With more than 70 notebooks the first major task was to index the recipes and find out what the scope of the book could be. Paco manfully got started cataloguing, reading and sorting through the notebooks, and realised he had 2668 individual, handwritten recipes. They covered all aspects of Mediterranean cooking – tapas, soups, salads, meat dishes, game, seafood, puddings… Did I think we had enough material for a book? Wow, we had enough for 20 books!
The hardest part was selecting the first 100 recipes to focus on. We decided that they should be cooked and tested to prove the recipes could still work. And that we wanted the first book out before Christmas 2013. So, transcribe, edit, translate, cook, photograph and eat all these recipes in 2 months. Then produce the book and get it into the shops. Should be easy, right?
I had the hardest part – I was not only the translator and editor, I was also one of the test cooks and had to eat loads of the recipes. The things I do for a good book!
We formed a team to cook and test the recipes. In one weekend alone I cooked 16 recipes and tasted them all. I put 5 kilos on during the making of this book, and we’re now working on the next one, I don’t know how I’m ever going to get my figure back! My friends were happy as I took Tupperware boxes wherever I went, stuffed full of Bird Salad or Rice With Serrano Ham, to share with anyone who looked vaguely hungry.
Finally, the recipes were tested, translated, photographed and edited. My final job was to turn these snippets into a book…
See Part 1 – The Making of A Cookery Book – How The Notebooks Were Uncovered
See Part 3 – The Making of A Cookery Book – Book Design & Publishing
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Spanish Cooking Uncovered: Farmhouse Favourites
Get the book for more authentic Spanish recipes.
Enjoy more than 80 uncovered recipes from Grandma María Luisa’s Spanish Farmhouse Kitchen. Grandma María Luisa’s Spanish Cooking Uncovered: Farmhouse Favourites is a treasure trove of recipes discovered after over 70 years.
María Luisa’s handwritten recipes from the Civil War period uncover the secrets of traditional Mediterranean cooking. Enjoy more than 80 recipes using fresh, natural, healthy ingredients to feed a modern family, with a hand-picked wine choice for every dish!
