Cookbook review: Broth & Stock from the Nourished Kitchen by Jennifer McGruther

Get back to basics with this deeply satisfying book

If you’re not following her blog, Nourished Kitchen, author Jennifer McGruther is a cook, educator, and whole foods advocate, following a version of the ancestral diet promoted by The Weston A. Price Foundation. Her second book Broth and Stock from the Nourished Kitchen: Wholesome Master Recipes for Bone, Vegetable, and Seafood Broths and Meals to Make with Them is an outstanding follow-up to her first cookbook. I had no idea there was so much I could learn about something as simple as chicken stock!

Layout and design:

The book is organized into six chapters: the broth maker’s kitchen, master broths & stocks, poultry, meat, fish, and vegetables. Recipes in the “master” chapter are used in the later chapters, which are not necessarily recipes for soup. The book is beautifully designed for the reader’s ease.

Photography:

Full-page, full-color photographs by the author are generously placed throughout the book, making me want to make everything I see.

Recipes:

Recipes include shellfish stock, chicken soup with parmesan rice peas and lemon, Galician pork and bean stew with greens, salmon celeriac and potato chowder with dulse, and roasted mushrooms with rye berries. Recipes follow most paleo/ancestral guidelines, although some include beans, grains, and dairy, a few contain gluten.

What I liked about the book:

So informative! Don’t skip the introduction; every page is packed with fascinating facts and details. It makes me want to sit down for dinner at the author’s house. The recipes are a celebration of flavor and healthy fats.

I wasn’t so keen on:

Recipes were not coded for special diets; nutritional analysis is not provided, which would be helpful for low-sodium eaters.

Recommended for:

paleo, ancestral, vegan, vegetarian, celiac/gluten-free (see note above) diets

Not recommended for:

Migraine, vegan, or low-sodium diets

A note about my cookbook reviews: In the past, I tested at least three recipes from each book, took photos, and described my experience. Due to my dietary limitations (low-sodium, gluten-, dairy-, egg-free), it is no longer possible for me to test the recipes and do them justice.

Required FTC disclosure: I received one copy of this book from the publisher for the giveaway on September 29, 2016.
Here’s the book if you want to see more: