Blasta Books – serie

Authors Anna Cabrera and Vanessa Murphy met in 2008 and quickly realised that their love for all things food, wine, sangria, vermouth and all the rest made them a perfect match.Anna, a native of Barcelona, moved to Ireland in 2001, while Vanessa had lived in Spain on and off over the years. It's safe to say their love of all things Spanish is in their blood. While there was already a Spanish offering in Ireland, they were missing so many dishes from home and their travels around Spain that the idea for their Dublin restaurant, Las Tapas de Lola, was born.Tapas are the perfect party food and even better icebreakers (great for first dates!). They can be enjoyed at a table, bar or simply as finger food. It's all about sharing. And the best part is that you don't have to commit to one dish - you can sample them all.The recipes that Anna and Vanessa have shared in this book are the way they love to prepare them. There are thousands of different ways to create so many of these dishes, but that's the joy of Spain. Each region, city, village, bar and family has their own version that's been handed down over the years. Hopefully you can now make these your own too.

Whether it’s a lunchtime mainstay, a midnight snack or eaten while hidden in a snug with a pint and a packet of crisps, the toastie has always been a staple of the Irish diet. Over the years, it’s evolved from the fundamental toasted special to something more complex and culturally diverse, but the foundations are still the same: the indulgent pleasure of real butter and the alchemy that happens when they meet bread and heat. Toasties is packed with simple recipes that comfort and delight, but with a few twists, some hot takes and a dash of nostalgia thrown in for good measure. With an emphasis on artisan Irish cheese, there’s a toastie for every mood. Raised in the wilds of south-west Ireland on unpasteurised milk and unapologetically obsessed with great dairy, Sinéad Sheehy and Ann Ní Chíobháin started their Cáis (Irish for cheese) food truck in 2020. Each recipe has been tried and tested by their loyal customers in Dingle, County Kerry, so they know what makes certain toastie combos a hit and are keen to invite you into their world – because a great toastie isn’t just food, it’s a way of life.

Ali Honour is a chef and food systems agitator who believes that how we eat can help fix our broken food system. Her journey with beans started as a chef looking for ways to feed people well without wrecking the planet. The more she worked with beans, the more they revealed themselves as reliable, sustainable and full of possibility. They became more than an ingredient – they became the backbone of a better way to eat. Beans isn’t just a collection of recipes – it’s also a rallying cry, a love letter, a legume-laden manifesto. It’s Ali’s way of saying look what food can be: humble and hearty, sustainable and sexy. Whether you’re a seasoned legume lover or just bean curious, this book will show you that beans aren’t just good for you, they’re good full stop. These are beans with big ambitions.

Giselle Makinde is a Brazilian-born chef and food entrepreneur who moved to Ireland in search of new opportunities and a fresh start. Like many who leave home, she felt disconnected from her roots, yet her childhood memories remain at the heart of everything she cooks.Samba is a joyful celebration of Brazilian cuisine, family and cultural memory. It brings to life the flavours and traditions passed down from Giselle’s mother and grandmother, and honours the deep connection between food, identity and home.

In our hectic lives, we can get stuck in a recipe rut and dinner decisions can sometimes feel like a chore. But Erica Drum is here to turn dinnertime into a daily treat in this fun, practical guide that fits into every kitchen – and any type of day. Dinner will become your go-to repertoire of recipes to come back to, take inspiration from or adapt to suit your mood and the ingredients you have on hand on any particular day, from rainy days and lazy days to date nights and cooking for a crowd. Whether you need something quick and delicious, are craving a little culinary inspiration to match your vibe or just standing in front of the fridge wondering what to cook, this book is for you.

Dublin’s undisputed dumpling queen, Janet Liu, has spent the past six years making thousands of dumplings by hand every weekend for her pop-ups, running her popular dumpling-making workshops and teaching Chinese dishes at Dublin Cookery School. Now with her own restaurant, Janet has put everything she knows about one of China’s favourite foods into this book.From family recipes to her signature cheeseburger dumplings, Janet shows you everything you need to know to make dumplings at home. She also shows you how to use the fillings for bao, noodles and rice bowls and how to use dumplings in salads, soups and more.Whether you’re folding your very first dumpling or perfecting your technique, you’ll see why making and sharing dumplings brings people together around the table like few other foods can do.

