The Borough Market Cookbook: Recipes and stories from a year at the market

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Borough Market: The Knowledge does exactly what it says on the tin. Delving into the unique expertise of Borough’s market traders, this book is an encyclopaedia and a celebration of the food, people, and energy of the Market. It’s the ultimate preamble for cooking!” This cookbook is rooted in the passion and expertise of our fellow traders at Borough Market, whose in-depth knowledge of their ingredients are second to none. Each of the book's eight chapters is devoted to a different category of stall you'll find at this historic market: fishmongers, butchers, two different sections on stalls offering cupboard ingredients (spices, pulses, dry goods), greengrocers, fruiterers, dairy, and baked goods. Their wisdom is shared via features, interviews, tips and guides that demystify unfamiliar ingredients and processes. It explains not just what to buy (and why), but how to store it, cook it and serve it. Each section includes relevant recipes by Angela Clutton, award-winning food writer, Borough Market Cookbook Club host and Borough Talks podcasts presenter. The book includes over 80 recipes, with dishes like Parsnip Gnocchi and Smoked Garlic Butter, Moong Dal Dosa with Masala Potatoes and Tomato Chutney, and Jasmine Tea Loaf with Salted Lime Butter.

Of course, going there is the ultimate experience, but this publication gives a great insight into Borough Market, a whole year presented seasonally, bringing recipes to the table interspersed with trader interviews, a bit of history & general snippets. London's oldest market is a warren of smoking street food, old-school fruit-and-veg shops, charming pubs and a rising number of excellent restaurants. Whether you want fluffy bao buns or plates of glistening homemade pasta, fresh sourdough pizza or moreish tapas, you will not go hungry around here. But with only so many meals in a day, here are our favourite restaurants and food joints in and around Borough Market, the foodie hub of south London. For more options, see our guide to the best restaurants in London Bridge. How we choose the best restaurants in Borough Some of the attached recipe images below are darker than in the actual book...the light not playing in my favour!)The wonderful thing about this book is it connects the recipes to the experts at Borough Market. From practical tips on how to prepare fresh crab or fillet round fish to making sense of why seasonality matters, The Knowledge is essential reading for anyone who cares about good food.” By the main arch into Borough Market, this hand-made-pasta restaurant by the crew who run dreamy Trullo in Highbury does a delizioso tagliarini with brown shrimp, courgettes and chilli, as well as Trullo classic papardelle with eight-hour Dexter-beef-shin ragu. A crowd favourite, Padella is not just one of the best Italian restaurants in Borough – it's adored across London. A whiff of mulled wine, cider, warm-spiced apple juice – or all three – greets shoppers as they round each bend, the bakery stalls are laden with mince pies and there’s even a specialist Christmas pudding vendor on hand for those who’ve not got round to stirring their own. Wee writes: “Traditionally, the Nonyas engaged all their senses when they cooked – it was important to gauge the colour of the gravy, smell the aroma of the spices, feel the warmth of the charcoal heat, listen to the rhythm of the pounding and most importantly, taste the final product when the cooking is finished. As such, recipes passed down the generations were inexact. Cooking was by estimation or what the Nonyas called agak-agak.” This glossy new restaurant-wine-bar works both as somewhere to pop into for a chilled glass of white and some smoked salmon pâté or, for a more serious plate, sausages braised in red wine and porcini, with sage breadcrumbs.

At Borough Market, we don’t just sell good food and drink, we celebrate it. We enjoy how it tastes and the way it makes us feel, but we also appreciate its ability to connect us to the people who produced it and the places it was made. but, the ‘LOOK INSIDE’ currently shows the first few in the book to get a feel for the general layout. Nine years earlier, Wee wrote: “It faced its many challenges along the way. It first started with converting her handwritten recipe measurements from katis and tahils (old Chinese measurements) and learning the different daun (or herbs) and rempah (spice pastes). Recipe testing in New York could be challenging. Shopping for ingredients necessary for our cuisine often entailed trekking down to Chinatown by subway with a large shopping trolley.” Every restaurant on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveller journalist who knows the destination and has eaten at that restaurant. When choosing restaurants, our editors consider both high end and affordable eateries that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We're always looking for stand-out dishes, a great location and warm service – as well as serious sustainability credentials. We update this list regularly as new restaurants open and existing ones evolve.It is worth noting that it is a market, so the occasional illustration may be a touch sensitive to some. Wee said in a statement that she wrote her book, a mix of cookbook and memoir, “in loving memory of my mother”, recreating personalised recipes and researching her heritage. “I credit her and her peers for their anecdotes, recipes and cooking tips. This was their story,” she said. “I was therefore distressed to discover that certain recipes and other content from my book had been copied or paraphrased without my consent in Makan by Elizabeth Haigh, and I immediately brought this matter to the attention of the book’s publisher, Bloomsbury Absolute. I am grateful that Bloomsbury has responded to my concerns by withdrawing Makan from circulation.”