Book Review

Green Fire: Extraordinary Ways to Grill Fruits and Vegetables, from the Master of Live-Fire Cooking

By Francis Mallmann, Appetite by Random House, $50

FRANCIS MALLMANN HAS BEEN on my list of fave chefs since I ran my first wine and culinary tour to Chile and Argentina twelve years ago, and we dined at his beautiful 1884 Restaurant in Bodega Escorihuela Gascon, near Mendoza.

He’s from Patagonia, and known for barbecuing meat. “It may come as a surprise that after so many years of unconditional love for meat that I now ask you to come along with me back to the garden,” he says, and acknowledges that he’s always served vegetables, but they’ve frequently been more of a sideshow than the main attraction. His new book includes more than 80 tempting recipes for veggies and fruits to be cooked over fire, yet they work equally well indoors cooked in a cast iron skillet or on a griddle.

Green Fire is an emotive book, and you can almost smell the smoke as you read Mallmann’s engaging commentary and wonderful introductions to each vegetable and recipe. He starts in a place close to my heart – with the potato, and his debt of gratitude to this humble vegetable (p.24). At this point I’m already sold and looking forward to trying pretty much all the recipes in the chapter, particularly Huevos a la Tripa (p.46) which, despite the name, is just potatoes, eggs, cheese, and bechamel.

Moving on with tomato, eggplant, artichoke, beet, and cabbage recipes (yes, I earmarked many of these recipes to be tried too), we arrive at carrots: “Shy, but beautiful” (p.158), and on to corn and fennel dishes. And then a delight to discover it’s not just veggies but beans too, and a lovely story on p.216. I’m overjoyed to see Faina, Four Ways (p.225) as I’ve been wondering what to make with my chickpea flour – and this Argentinian flatbread is perfect!

Then there’s fruit, and I hear Grilled Grapes with Melted Cheese (p.253) calling my name, and to finish – cocktail recipes: “Cocktails… mark a kind of border between the concerns of the day and a time to refresh your spirit after your toils.” My thoughts entirely!

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