Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food

It took me quite a long time to review this one, because it's so hard to categorize this cookbook. I mean that in the best way possible. Nik Sharma’s culinary voice is quite unique – I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this one. Sharma is a blogger and former researcher in the field of molecular genetics, and beyond that opens his book by describing himself as a gay immigrant.

He notes that some of his touchpoints are India, Appalachia, and the US Midwest, but the ingredients and flavors that he pulls into his dishes are astonishingly diverse, and include southwestern flavors, umami Japanese ingredients like nori, Mediterranean ingredients like olives, and Middle Eastern spices and ingredients like kefir, sumac and show more pomegranate. To give you a few examples of his utterly original flavor combinations – the appetizer section includes a recipe for Chile-Sumac-Pomegranate nuts, and the comfort and very Midwest-sounding small plate of “Sweet Potato Fries with Basil Yogurt.”

In their simplicity and sophistication, and in the global nature of his flavor combinations, I would most comfortably situate Sharma’s book next to Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbooks, and the Bar Tartine cookbook—the latter also published by Chronicle Books—and an indispensable favorite is a favorite of mine. In terms of personal narrative, I think it also sits quite comfortably next to David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen.

Now, let’s talk about the visual look and feel of this cookbook. Sharma not only wrote the recipes, but took the photographs. This is a dead sophisticated, lavishly photographed, book with food presentation sometimes rivaling food I’ve seen and eaten at places like ALINEA. If anything the photographs, which are uniformly shot in a dark and masculine voice, aren’t really my style – I love the warm of Bar Tartine’s images for example. But the right person would fall madly in love with these images, and I would only fault this book for not including larger versions of Sharma’s arresting images of spices, seeds, and salts. I can’t even really fault the book in this regard as this content is truly secondary to the main content of the book, which are the images. But I find myself lingering on those photos at length.

The only other critique I’d offer up of this book, is that Sharma notes that his husband grew up in the Appalachians, and that he’s experimented in his recipes with substituting ghee for lard for example. Having grown up in Appalachia, I sort of hope that this particular set of flavors and comfort cooking gets its own cookbook. I didn’t really see that set of references play out in this book, and there are very few elevated books on Appalachian cooking (the one that comes to mind is the James Beard-award winning cookbook Victuals). And those that do exist tend to hew fairly close to traditional recipes, which are under-documented. There is space here for Sharma’s unique voice.

I have the feeling that this cookbook may end up flying below the radar a bit because it is so unique, and I hope that this spurs other people on to give it a try. This would be an excellent addition to the library of any cook that has a well-stocked spice cabinet, and who would like to add some sophisticated small plates, salads, and seafood to their repertoire (other proteins and vegetables and sweets are featured but I think those chapters are particularly strong.)

Disclaimer: I received an advanced reviewers copy to read for free, although took my sweet time in absorbing this complex cookbook. show less

I really enjoyed this cookbook. I'm always looking to introduce new recipes and flavors to my somewhat risk averse family and Nik Sharma's Season makes it easy. He takes well known American fare - think meatloaf and popcorn chicken - and introduces an array of Indian spices and ingredients.

I love the idea of his Caprese Salad with Tamarind dressing (instead of balsamic and olive oil and am so sad I need to wait another five months for decent tomatoes. The meatloaf with garam masala and apples, however, will make an appearance on my table next week.

Very inspired recipes and very inspiring food photography. Really liked the flavor glossary of exotic (to me) spices. Nothing in here is inaccessible to the home cook.

Review based on ARC (Advanced Review Copy received for free in exchange for an honest review).

I am ecstatic to have this book. I LOVE a good cookbook. I do not always love a cookbook with a lot of personal-life-fluff thrown in. There are, of course, exceptions. I really (shockingly ;)) enjoyed Chrissy Teigen's cookbook, and I was equally enamored with this one.

Nik Sharma has a rich story and a broad perspective.
But more importantly, this is a beautiful cookbook. I love the pictures and I love the recipes.

I am the daughter of an (Eastern) Indian woman from the Caribbean. When my mom arrived in this country, she was part of the "integration" wave and taught my sisters and I the real American way. I.e., we were raised very much as show more Americans. I have in my cooking repertoire about 2.5 Indian dishes, and I am so happy to add to that with a set of recipes from such an accomplished and understanding chef.

I definitely recommend this book for people seeking to add some "big flavors" to their every day cooking.. the personal "fluff" is just extra.

FIVE of five stars. show less

This is a beautiful cookbook, full of new flavor ideas and interesting recipies. It reminds me of Ottolenghi, which is high praise in my book. For me, cookbooks fall into two categories, the safe ones with a new version of familiar recipies, and ones like this one that challenge you to think outside your comfort zone. I am excited to experiment.

This is a beautifully photographed cookbook. The colors are vibrant and inviting, I especially like the shot with the bread dough and flour caught midair.

Lots of fresh ingredients in this book and the combinations are unusual. Using cocoa in lentil soup and basil infused yogurt with sweet potato fries sound interesting. I have not cooked from this book yet as I don't have some of the key ingredients for recipes that interest me.

This book would make a lovely gift for someone who likes to experiment in the kitchen.

Beautiful book - lots of great photographs, and some really interesting recipes. There are some interesting twists on classic American recipes here, with spices that you should be able to find in any area with an Asian grocery.