Book Review: Cannelle et Vanille: Nourishing Gluten-Free Recipes for Every Meal and Mood

By GFF editor Erika Lenkert

Finding exciting recipes—never mind gluten-free recipes—isn’t easy. While we have access to thousands of recipes online and in cookbooks, many of them don’t live up to their pretty accompanying photos. That’s why after years of curating very best gluten-free recipe developers to contribute to GFF Magazine, I ended up with only a solid handful of people who know how to create truly doable, distinctively delicious recipes. James Beard Award-winning Aran Goyoaga of the Cannelle et Vanille blog is one of them, so I received her new cookbook, Canelle et Vanille: Nourishing Gluten-Free Recipes for Every Meal and Mood, with great anticipation. Not surprisingly, the book is wonderful. If you you enjoy cooking from scratch and want to add to your collection of the best gluten free cookbooks, you need it in your life. 

***SCROLL TO TRY SOME RECIPES FROM THE BOOK!***

About the Author
Aran cooks the way I like to cook: simple, with familiar, whole, seasonal ingredients and wildly flavorful, visually impressive yet unfussy results. She also infuses some of her recipes with the flavor of her childhood in Spain’s Basque region, which is widely known for its spectacular food. Regardless, when I cook her recipes, I feel like I’m giving a gift to myself.

You can find a lot of her creations here on gffmag.com (see below for some to try), but everything in her latest book, which debuted in late September 2019, is new and worth making. 

What’s Inside
A sizable accomplishment, the 340-page hardback is equally parts style and substance, with 100 recipes and gorgeous photographs accompanying each one. 

The book begins at the beginning—with pantry staples—nut milks, nut butter, mayo, stocks. 

Then it heads into Morning, where you’ll find fresh ways to start the day (eggs, GF sourdough waffles, buckwheat crepes, and pancakes).

Baking gets its own chapter with good reason. Nobody puts Nordic Rye-Style Seed Bread or GF Sourdough Boules in a corner! Or the following Flaky Caramelized Onion and Fennel Biscuits for that matter (get the recipe here on gffmag.com!).

The Midday section focuses on entree salads, while Everyday Dinners is exactly that—dinners that are easily crafted with little time and skill; though they’re familiar (spaghetti and meatballs, braised chicken with apples and cider, and the crispy chickpeas with rice, sweet potatoes, avocados and greens recipe below), their flavor is far more exciting than “everyday.”

The Gathering Table section shares recipes that take a little extra effort (homemade pizza, paella) or easily and impressively serve crowds (roasted squash salad with white beans, bread crumbs, and preserved lemon). They are grouped to present a complete feast, but you can (and should) make them one at a time. 

Expect the unexpected in the final chapter, Desserts and Small Indulgences. Here you’ll find exotic recipes like quince paste (a sliceable thick jelly that’s common in Spain, which is expensive to buy ready-made and wonderful with cheese) and also more familiar delights, though with a fresh twist. The Chocolate, Olive Oil, and Citrus Cake below is case in point. 

Why You Should Buy This Book
There are more and more gluten-free books on the market these days. I only recommend books featuring recipes that work for the home cook and are downright fantastic. Canelle et Vanille: Nourishing Gluten-Free Recipes for Every Meal and Mood deserves a place on your bookshelf, and it’s also a fantastic gift, just in time for the holidays. 

Buy the book here

Photography Aran Goyoaga

Find more of Aran’s recipes on gffmag.com, such as:
Brick Chicken with Potatoes and Onions 
Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
Delicious Ways to Eat More Vegetables for Breakfast