Murdoch Books - Spice It

Like the other books in the “It” series published by Murdoch Books, “Spice Iit” is an excellent source for interesting, easy to follow recipes. Like its siblings, Spice It is a beautifully presented book jam packed with full page colour photos and smaller photos used to demonstrate any of the harder to follow techniques used by a particular recipe.

This book is divided into five different sections based on intensity of flavour: fragrant, intense, hot, sweet, and blends. I find dividing the book in this manner makes it easier to cater for guests, especially when they are not comfortable with dishes that use the hotter spices such as chilli, mustard, wasabi etc.

My favourite section of the book, “Blends”, is the last section where the ingredients for popular Asian and European spice blends are listed. In addition to these spice blends, recipes that use them are listed in succession.

The variety of recipes covered in this book cross Mediterranean, Indian, Asian and European. There is something in here for everyone. In addition, the first chapter of this book provides an insight into the types, preparation and storage of spices.


Whenever I’m in the mood for something spicy/aromatic, which is quick to cook, this will be one of the first books I reach for. My favourite recipes from this book are Pork Vindaloo and slow-cooked chilli beef.

This book is a pleasure for both the novice and more experienced cook.