Couple of days ago my copy of “Spice it up!” by Levi Roots published by Octopus Publishing has arrived (also available on Amazon). It is beautifully published hard cover with clear typography and filled with full size, fresh, vivid photographs that make you want to start cooking Caribbean food straight away.

I was nicely surprised to see such a big variety of recipes, especially all those delicious looking desserts!

“Spice it up!” is divided into 13 chapters:

• Chicken,
• Meat,
• Fish & Shellfish,
• Eggs,
• Beans, Rice & Pasta,
• Levi’s Roots,
• Vegetables & Salad Leaves,
• Sugar, Honey & Chocolate,
• Nuts & Coconuts,
• Limes, Oranges & Other Citrus Fruits,
• Mangoes, Pineapples & Bananas,
• Coffee & Tea,
• Rum.

It contain as well very useful glossary of Caribbean spices with tips on how to use them.

Recipes in the book are quite straightforward, thus you can make them almost everyday, but at the same time impressive enough to prepare for guests. Just to mention few (starting from the top left): Hot Carrot Soup with Coriander Cream, Brown-Down Salmon with Rice, Almond Cake with A Chilli-Spice Syrup and Wicked Caribbean Hot Chocolate.

It’s a pity that some of the recipes are not pictured but I imagine that the book would have to be much bigger and not so handy to fit illustrations for all those 100 recipes. Nevertheless “Spice it up!” is a terrific cook book, fantastic as a gift for someone or treat for yourself, one of those books that will actually be in use instead of resting on the shelf.

“Spice it Up!”

AUTHOR: Levi Roots
PUBLISHER: Mitchell Beazley
FORMAT: Hardback
SIZE: 248 x 192 x 26 mm
PAGES: 208
LANGUAGE: English
ISBN: 9781845335922
PUBLISHED: 4th July 2011

With thanks to Fiona & Colette of Octopus Publishing.

You can find parts of this article between my other reviews on Amazon website.