Simple Menus for the Bento Box - Hardcover

Greaves, Ellen; Nish, Wayne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688142044 ISBN 13: 9780688142049

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1998

Synopsis

Two expert New York City chefs offer a unique, illustrated collection of traditional and innovative easy-to-prepare, American recipes tailored to the Japanese bento box--a lacquered box with small compartments--organized in seasonal menus.

About this title

Review

A bento box is a lacquered square divided into four equal compartments. Japanese cooks use the bento box for serving carefully orchestrated, beautifully arranged meals composed of four dishes. While Ellen Greaves and Wayne Nish designed their 12 seasonal menus to be offered in the elegant setting of bento boxes, the food is still remarkable served conventionally, so do not let the idea of using an authentic presentation keep you from enjoying their book. As long as you present the four dishes in a menu simultaneously, the choreography of flavors, textures, and colors will come through. Equally important, the recipes really are simple and easy, and most require familiar ingredients. The fall menu of Arugula Salad with Parmesan and Pickled Shiitake Mushrooms; Ratatouille; Pasta with Raw Tomatoes; and Poached Shrimp with Beans, Celery, and Saffron proves the point. It also shows the heavy Mediterranean influence in Greaves's and Nish's fusion cooking. Short-grain Japanese rice is probably the only Asian ingredient you'll have to pursue. Perhaps the one caution is that high-quality ingredients are essential for optimal success in this kind of minimalist cooking. If this is a problem, you can always feast your eyes on the exquisite pictures in this slim volume. They may even inspire you to contact the mail-order sources provided so you can collect some of the tableware lovingly photographed by Nish. --Dana Jacobi

About the Author

Ellen Greaves is the chef of The Tea Box restaurant in the Takashimaya department store on Fifth Avenue in New York, where the bento box menu changes daily. She is a graduate of Icole de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris and the Stratford Chef's School in Ontario.

Wayne Nish is the chef and owner of the highly acclaimed New York restaurant March. After graduating from New York Restaurant School, Wayne worked at The Quilted Giraffe and The Casual Quilted Giraffe. He was then executive chef at Colombe d'Or, which received three stars from The New York Times. He opened March with partner and wine director Joseph Scalice in 1990.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0688142044
• ISBN 13: 9780688142049
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 158