Helpfully divided into quick recipes (for when you need something great on the table, fast) and longer recipes (for when you have time to slow down and savour the process), here are 100 bold, impactful recipes inspired by Italy, Brazil, Mexico and beyond. Ixta’s aim is to help you put vibrant, colourful, and flavour-packed food on the table, on any day of the week. She focuses mainly on food and travel but with a lifelong love of the arts – especially visual arts, theatre and literature – she enjoys writing reviews for London Unattached. The title to be read and discussed is sign-posted and on sale for the whole of the previous month (with a discount for those who make it known they intend to come) and everybody is welcome, whether first-timer, part-timer or regular-timer.

Perfect for: Ottolenghi fans will love MEZCLA, as will anyone interested in experimenting with flavour and deepening their understanding of global cuisines. MEZCLA means mix, blend or fusion in Spanish and in her first solo cookbook, Ixta Belfrage – loved for her inventive ingredient combinations – shares her favourite mezcla of flavours. With forkfuls of crunch and creamy soft textures, plump, golden raisings and crispy toasted pine nuts, the dressing was both sweet and piquant.Ixta Belfrage burst onto the cookbook scene via Flavour which was co-written with Ottolenghi when she worked in his test kitchen.

According to Ixta, these are best enjoyed when a little drunk; you’ll be less worried about the bisque dripping down your chin!We ate all three of these dishes for dinner and I felt excited to be savouring a meal that all too often is a rush at the end of the day. Romano peppers are roasted and then pureed with a range of ingredients – Belfradge shows her training in the Ottolenghi kitchen with the length of her ingredients list. I am off to source some of her ingredients that are new to me – azeite de dendê or red palm fruit oil being top of my list. In MEZCLA, her first solo cookbook, she draws on her many influences to create a truly exciting and unique set of recipes.

Ixta has spent her life exploring and enjoying food in Italy, Mexico and Brazil, so it’s no surprise that MEZCLA is a fusion of different cultures and food traditions. First, a chilli oil was made into which the oyster mushrooms had a whirl before being threaded onto skewers.

The third dish I tried was equally surprising and very quick despite being in the Entertaining section. MEZCLA translates to mix Spanish, and every dish lives up to this definition, bringing aspects of traditional dishes into something new and exciting. It was then marinated in a sweet and sour dressing with fresh herbs and creamy ricotta which can be omitted to make the dish vegan. The Spanish word mezcla translates as mix, blend, or fusion, and that’s exactly what this book is; expect classic Italian dishes infused with vibrant Mexican flavours, traditional Mediterranean ingredients sitting side-by-side with Brazilian spices, and thoroughly idiosyncratic twists on familiar favourites.

Light and fluffy on the inside, crispy and salty on the outside, Ixta’s cassava fries (or macaxeira frita) are topped with chilli butter for an added kick. In her introduction to Mezcla, Belfrage explains that the book is not only about the fusion of ingredients but is also an ode to the multi-faceted influences from her childhood.With rare exceptions such as bank holidays, the book group meets on the first Wednesday of every month at 7. After five years of honing her abilities in the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen and co-authoring the bestselling Ottolenghi FLAVOUR, Ixta’s first solo cookbook is an exciting and personal delve into her culinary history and food influences. Notice to Internet Explorer users Server security: Please note Internet Explorer users with versions 9 and 10 now need to enable TLS 1. She grew up in Italy while travelling frequently to her mother’s country of origin, Brazil, and to Mexico where her grandparents lived.