The Miss Dahl mentioned is none other than Sophie Dahl who, I must confess, I had never heard of (I don’t move in the right circles). But you find me here writing a review of a book that has been both well written and which I have found to be thoroughly entertaining.
Sophie started her working life as a model although she has ventured into the world of waitressing and nannying. She has spent her life dodging about the world and has lived in both London and New York, and has had a love affair with food wherever she has roamed. A food-loving model? Could this be true?
Sophie is, these days, a svelte young woman with a pretty smile but she graced the catwalk as a well-upholstered mannequin with a curvaceous figure the like of which had seldom been seen in the fashion industry. A bout of ill health led Sophie to re-evaluate her relationship with food and reconsider how she wanted to eat and live. This classy book is the result of revisiting favourite dishes that are both sustaining and delicious.
The recipes here are simple, sensible and mouth-watering. This is a seasonal cookbook with recipes for breakfast, lunch and suppers, with some puds thrown in for good measure. All the dishes have one thing in common and that’s comfort.
Breakfast is well represented in Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights. Poached Eggs on Portobello Mushrooms with Goat’s Cheese is a typical example of Sophie’s style. The egg yolk makes a rich and silky sauce. This is in Autumn Breakfasts but it would work equally well as a light lunch. Pear and Ginger Muffins are offered as a sweet temptation for a winter breakfast but would go well with a nice cup of tea on a cold afternoon.
The star of the volume must be Coconut Curry with Prawns. This is a Thai-inspired curry of the store cupboard variety but is no worse for that. It doesn’t demand a trip to an ethnic supermarket. The most exotic ingredient is green chilli and that isn’t hard to come by these days.
Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights is an attractive volume filled with tempting dishes, some of which you might be familiar with and others are Sophie originals. Don’t be tempted to just dive into the recipes. This book is also something of an autobiography which shows the lady to be intelligent, witty and down to earth. She has been a model but she is a novelist and now a food writer with a creditable first book under her belt. Hope we hear more from her in future.
Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights
Author: Sophie Dahl
Published by: HarperCollins
Price: £18.99
ISBN 978-0-00-726117-8
Cookbook review by Chrissie Walker © 2018