Open this book just to dream of tropical climes and holidays. My copy is showing how addictive this can be after six years as the insides slowly peel away from the well-thumbed soft cover. But what better compliment to a cook book that getting used.

Annabel Langbain is apparently a bit of a New Zealand celebrity though none of her TV shows have managed to get across the Tasman and she’s relatively unknown in Australia. But who cares, she writes fab food. Unlike the glut of pop-culture chefs her cooking is genuinely fresh, simple and inspiring.

The sections follow a Pacific day, breakfast to lunch to pre-dinner drinks, mains and desserts. Ranging from exotic and expensive like lobster and quail to the everyday like spicy pork meatloaf or curried eggs it’s can be dipped into for all sorts of occasions and budgets. Unsurprisingly given the pacific emphasis it concentrates on seafood and fish, and the flavours skew between India and south east Asia. The cocktail style h’orderves and appetisers are particularly good, like vegetable pakora, duck and mango rolls and cardamom and coriander spiced fish sticks. A bonus is the cupboard recipes at the back for everything from chilli jam to asian barbeque sauce and the scrummy mint and ginger pesto.

This was the first place I saw wonton wrappers cooked into crisp serving cups, in this case to serve shredded duck with cucumber and a tangy tamarind sauce. But a few years later wonton cups seemed to pop-up everywhere. I can’t prove it but she seems a cook ahead of the curve.
The layout is engaging, peppered liberally with beautiful pictures by Kieran Scott. It’s square shape makes it easy to keep open and the text is clear enough to read when your hands are in the midst of squishing something. Plus there are no weird font size changes or distracting italics.

Savour the Pacific is a terrific cookbook for anyone who loves tropical flavours but is also for those wanting to try something a little exotic without too much effort.

Savour the Pacific: A Discover of Taste
Annabel Langbein © 2000
An Annabel Langbein Book
The International Culinary Institute Press Ltd
Available from Amazon.com or www.annabel-langein.com