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Reading the latest cookbook from Australia is like taking a crash cooking course from a friendly specialist.

Aussie culinary maven Alice Zaslavsky peppers Better Cooking, her third book (Appetite by Random House, $40) so lavishly with tips, you end up at least an informed beginner. Her more than 100 recipes show her flair; an example is this mussels dish. She livens up the usual bowl of this shellfish with leeks, celery and tomatoes.

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She lays down the law on some topics, such as: You must own a salad spinner if you’re ever to make a decent salad; roast vegetables and you will acquire their sweetness; salads need a member of the onion family for flavour.

Zaslavsky calls the tips “golden nuggets of info.” She goes overboard on avocados, covering how to buy a ripe one, plus a host of serving ideas. Her book is extra colourful, with handsome photographs of the recipes by Ben Dearnley interspersed with drawings by Lynn Bremner. Short essays dot the book, explaining a food or technique. Shortcuts are handy, as are shopping tips like buying a top-quality olive oil.

Sailors’ sauce mussels

Serves 4

Picada crumb topping

1/3 cup (75 mL/50 g) blanched almonds

4 garlic cloves, peeled

2 thick slices crusty bread

Pinch sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup (125 mL) each finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and coriander

1/3 cup (75 mL) extra virgin olive oil

Using a small food processor, combine almonds, garlic, bread, salt, pepper, parsley and coriander. Pulse until roughly combined. 

Heat oil in a large, heavy frying pan over medium heat and cook mixture until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

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Mussels

¼ cup (60 mL) extra virgin olive oil

1 leek, green tops discarded, finely sliced *

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 cup (250 mL) white wine

½ teaspoon (2 mL) sugar

1 tablespoon (15 mL) tomato paste

1 cup (250 mL) strained, canned tomatoes

3 to 4 pounds (1 to 2 kg) mussels, scrubbed, beards removed

½ cup (125 mL) each fresh flat-leaf parsley and coriander, coarsely chopped

Juice and zest (grated peel) of 1 lemon

*Finely chopped onions or shallots may be substituted.

Heat a large, heavy saucepan over low-medium heat, heat oil and sauté leek, celery and garlic for 5 to 10 minutes, until leek has softened.

Add wine and sugar, raise heat to medium and cook until liquid has reduced by half.

Stir in tomato paste and cook for one minute, then add tomatoes and continue to cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, until it thickens.

Drain mussels of any liquid and tip into the pan. Cover and shake pan occasionally for 4 to 5 minutes, or until all the mussels have opened.

Scatter with herbs and lemon juice and zest and serve hot in deep bowls, topped with picada mixture.  

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