Tag Archives: made in spain

Book review: Made in Spain, by Miriam Gonzalez Durantez

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th August 2016 - 10:45 am

I was delighted to get Miriam’s part memoir part cookbook for my birthday last week.

I love cookbooks and have a stack of them not in the kitchen but by my bed. My favourite sort have a lot of commentary and background as well as just recipes. That’s part of the reason I’m such a huge Nigella fan. She puts a lot of herself into her recipes and writing. The two women have cooked together before and Nigella’s “Gorgeous recipes” endorsement on Miriam’s front cover is a very useful thing.

The book is worth it for a mini rant on stock alone, but it has so much to offer. The food is appetising – although I might use a bit more garlic than she does – with gutsy flavours. I can see myself making a fair few of these recipes, although I’d have to figure out how to use less oil. From a vibrant gazpacho simple pasta with bacon and peas taught to her sons when she broke her elbow during the 2010 election to a delicious lamb stew to the most wonderful sounding dish with potatoes, garlic and saffron, to lemon curd muffins, to olive oil chocolate mousse, there are dishes that could make me very happy. You never know, I might just cook some and compare her photos with mine.

Her recipes are interspersed with personal anecdotes:

I was first introduced to guacamole when I helped to negotiate the EU-Mexican trade agreement.

is quite a claim to fame!

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged cookery, gossip, miriam gonzalez durantez and politics | 10 Comments

Miriam Gonzalez Durantez on her new cookery book to raise money for her Inspiring Girls campaign.

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 16th July 2016 - 11:12 am

Theresa May apparently has over 100 cookbooks. That’s probably the one thing she and I have in common. I actually have a stack of them by my bedside table so I can dip in and out of them when I want. I tend to read them for pleasure as much as cook from them. I particularly like books which have a story around them to go along with the food.

That’s why Those Who Need to Know are under no illusions as to how disappointed I’d be if I didn’t get Miriam Gonzalez Durantez’s new book, Made in Spain, for my upcoming birthday. It’s conveniently being published just three days before.

On Thursday, Miriam appeared on ITV’s Lorraine show (from about 15 minutes in). She brought along some delicious looking food and talked a bit about some of the recipes. She also talked about her feelings on Brexit. You can also be under no illusion that she’s not very impressed with the new Foreign Secretary. I haven’t watched Lorraine in a long time and had forgotten how much I enjoyed her lovely and informal manner. Also, if you are as trashy as I am, Bucks Fizz are on the show too. If, like me, you are a die-hard Eurovision geek, it’s a must-see.

Posted in News | Also tagged books, lorraine and miriam gonzalez durantez | 4 Comments