Lonely Planet, one of the planet’s most well-known travel books, has launched a series of cookbooks called From the Source that aim to discover the classics of various countries, right from their source. The first is From the Source Spain (£19.99), which offers a collection of mouth-watering regional classics gathered from the some of the best cooks in Spain. This highly versatile book also seeks to show the diversity of Spanish cooking by showcasing recipes ranging from local home comfort cooking to high-end Michelin fine dining, thereby offering a little something for everyone.

Lonely Planet – From the Source Spain

Recipes include dishes such as one of my all time favourites and one of the most revered Spanish dishes, Paella Valenciana (paella with chicken and rabbit), a selection of pintxos (Basque tapas), and cochinillo (suckling pig).

Moving towards the higher end, there are also contributions from some of the restaurant world’s most revered chefs including Pedro Subijana from three Michelin starred Akelare in San Sebastian, Tono Perez of two Michelin starred Atrio in Extremadura, and Fina Puigdevall of two Michelin starred Les Cols in Girona.

To showcase the book, Lonely Planet in conjunction with KinoVino , a cinema supper-club venue, recently hosted a special book launch with a Spanish feast using recipes from the book being prepared by chefs Oliver Rowe and Tom Hunt.

For our starter, we were able to try a delicious gazpacho and crostini which was resplendent with flavour. This was followed by octopus with savoy cabbage and streaky bacon which proved to be a rustic comforting dish with meaty, well cooked octopus contrasting well with the robust flavour of the bacon and cabbage.

Kino Vino & Lonely Planet – Octopus

The octopus was served with accompaniments such as Escalivada, a wonderful mixed vegetable dish that had been beautifully cooked. Also tasty were the sides of chickpeas with spinach and rocket salad.

Kino Vino & Lonely Planet – A journey across Spain

We completed the evening with a fabulous Tarta de Santiago served with an orange and saffron cream. The pasty was wonderfully buttery and delicious, and the filling was wonderfully moist and nutty.

Kino Vino & Lonely Planet – Tarta de Santiago

From the Source Spain offers a wonderful collection of the best of Spanish cooking and retails for £19.99.

Website: http://lonelyplanet.com/from-the-source-spain/

* Photos by Green Lens Studios