annieb123's Review of Rooted Kitchen

by Ashley Rodriguez

Deepen your relationship with the natural world through more than 80 delightfully inventive recipes featuring seasonal ingredients, plus thoughtful essays, tips, and basic techniques for foraging, preserving, and cooking over an open fire.

At a time when we urgently need to connect with the earth, Rooted Kitchen offers a fresh way to appreciate nature and the treasures it provides. Organized seasonally, you’ll find recipes to make the most of your farmers market or neighborhood foraging haul, such as a comforting Nettle Orecchiette with Sausage and Mint in spring (and how to use nettle leaves to make a nutritious, soothing cup of tea on chilly mornings); Nectarine Salad with Cucumber, Fennel, Feta and Herbs in summer; and Fire-Roasted Pumpkin Fondue with Chanterelles in fall.

You’ll also find tips for harvesting ingredients, from mushrooms to nettles to edible flowers, along with preserving, fermenting, beginner foraging techniques, and mindfulness activities. Seasonal ingredients are spotlighted so you can make the most of nearby nature. It can be as simple as pairing salmon with the distinct flavor of spruce tips snipped from a tree or plucking lilac blossoms and making Rhubarb-Lilac Jam to dollop on a pavlova. From small urban backyards to nearby parks to forests and beyond, when we become more connected to the outdoors through our food, it sparks a deeper connection to ourselves.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Rooted Kitchen is a tutorial guide to foraging and reconnecting with nature including recipes developed and curated by Ashley Rodriguez. Released 5th March 2024 by Penguin Random House on their 10 Speed Press imprint, it's 272 pages and available in paperback format.

The author writes passionately and engagingly about foraging, love of environment, and the importance of stewardship of our precious vulnerable planet. The book is written clearly in layman's language and is easily accessible for the average reader. It's arranged logically with recipes collected in seasonal chapter. The author also cautions against over-harvesting, a vitally necessary reminder everyone needs to hear.

The recipes showcase forage-able ingredients. They're arranged by season: Spring - Summer - Fall - Winter. Recipe ingredients are in bullet lists with imperial (American) units, followed by step by step preparation and presentation instructions. Many of these recipes are *fancy* and would be right at home at a trendy local-sourced foodie restaurant. They're gorgeously styled and presented; some of them are breathtaking (pea and nettle butter toast with pickled shallots and mint is beautiful and appetizing). There are many meatless and vegan friendly dishes included, but not all are.

This is definitely one for dedicated foodies. It's a lovely book and would make a superlative choice for public library acquisition, gift giving, and home reference. Some of the ingredients take a while (days) to prepare, so this is definitely not a "have dinner on the table in 30 minutes" type book. Slow, meditative food, well prepared.

Four and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

15 March, 2024: Started reading

15 March, 2024: Finished reading

15 March, 2024: Reviewed