• Lepa on March 13, 2021

  I am currently obsessed with this book and the author's other book, Ostro. I am surprised this author isn't more well known in the US. I love this book for so many reasons. First, I want to eat everything in this book. The flavor profile is just what I like (lots of lemon and anchovies)! This book pushes me past shelter in place cooking fatigue and inspires me to get into the kitchen. The baking recipes are especially wonderful and many are new to me. The photography is gorgeous- the food looks lovely and the author and her family are adorable. The book is just so warm and beautiful. On nights when I'm too tired to read I take her books to bed with me. Have I mentioned that I adore this book?

• joanne_w on September 04, 2020

  It's Japan meets Italy. This book has a range of recipes including mains, but what I like most is it gave me some new ideas for salad combinations and desserts. True to its name it's straightforward recipes I could see myself using for family gatherings.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Green bean and radish salad with miso dressing

  • Lepa on July 24, 2021

    This was a simple, yummy and light salad for lunch. It would be great as part of a larger spread- with some rice, fish or tofu.

• Lemony potato and fennel salad

  • Lepa on March 18, 2021

    This probably won't replace our favorite potato salad (Ina's) but it is a nice variation and I especially liked the lemony flavor profile.

• Granola with poached plums

  • joslovescooking on January 12, 2026

    Love this granola recipe and have made it many times over the past few years. Have made the plums once and they were delicious! Substitute puffed millet with puffed quinoa. Makes 1.4kg

• Spaghetti with sardines, pine nuts and sultanas

  • Lepa on December 22, 2021

    I thought this was pretty good. It had a lovely golden color because of the saffron. The rest of my family ate it but didn't like it as much as I did so I'm not sure it's a repeat.

• Radicchio and pear salad with blue cheese and walnuts

  • Lepa on January 10, 2022

    As noted in the recipe head notes, this is more of a suggested combination than a recipe to follow. The flavors here are good. I made 1/2 a salad but used a whole pear. I needed less than half of the salad dressing. Overall this was a tasty salad.

• Sweet potato and spinach curry

  • Lepa on February 24, 2021

    This was pretty good. We ate it over rice. I used Japanese sweet potatoes, which had a great texture for a curry like this.

• Spicy pork and shiitake udon noodles

  • murphyfrank on April 09, 2021

    absolutely delicious but even though we are big eaters I feel this serves 5 rather than 4

• Miso roast chicken

  • Jenny on October 13, 2020

    I've made this twice now and it is incredibly delicious and packed with flavor. I served with coconut rice and roasted broccoli.

• Blackberry and apple pudding

  • Lepa on February 23, 2021

    This was not too sweet- we loved it. I didn't have a 28 cm pan so I used a 10 inch glass cake pan and that worked well. I baked the cake for 40 minutes.

  • murphyfrank on April 09, 2021

    I used a 23cm deep cake tin as I didn't have a 28cm pan. Cooked for 40 minutes and it was perfect. Served with vanilla icecream. Will definitely make again

• Broccoli and mozzarella salad

  • Lepa on March 18, 2021

    I made this for lunch. It was good but not great. I needed to add lots of salt, extra lemon and olive oil to make it better.

• Weeknight baked maccheroni

  • Lepa on December 11, 2022

    I hoped this would be a good substitute for lasagna, with less work. But it was not. The final dish was fine but had large chunks of rubbery cheese. This won't be a repeat for us.

• Rigatoni with lamb ragù

  • ChelseaP on August 05, 2021

    A simple and delicious ragu. Was lovely on a cold winter night with a glass of red wine.

• Apple and walnut cake

  • Lepa on April 01, 2021

    The baking time/cake pan size (8 inches) didn't work for me. It did seem like a small, thick cake and I should have listened to my instinct. The cake seemed done after 55 minutes and was browned but when I cut it the middle was completely uncooked. I think a larger pan, with a thinner cake, or a bundt would have worked better here. We ate the edges for breakfast and they were tasty but not as good as her other cakes. I might try this one again.

• Pear, ricotta and pine nut cake

  • Lepa on March 02, 2021

    This cake is extraordinary. It is rich and dense, not too sweet, and subtly flavored with pine nuts, pears and lemon. I can't wait to have a slice for breakfast tomorrow!

• Dark chocolate, walnut and oat cookies

  • Lepa on March 13, 2021

    These are delicious. The oats and nuts give these a nice, rich flavor that regular chocolate chip cookies often lack. I was thrilled to put half a batch in the freezer so we can enjoy them again soon.

• Mum's chicken sandwiches

  • Lepa on September 09, 2021

    This is a delicious chicken salad! I used roasted chicken that I had in the refrigerator and made a batch to eat through the week.

• Soba salad

  • Samvanz on May 04, 2026

    A quick and tasty pantry-forward meal. We had two packs of shelf-stable soba noodles and some roast chicken to use up, so I added shredded chicken to this recipe. Super easy and tasty dressing. Might benefit from fragrant soft herbs like parsley or coriander if you've got some around.

• Lamb shoulder with tabbouleh

  • tillathehungry on January 17, 2025

    excellent. the tabbouleh is a winner: well balanced and a great accompaniment to other meals as well

• Apple and rhubarb cobbler

  • Lepa on April 08, 2021

    This was okay but not great. It will not replace our family's favorite cobbler. It was very tart because there wasn't much sugar (this is not necessarily a negative for me- just mentioning it). This needed an extra five minutes for the biscuits to become golden. Note: she often suggests at 21 cm pan but I find that's often too small. Here the fruit would not have fit in such a small pan.

• Spiced rhubarb crumble cake

  • Lepa on May 11, 2021

    This was pretty good but not the best use of rhubarb. I thought there was too much crumble for the cake, which made it difficult to cut and serve. My family loved it and did not complain.

• Eat Your Books by Jenny Hartin

  Another gorgeous book from one of my favorite writers.

  Full review