TAVA

WINNER OF THE 2023 JAMES BEARD AWARD FOR BEST BAKING AND DESSERTS BOOK A joy and an education Irina Georgescu has disentangled the strands woven into Romanian cooking and identity and she has done so deliciously through glorious cakes pies strudels and doughnuts Cook eat learn Diana Henry I am such a huge admirer of Irina Georgescu in general and of this extraordinarily impressive and important book in particular A must have not just for enquiring bakers but crucially for all those interested in the context and evolution of culinary culture Nigella Lawson Tava is a meticulously researched baking book celebrating centuries of diversity and overlapping cultures that form today s cuisine in Romania The author s aim is to also share the story of those dishes that have come to represent the identity of different cultural communities across the country Tava means tray in Romanian a metaphor for how a whole culinary landscape is presented to the reader You will find Armenian pakhlava Saxon plum pies Swabian poppyseed crescents Jewish fritters and Hungarian langoi alongside plcinte pies alivenci corn cake strudels and fruit dumplings Rice or pearl barley puddings doughnuts and gingerbread biscuits come with their own story while chocolate m