Peasant cookery is the foundation on which all subsequent cuisine is based. A rich oral tradition, passed down through generations, the peasant kitchen offers healthy, real food - the antithesis of fast-food catering - and is as relevant now as it was centuries ago.

In this remarkable book, Elisabeth Luard sets out to record the principles of European cookery and to rediscover what has been lost in over-refinement. The recipes come from twenty-five countries, ranging from Ireland in the west to Romania in the east, Iceland in the north to Turkey in the south. It is an enormous compendium which covers Vegetables dishes, Potato dishes, Beans, Lentils, Polenta and Cornmeal, Rice, Pasta and Noodles, Eggs, Milk and Cheeses, Fish, Poultry, Small Game, Pork, Shepherd's Meats, Beef, Breads and Yeast Pastries, Sweet Dishes, Herbs, Mushrooms and Fungi, Oils, and Preserves.

Written with the scrupulous attention to detail and authenticity that is the hallmark of Elisabeth Luard's cookery writing, the recipes are peppered with hundreds of fascinating anecdotes and little known facts about local history and folklore.