Announcement: Its Publication Week!

Africana in the USA. Out Now!

Mar 08, 2023

Welcome to COOK WITH LERATO! A newsletter with ravishing recipes & stories with a good dose of African magic. Subscribe to join us as we travel together, one dish at a time.

Look at what we have here. My new cookbook AFRICANA is OUT NOW online, across bookshops and everywhere books are sold in America. I am overjoyed! Now we can all cook the book and embark on this journey together, as Africana is sold in most corners of the world, truly bringing African magic to your home. A brand spanking new cover for the US, that is so pretty from the front to the back! While this version is the same inside as the red cover, it has been ‘translated’ to suit the language (like coriander/cilantro, black eyed beans/black eyed peas) and so many cultural and location specific details to ensure you have a wonderful experience reading and cooking the book.

BUY AFRICANA

First edition of AFRICANA available in the U.K, Europe, South Africa & worldwide

In AFRICANA, I have combined the essence of many traditional recipes with my own modern adaptations, alongside fabulous recipes that celebrate fresh and seasonal cooking just as I was raised with in Nigeria. Preserving them through stories, while adapting them to suit modern cooks across the world. There is something for everyone. Whether you are a newbie cook, a busy bee, an adventurous cook or an accomplished chef, Africana will open your eyes and taste buds to a world of flavourful cooking. Cooks will learn how to create some of the most iconic African dishes, from Nigeria to Madagascar and Morocco to South Africa. With more than 100 recipes to delight and inspire you, AFRICANA is a truly a labour of love, and I am so proud of her. I must have turned in almost 150 or more recipes to my editor, as it was so difficult to edit an entire continent into one 288-page book.

Observer Food Monthly Best of 2023

Telegraph's Best Books of Autumn 2022

"There isn't a recipe I don't want to cook." - Diana Henry

"An outstanding new book. Lerato is a genius with flavours." Delicious Magazine

Winner, Gourmand World Food Awards 2023

A true adventure with recipes from Across the continent

And so I picked a mix of my absolute favourites, including dishes I was raised on, many I learned to cook on my travels and through friends who have shared their stories with me, alongside some of the most iconic dishes that I believe the world should know. Foundational recipes to guide you on this journey to discovering what the continent is blessed with. From learning to cook the now famous Jollof (I have three different Jollof recipes in this book), the North African Mrouzia (as seen on the cover) which I call Celebration Lamb - slow cooked lamb with saffron, ras el hanout and more heady mixes of spices, finished with raisins, apricots, honey… Just describing it all makes me so hungry.

Reviews from you!

A must-have cookbook to take you on a journey into the world of infused African cuisine. I have tried a few recipes and cannot wait to try the rest, particularly My Golden Ugandan Rolex and Smokey Tomatoes & Date Jam.

I absolutely love this book and know I will cook from it for years to come! It has extensive recipes and anecdotes from East, West and Southern Africa. Very interesting recipe choices and modern twist on African cuisine and cultures without compromising authenticity.

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You will also find my cookery-class popular recipes for Senegalese Yassa (3 different kinds) with caramelised onions and Dijon - a true burst of sunshine on a plate, a medley of peanut based Suya recipes, an inferno of Eritrean and Ethiopian Doro Wat (kidding…it's not that hot) with a rather Speedy Injera, the sumptuous South African Sticky Apricot Malva Pudding, my grandmother’s Braised Greens, a Tunisian Tagine (unlike the tagine most are used to) and some rather inventive recipes. Like my Harissa Lamb with Hibiscus, Fragrant Fish with Watermelon Kachumbari, the Ghanian Waakye - rice and beans with a twist, Berber Buns (a bun version of the delectable Berber Pizza), to the Smoky Tomato & Date Jam a sort of ketchup with Uda pods that is so enchanting, you will love it with everything from the Braaibroodjies (the best sandwich ever!) to the Plantain & Prawn Cakes and even the Ugandan Rolex (not a real Rolex, not a fake Rolex either, but “rolled eggs”.)

I have much to tell you, and we have much to cook together! I promise I will tell you many more stories of how these recipes came to be, from my home, that of friends and from my travels across the African continent.

I love and appreciate you for being here, for all your support, and for welcoming AFRICANA into your homes and your hearts. I always love reading from you, so drop a message in the comments section, tell us where you are in the world and what you have been cooking or looking forward to cooking from Africana. Let’s get cooking!