Gabriela Llamas’ Spanish Cooking for Beginners is a delicious collection of authentic Spanish recipes that will transport you to Spain! I love the bright and beautiful pictures as well as the variety of approachable dishes. However, I wish the writing was stronger because several of the recipes’ instructions are vague and some of the writeups could have been clearer.

Although this book is definitely an introduction to the world of Spanish cuisine, I really appreciate the range of dishes. This concise and well-organised recipe book features chapters on Tapas and Pinchos; Meat and Fish; Vegetables and Salads; and May Your Life Be Sweet. There’s even a helpful Menus section which organises the book’s recipes into preset listings to help you take the guesswork out of pairings. We learn to prepare traditional Spanish favourites like Valencian Paella, Basic Potato Omelet, and Cold Vegetable Soup. However, there are lesser known dishes like the yummy Torrijas (which most of us know as French Toast), Potatoes Rioja Style (a country potato stew with chorizo), and Pasta Paella.

For the most part, the recipes are well-detailed and easy-to-follow. However, the instructions are sometimes vague. Each recipe begins with a brief write-up. These little write-ups include tasting notes, histories of ingredients as well as background on the food itself, swaps, and cooking tips. I loved learning about Spanish culture and history but I wish the information was more in-depth. Llamas’ writing is also a little dry. Furthermore, several of the writeups are a bit disjointed and unclear.

I appreciate that the majority of the ingredients are affordable and accessible like potatoes, tomatoes, and bread. However, there are quite a few specialty ingredients like chorizo sausages, saffron, rabbit, and anchovy paste which are expensive and more difficult to obtain. I like Llamas’ dedication to showcasing fresh ingredients and her emphasis on producing food from scratch. However, several of the recipes are time or labour-intensive while others require in-depth knowledge of certain cooking techniques. Therefore, this book may be more suitable for those with intermediate level cooking skills.

I like the book’s clean and pretty layout. I love the full-colour pictures of food and Spain! I really enjoyed that I got insight into Spanish daily life with the snapshots of restaurants, markets, and people cooking and enjoying delicious food. But, I would have liked these pictures labelled so I could have a clear sense of where exactly I was. I also appreciate that almost all of the recipes have accompanying full-colour and nicely staged photographs.



🥘🥘🥘 out of 5 pots!

Taste buds at the ready….this sumptuous book oozes with mouthwatering recipes with simple instructions accompanied by stunning photographs which transport you to into the heart of Spain and urge you into the kitchen. Delicious!

I enjoyed this book however I wouldn't say it is for beginners! I think you need a basic grasp of cookery skills and wasn't too sure who it was pitched to - who is the audience for this book?

The recipes also felt quite long with items you might not find in the local supermarket.

I did like the visuals and its a bright, vibrant book.

