Abra Berens – författare

Shortlisted for the 2022 Art of Eating Prize  Make grains the easiest, healthiest, and most exciting stars on your table. Grist is the only grain and legume cookbook you need. Abra Berens, a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Chef: Great Lakes and the author of Ruffage, shares more than 300 recipes and variations, plus substantial reference information to help you discover the next great grain. Grist includes more than 125 recipes for 29 different types of grains, legumes, and seeds that, in combination with vegetables and lean proteins, are the stars of the healthiest, most variable, and most satisfying meals—many of them gluten free.New and seasoned home cooks will want to reference this guide to start building a repertoire of approachable, big-on-flavor recipes. Home cooks will be attracted to the reference quality of the book, its beauty (more than 100 photos and 30 illustrations) and heft (125 recipes + 300 variations = 448 pages), as well as the great writing, relatable voice, author authority, unique recipe style, extensive variations, and gorgeous photography and illustrations.THIS IS THE A TO Z OF GRAINS, BEANS, AND LEGUMES: The content is deep and authoritative, but also wide-ranging, with information and recipes for 29 different grains, legumes, and seeds: Amaranth, Barley, Black-Eyed Peas, Buckwheat, Bulgur, Chickpeas, Common Beans, Corn, Cowpeas, Crowder Peas, Farro, Fava Beans, Field Peas, Fonio, Freekeh, Legumes, Lentils, Lima Beans, Millet, Oats, Quinoa, Rice, Sorghum, Split Peas, Soy Beans, Teff, Tiny Seed Grains, and Wheat Berries.REFERENCE BOOK: Organized by type of grain/legume/seed, each chapter offers authoritative info and tips that home cooks can use to deepen their knowledge of ingredients and broaden their repertoire of techniques. The recipes are simple, are generally quick to prepare, and use ingredients that are easy to find or often already in people's pantries.FOLLOW UP ON SUCCESS: Ruffage by Abra Berens was named a Best Cookbook for Spring 2019 by the New York Times and Bon Appétit, was a 2019 Michigan Notable Book winner, and was nominated for a 2019 James Beard Award. Here's some strong praise for Ruffage:"Things in my kitchen have changed since Ruffage arrived. This organized, easygoing guide to 29 vegetables offers a few cooking methods for each one, supplemented by several variations.” —Kim Severson, New York Times"[RUFFAGE] is a total classic in the making."—Christina Chaey, associate editor, Bon Appétit"Crammed with exciting ideas that encourage creativity, this lively book will quickly become an essential item in the home cook's library."—Library Journal (starred review)

Named a Best Cookbook for Spring 2019 by The New York Times and Bon Appetit 2020 James Beard Award Nominee – Best Cookbooks –Vegetable Focused CookingRuffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables is not your typical cookbook-it is a how-to-cook book of a variety of vegetables. Author Abra Berens-chef, farmer, Midwesterner-shares a collection of techniques that result in new flavors, textures, and ways to enjoy all the vegetables you want to eat. From confit to caramelized and everything in between-braised, blistered, roasted and raw-the cooking methods covered here make this cookbook a go-to reference.Treasure trove of 300 recipes. Spanning 29 types of vegetables-from asparagus to zucchini-each chapter opens with an homage to the ingredients and variations on how to prepare them. 140 photographs show off not only the finished dishes, but also the vegetables and farms behind them.Vegetables as a side or a main. Take any vegetable recipe in this book and add a roasted chicken thigh, seared piece of fish, or hard-boiled egg to turn the dish into a meal not just vegetarians will enjoy. Some bound-to-be favorite recipes include:• Shaved Cabbage with Chili Oil, Cilantro, and Charred Melon• Blistered Cucumbers with Cumin Yogurt and Parsley• Charred Head Lettuce with Hard-Boiled Egg, Anchovy Vinaigrette, and Garlic Bread Crumbs• Massaged Kale with Creamed Mozzarella, Tomatoes, and Wild Rice• Poached Radishes with White Wine, Chicken Stock and ButterRuffage will help you become empowered to shop for, store, and cook vegetables every day and in a variety of ways. You'll learn about the life and life-giving properties of plants the way a farmer sees it, build experience and confidence to try your own original variations, and never look at vegetables the same way again.

First vegetables, then grains, and now, fruit. This is the beautiful follow-up to Abra Berens's Ruffage and Grist, with more than 215 recipes and variations for using fruit in sweet and savory recipes to highlight seasonality and flavor.Pulp is a hardworking book of recipes that focuses on all the ways fruit can enhance simple, delicious mains - for example, by elevating roasted vegetables, garnishing soup, or adding perfume to a roasted pork or brisket. Unlike Ruffage and Grist, Pulp is about regularly incorporating fruit to add variety and seasonality to main dishes. Home cooks and bakers alike will rejoice in the alternately sweet and savory recipes such as Roast Chicken over Blueberries, Cornbread + Lemon; Melon, Cucumber + Chickpea Salad; and Rum-Plum Clafoutis. The book also features helpful reference material, a Baker's Toolkit, and more than 100 atmospheric photos, delivered with the can-do attitude and accessibility of the Midwestern United States. At 432 pages, this next hefty offering from beloved, trusted author Abra Berens is a necessary addition to any kitchen shelf alongside its predecessors and other mainstays like Plenty, Six Seasons, and Small Victories.