Cornersmith: Recipes from the cafe and picklery

by Alex Elliott-Howery

Eat with the seasons, preserve the bounty, with ethical - and delicious - recipes from the Cornersmith café and picklery

When Alex Elliott-Howery and James Grant opened the doors to Cornersmith, their neighbourhood cafe on an unassuming street corner in Sydney's inner west, they wanted the food to represent the sustainable ethos they held to when cooking at home: making everything from scratch using local, in-season produce; avoiding processed foods; and pickling and preserving to reduce waste. But most importantly, they wanted to serve great-tasting, good-for-you food that everyone would love.

From day one the locals flocked in, and Cornersmith has since grown to incorporate a picklery, cooking school and a produce-trading system where customers can swap home-grown produce for a coffee or a jar of pickles.

This book brings together favourite dishes from the award-winning cafe, covering everything from breakfasts, lunches and dinners to desserts, as well as recipes for their most popular pickles, jams, compotes, chutneys, relishes and fermented foods. Cornersmith food is about following the seasons, not the latest fad; it's about opening your eyes to the bounty available in your own neighbourhood and showing you how best to use it.

About the authors
Alex Elliott-Howery and James Grant are the husband and wife team behind Marrickville cafe and picklery, Cornersmith. Together they head a team that includes chefs, cheesemakers, picklers and preservers.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

271 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just brilliant! Opened my eyes to a new type of cooking I hadn't considered. And to a whole swapping, trading, pickling community! Excited to try ALL the recipes, after the ones I've made turned out so great

[Sandra Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you like to make preserves and jams, pickles and café style food? If so, this is the perfect cookbook for you! From Blackberry Preserves to Bread & Butter Pickles (a rarity to find in a cookbook these days, but a great, easy pickle to make!), Patrice’s Tomato Ketchup to Preserved Mushrooms in Oil, there are a multitude of preservation recipes and that doesn’t even take into account all the other recipes!

The book is divided into seasons, with a focus on the produce for that season. For Spring you have recipes for things like Strawberry, Rhubarb and Rose Jam, a delightful Spring Vegetable Chicken Soup, Lemon Cordial (oh, my!) and Quick Pickled Radishes. Moving into Summer you find recipes such as Hazelnut Meringue Cake with Lime Curd, Peach and Mango, Tomato Passata and Red Cabbage, Pickled Corn, Chilli & Coriander Slaw. Autumn brings its bounty with delights such as Quince and Apple Jam, Jamie’s Sauerkraut, Pork Chops with Fennel, Apple Sauce and Mustard and more. Winter delights include Carrot Jam, Cornersmith Reuben-Style Sandwich and Kristen’s Baked Ricotta.

This is a beautiful book, with gorgeous photos and delightful recipes. It would make a great addition to anyone’s cookbook library!

I received a copy of this book from Murdoch Books through IPG for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a recipe book from a local cafe and picklery. It is about using local food, and preserving bounty. There are stories of how the cafe and picklery came into being, with lots of local references as well as many recipes. This is another in the series of local studies recipe books which I have been reading. I have been to a couple of classes by Cornersmith and it has encouraged my sauerkraut making. I grew up making things to preserve the bounty of gardens or gifts of neighbours as it was, and is a family thing to do. One thing which comes through the book, as well, is that often taking a social approach to preserving bounty shares the work, as well as making it a collaboration.

This is an enjoyable book to read and I will be exploring making some of the recipes (when I can borrow it again from the library).

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of useful inspirational stuff, lovely photos and good hand-feel.

[Jennifer Rolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an enjoyable read. I liked the carefully constructed instructions for recipes and the photography was excellent. It was also an insight into a very thoughtful way of living.

[Annette McIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really interesting recipes here, not just ones on preserving but also what to do with your preserves afterwards.