Thank you for the arc.

~~~ I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~~~

Spanish Cooking for Beginners is a fun collection of yummy Spanish recipes! It is well organized into categories: "Tappas and Pinchos", "Meat and Fish", "Vegetables and Salads", and "May Your Life be Sweet" followed by an index and space for you to write out and save some of your favorite Spanish recipes. This collection contains many do-able dishes for the average cook. I would like to try to make the "Basic Potato Omelet" and the "Homemade Meatballs." I also enjoyed the photos and artwork throughout this cookbook.

Well, this was more like it. After being quite exasperated by the Italian and French editions in this small series, this Spanish cookbook felt much more along the lines of what I expected from them all. Diving right in with tapas, we get no idea about matching them to make a balanced table, but boy we get a selection – hard-boiled eggs stuffed with creamy yolks and some of the tuna we pickled just pages ago, grilled asparagus and orange mayo, and more. On to mains and of course there's a paella, but at least a recipe for me to snap and keep for later, a fideua, which visually rang a bell but is not something I've cooked ever.

There is not a lot here, in keeping with the others, but this felt better-suited to be something to keep, the others being gift books for people who cannot give gifts. Or books. It is still utterly daft that such a high proportion of it is blank for us to paste in recipes we've found elsewhere, and I still don't need to see old codgers at the market stall buying their squid for the week, or random buildings that might as well have been in soft-focus for all the value they add to proceedings. But at least this did what the others should have done, which was help us to a tasty few spreads that showed us where a more in-depth book might take us, and in a way that keeps it on our shelves.

I am loving this book, the recipes are ones I’ve been wanting to make. I enjoy flipping through the pages, lots of photos and the recipes offer easy to find ingredients. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted copy.

I enjoyed reading this cooking book. All of the recipes look quite delicious. It was quite wonderful to see pictures of the some of the recipes dishes. All of the recipes look easy to make.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

Spanish Cooking for Beginners: Simple and Delicious Recipes for All Occasions by Gabriela Llamas is a great cookbook. The layout is appealing, and the pictures are gorgeous. Each recipe has easy to follow instructions and healthy ingredients. I made the Potatoes Rioja Style, and they were so flavorful and filling. There is also a suggested menu section and a recipe note card section. Love this cookbook.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

The perfect book for anyone wanting to learn to cook Spanish food! The recipes are simple, which makes them ideal for beginners and covers such a huge range of classic and cult Spanish dishes. I love that it covers a range of dishes that you'll know and love like paella, churros and a plethora of tapas, along with some dishes I'd never even heard of. The simple, easy to follow instructions, with great guides on fresh ingredients will be a pleasure to cook.

I really enjoyed the layout of the recipe pages. Very easy to read and follow along with while cooking. The pictures to complement the recipes were vibrant and appetizing. The "Note" included with various recipes that offered up suggestions on substitutions or additions was also well thought out. Overall, a nice, eclectic compilation of recipes that an average cook should be able to navigate.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group — Quarry for the digital ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you #NetGalley and #QuartoPublishing for an ARC of this beautiful cook book. The pictures are stunning, the recipes are very simple with easy to find ingredients. Spanish food is so delicious, warm, piquant and perfect for entertaining. My family are very fond of tapas or pintxos as they are called in Catalonia, so I am thrilled to have some new recipes.

I am very excited by this book as I have never eaten any authentic Spanish food, I have eaten some paellas at markets, and have made some at home but they lacked the spice used in Spanish cooking. I am excited with this book as I can hopefully be able to learn how to make some of the food.
The book is divided into sections of Tapas, Meat and Fish, Vegetable and Salads and Sweet dishes. The recipes are easy to follow and the photos a good. I am looking forward to making some of these dishes

Really clear and easy to follow recipes, from basics that highlight great ingredients to Valencian Paella and everything in between. A great book for anyone looking to bring a bit of sunshine in to their life.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Spanish Cooking for Beginners.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. This book had such great recipes and even the pictures alone made my mouth water. ! I did try some of them and they were delicious !

Not really tried many Spanish dishes but have always been keen to try more. Several tasty looking recipes with easy to follow instructions. Will definitely be trying them out on my family.

I was very excited to check this book out. I've been wanting to visit Spain and try their food. The recipes in this book look delicious! Not all of them have photos but the ones that do look great! I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

A great intro to Spanish Cooking! Lots of super easy and accessible recipes that any beginner could make. I also really liked the pictures and how easy it would be to find the ingredients in the recipes.

THank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

A simple and delicious trip to Spain, all for the cost of a cookbook! I greatly appreciated the recipes for pan con tomate and the Spanish tortilla! I’m looking forward to making more of these delicious dishes this summer!

I was curious about this cookbook since I don't have a lot of experience with cooking Spanish food. My first flip-through revealed a pickled tuna fish recipe I'm eager to try, a reminder that I've always wanted to learn how to make churros, and a meringue milk ice cream recipe that sounds quirky and fun, especially in the 80 degree weather I've been living with lately. I also enjoyed the cultural references, such as the lighthearted theories on the origin of the word 'tapas' as well as the custom of enjoying those versatile treats.

I also noticed that Spanish cooking seems to favor potatoes. Since this book is aimed at beginners, that seemed reasonable enough. Potatoes are readily available nearly everywhere, and even beginning cooks have most likely learned a few ways to cook them.

On my second read-through, I tried to view the book through a beginner's eyes. And this time the view was a little less rosy. I felt the techniques used and complexity level of the recipes were more at an intermediate level. Beginners might be discouraged at having to track down unfamiliar foods and spices. For example, saffron. It's an expensive spice, and I don't think many beginners are going to have it in their kitchens. Multiple recipes call for it. I've successfully substituted turmeric for saffron many times, but would a beginner know that? If there's any possibility of substitutions for the more exotic ingredients, this might keep beginners from giving up too soon. Rookie cooks will also be expected to know how to cope with a note that says, "The general rule is 1 part pasta to 2 parts liquid, but this varies with the type of pasta." They will also be expected to know how to deglaze pan juices, what a a bouquet garni is, and the difference between sauté and stir-fry. It's these sort of details that I feel makes this an intermediate guide to Spanish cooking.

Finally - a few more recipes in each category would be nice (only 8 meat and fish recipes? Only 7 vegetables and salads?) instead of having 10 pages given over to blank lines titled, 'add your own Spanish recipes'. I'd rather see some of those empty filler pages replaced by recipes, or even better, tutorials on the cooking techniques commonly used in the recipes.

It's a cookbook with passion and promise, but I believe it would benefit from a tighter focus and empathy for it's target audience.

My thanks to author Gabriela Llamas, Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Spanish food is more than Tapas and Paella and while Spanish Cooking for Beginners does include both there are several main course meat dishes and vegetable based options. When it comes to meat you mostly find seafood and pork in Spanish cooking and these recipes are no different. What is interesting about the recipes is that they are not the traditional when you think about what usually is served in the US. That makes this book very intriguing for a home chef who wants to try something new.