Fire is the oldest cooking tool we have. Long before kitchens, thermometers, recipes or even salt, there was fire and the understanding of how to live with it.Pat Conway and Jim O’Brien build fires with purpose. They cook with restraint. They respect the ingredient and let heat do the work it is meant to do. This book follows that philosophy.In Smokin’ Soul, Pat and Jim share everything they know about live-fire cooking. You’ll learn how every cut of meat, every technique, every flavour depends on how well you understand heat and how confidently you control it, which is why they give you the tools to master fire first before sharing their most popular recipes.

Absolutely loving this beautiful collection of cookbooks from Blasta Books, celebrating the diversity of food in and around Ireland. - Jamie OliverLily Ramirez-Foran has spent years sharing how fun, vibrant and convivial Mexican food is and how easy it is to make at home, and what better way to do that than with tacos?These are the authentic flavours of Mexico, from real corn tortillas to smoky chillies, matched with the best of Irish produce.There is something for everyone here, whether you're a carnivore, vegetarian or vegan. Your taco night is about to get taken up a level.

Absolutely loving this beautiful collection of cookbooks from Blasta Books, celebrating the diversity of food in and around Ireland. - Jamie OliverRussell Alford and Patrick Hanlon have taken familiar fried favourites, chipper classics and the flavours we can't get enough to create the ultimate version of every recipe, from the perfect chips to spice burgers, corn dogs and Korean fried chicken.Their style is all about fun, casual and approachable food, which is what this book delivers.

Absolutely loving this beautiful collection of cookbooks from Blasta Books, celebrating the diversity of food in and around Ireland. - Jamie OliverCultures and cuisines have many differences, but one thing they all have in common is cookies. No matter the country, cookies evoke fond childhood memories and feature in many holidays and celebrations.But there’s more to this book than just a sweet treat. Author Jess Murphy is an official High-Profile Supporter of the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency), with whom she works to raise awareness and to advocate for refugees. She has worked with refugees around Ireland as well as immigrants who have made Ireland their home to collect and share their recipes.Meanwhile, author Eoin Cluskey has tested all the recipes at his Bread 41 bakery in Dublin. This is a little book with a big heart, showing that food knows no borders. All author proceeds will be donated to UNHCR.

Absolutely loving this beautiful collection of cookbooks from Blasta Books, celebrating the diversity of food in and around Ireland. - Jamie OliverBorn in Hong Kong but raised in Buncrana, County Donegal, Kwanghi Chan says that his food isn't fully authentically Chinese, but neither is he.His book, Wok, is the first Irish-Chinese cookbook to be published. The recipes include some of Kwanghi's favourite meals that he grew up with that kept him in touch with his Asian heritage and the food that he cooks at home now with his family. You'll also find some of the fusion flavours that Kwanghi loves as well as dishes influenced by his travels to Asia, from the flavours of the street food vendors to refined three-star Cantonese dishes.Broken down into nine sections - dumplings, street food, rice, beef, pork, chicken, seafood, vegetarian and sweet - with three recipes in each section, Kwanghi is sharing his fusion Asian food with a wider Irish audience.

Absolutely loving this beautiful collection of cookbooks from Blasta Books, celebrating the diversity of food in and around Ireland. - Jamie OliverEveryone is passionately opinionated about their soups. We can argue through the night about blended soups, cold soups, greens in our soups, clear soups and, ultimately, why our favourite soup is the very best. The soups we make say we miss our moms, we want to travel, that the seasons are changing or that we are truly, deeply hungover.Soups define the stock from which we come and connect us all. In Blasta Books #5: Soup, authors and Spice Bags podcast co-hosts Blanca Valencia, Dee Laffan and Mei Chin take you on a journey around the globe from the comfort of the communities within Ireland.The soups they have collected reflect individual cultures, memories and tastes, but they are also a reflection of Irish food today and the people behind it.

Blasta Books #7: Wasted is a capsule collection of recipes that have come from identifying some of the most wasted food items in our homes. This book will help you to stop wasting food and turn perfectly good ingredients into delicious dishes. And the key word here is delicious. The book's ulterior motive may be to get us to think differently about ingredients and waste, but the driver for all these plant-based recipes is flavour. Wasted will change your mindset and reconnect you to real food, from the root to the tip.