camino.
Chef and owners Russell Moore and Allison Hopelain opened Camino restaurant in 2008. It has since become well respected amongst food luminaries for its 'ingredient focused philosophy' of 'fire based cooking'.
Alice Waters comments "Russell and Allison have created something extraordinary, and this book captures the heartbeat of the restaurant—its energy, creativity, community, and of course, its beautiful food" whilst fellow chef and author Ottolenghi praises "It is impossible to imagine how one translates the beauty which is Camino into a book. Somehow, Allison and Russ’s labor of love shines through every image and every recipe… And now I’m off to make their herb jam".
Inside the book: A photo of the open fire in Camino
Camino the cookbook gets back to basics starting off with some simple indespensable cooking skills, like making vinegar and preserving lemons. Thoughtfully they have also included tips on how to build and cook on a fire since this might not come as second nature to the technology loving generation.
Over a hundred ingredients based recipes feature in the book divided up into sub sections including "Vegetables", "fish," "Chicken and Egg", "Lamb" and "Desserts." A welcome final chapter covers some well-known cocktails from the Camino restaurant bar.
It's not all back to basics, the team have also included some more sophisticated dishes like Grilled Belgian Endive with Fresh Turmeric and Walnuts, Sheep’s Milk Ricotta with Herb Salad and Tarragon Toast, and Grilled Fig Leaf Ice Cream with Grilled Figs.
Photo: From inside This is Camino
Published by Ten Speed Press, This is Camino is due on shelf October 13th, or you can pre-order your copy in advance for $35 from Penguin House Publishing.
Chef Gaston Acurio has also embarked on a project of cooking restaurant food on open fires, wiht Grant Achatz and Mitsuharu Tsumura close on his heels as keen advocates of cooking on fire.
If all this talk of cooking on fire has given you an appetite check out our tongue in cheek Barbecue, man and fire post.
