Sunny and mountainous, with Spain's tallest peaks as well as a dramatic coastline, Andalusia is the home to storied cities such as Seville, Cadiz, Cordoba, Granada, and Marbella. Its cuisine shows strong evidence of the land's Moorish past, as well as the influences of many other cultures.

The Spanish-born José Pizarro, now the chef of a cluster of successful London restaurants, presents a hearty guide to Andalusian cooking, handsomely illustrated with photos of both the food and the countryside. For us, it's easy to find dishes here that don't turn up routinely in other Spanish cookbooks: lamb sweetbreads with chilli and rosemary; baby artichokes with jamón Ibérico and egg yolk; potatoes with peppers, onion, and vinegar; apricot sorbet with almond cookies.

It's great to see some fresh coverage of this region, which has been somewhat neglected by English-language publishers of late.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.