Book review: Easy Wins

Kind to both the planet and busy schedules is how the recipes in Anna Jones’ latest cookbook are described. In Easy Wins​, Jones has chosen to focus on just 12 hero ingredients, from which she has created 125 recipes, none of which will prove particularly taxing to even the most novice of chefs but all of which are decidedly appetising.

Jones has been savvy with her selection: each hero ingredients lasts a long time, are relatively affordable and readily available. They are also cupboard staples, most of which would be found in any functioning kitchen across the UK, namely lemons, olive oil, vinegar, mustard, tomatoes, capers, chilli, tahini, garlic, onions, miso, and peanuts. Each comes with a short and personal foreword from Jones, long enough to give you a sense of the cook’s tastes but no longer - let's face it, no one needs a treatise on lemons or tomatoes when they are trying to cook their dinner.

Interspersed between the chapters Jones shares some of her knowledge gained from 20 years as a cook on topics that include planet-friendly cooking, salt and seasoning, how to layer flavour and texture, and how to cook flexibly. Particularly useful is the section on vegetarian flavour swaps with Jones, who is herself a vegetarian, sharing meat-free alternatives to chorizo (smoked paprika), lardons (crispy capers), and bacon (smoked tofu) among others.

And what of the recipes themselves? Where Easy Wins​ excels is in illustrating the versatility of one simple ingredient for both sweet and savoury applications. The chapter on lemons, for example, takes in pasta, pilaf, salad and a celeriac schnitzel as well as a number of puddings and cakes, while mustard-based recipes include a flammekueche, jammy onion and salsa verde flatbread, potato salad, and a cameo role from Jeremy Lee and his remoulade. It is only when you get fully into the book does it become clear that all the recipes are in fact vegetarian as there is no overt mention of this anywhere in the book.

Therein lies the cleverness of Easy Wins​. The casual browser could be excused for flicking through before purchasing to discover later on that it is a meat-free zone, only to come to realise that it doesn’t actually matter. Fresh, vibrant, interesting, at times hearty and yet simple-to create, Jones’ recipes stand up to scrutiny, meat or no meat.

Easy Wins​
Anna Jones​
Number of pages: 354​
Must try recipe: Chilli vinegar noodles with sesame tofu​
Publisher and price: 4th Estate, £28​
Publication date: 14 March​