A Catalan Cookery Book

This book was privately published in 1969 after the author's death. It was edited and introduced by Patience Gray, who herself needs no introduction to Prospect readers. Echoes of Irving Davis, antiquarian bookseller, publisher and man of letters, abound in her own masterpiece Honey from a Weed. This book is a fragment - he was a man who sought perfection - and yet is complete enough for us to enjoy, and to cook from. He called his recipes 'impossible' because he despaired at substitution, or derogation from the original. 'Macaroni in the oven' calls for the blood of a chicken, other dishes are equally demanding. In the time since it was first written, authentic provisions and materials have become more available, the book less impossible.