From the Shelf: Polpo by Russell Norman – Lamb Chump with Caponata

Venice isn’t just Harry’s Bar. The real spirit lives in the backstreets, in the bàcari where cicchetti (Venetian tapas) line the counters — simple, sharp, stripped-back flavours.

Russell Norman captured that in Polpo (published by Bloomsbury, 2012), a cookbook that reads like a love letter to the lagoon. The recipes? No fuss. Four or five ingredients, maybe less. All about what you can take away and still hold the essence.

The standout this week: Lamb chump with caponata (page reference varies). Caponata — that sweet-sour Sicilian vegetable mix — is a dish that moves around the plate. Pair it with lamb, with fish, with cheese. At Mezzo on Waldorf Street, the first restaurant I worked in, we ran our own version with goat’s cheese. Clean plates, every time.

This book earns its place on the shelf. And that dish still earns its place on the table.

Venice isn’t just Harry’s Bar. The real spirit lives in the backstreets, in the bàcari where cicchetti (Venetian tapas) line the counters — simple, sharp, stripped-back flavours.

Russell Norman captured that in Polpo (published by Bloomsbury, 2012), a cookbook that reads like a love letter to the lagoon. The recipes? No fuss. Four or five ingredients, maybe less. All about what you can take away and still hold the essence.

The standout this week: Lamb chump with caponata (page reference varies). Caponata — that sweet-sour Sicilian vegetable mix — is a dish that moves around the plate. Pair it with lamb, with fish, with cheese. At Mezzo on Waldorf Street, the first restaurant I worked in, we ran our own version with goat’s cheese. Clean plates, every time.

This book earns its place on the shelf. And that dish still earns its place on the table.

From the Shelf: For the Love of Food by Dennis Cotter

A curveball this week: Dennis Cotter’s For the Love of Food. Pure vegetarian cooking that makes you forget there’s no meat or fish — standout recipe: maple chilli roasted beetroot with glazed pecans.

From the Shelf: For the Love of Food by Dennis Cotter

This week’s pick is a curveball. A book that feels different the moment you read it. You get halfway through before you realise — there’s no meat, no fish, nothing. It’s vegetarian from start to finish. And you don’t miss it for a second.

The book is For the Love of Food by Dennis Cotter. For three decades he ran Paradiso in Cork, long before vegetarian cooking was fashionable. The Guardian once called him the best vegetarian chef in the British Isles. Back when I started cooking, the “veg option” on most menus was a tomato tart or a mushroom risotto. Some restaurants still haven’t moved past that. Dennis went further. He made vegetables worth the main stage.

This book’s also personal to me. The food styling was done by an old friend and colleague, chef Fergal Conolly. Respect, brother. That makes this one extra special.

The Standout Recipe

The dish that grabs me here: maple chilli roasted beetroot with glazed pecans, wild rice, butter greens and orange yoghurt. Sweetness, spice, crunch, freshness — everything working in balance.

It’s straightforward to make. Roast the beets with maple and chilli, glaze the pecans, cook the rice, stir through greens, and bring it all together with a sharp orange yoghurt. Some parts can be prepped in advance, then finished when you’re ready to serve. It’s the kind of dish you can put in the middle of the table and everyone — kids, family, guests — will dig in.

Why It Earns Shelf Space

Vegetables here aren’t an afterthought. They’re treated with the same respect as any cut of meat or fish. That’s the point. Cotter shows just how much can be done when you let produce lead the way. That’s why this book stays on my shelf.

Save it. Cook it. Pass it on.

Links: Paradiso Restaurant · Dennis Cotter in The Guardian · About Royal Nyborg Smokehouse

From the Shelf: Arabesque by Claudia Roden — Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Couscous & Date Stuffing

Claudia Roden’s Arabesque (2005) is more than a cookbook — a journey through Turkey, Lebanon, and Morocco. Standout dish: Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Couscous & Date Stuffing.

Claudia Roden was born in Cairo, raised in London, and first published back in 1968. She studied art, but it was food that became her true canvas.

Her Arabesque (2005) is a journey through Turkey, Lebanon, and Morocco. Open its pages and you’re in the market streets — colours, smells, spices, and noise, all packed into recipes that speak of culture and history.

One dish that stands tall:

Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Couscous and Date Stuffing.
Slow-roasted lamb, couscous, sweet dates tucked inside. It’s generous. It’s layered. It feels like Middle Eastern hospitality at your own table.

But Arabesque isn’t just about cooking. It’s about memory, identity, and the way food connects people. Roden captured that — and it’s why this book still belongs on the shelf.

At Royal Nyborg Smokehouse, I believe the same: food is more than flavour. It’s craft, patience, and story — carried through generations.

From the Shelf: River Cottage MEAT