Book review: Grains for Every Season by Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg

Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg show how to get on board with grains from barley to buckwheat in Grains for Every Season

Grains for Every Season is the second book from chef and restaurant owner Joshua McFadden, five years on from his Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables, which was also co-authored with food writer Martha Holmberg.

The American chef is well-known across the pond in Portland, Oregon, where he owns and manages Ava Gene’s, Cicoria, Medjool and Tusk restaurants.

McFadden describes himself as an “eager wholegrain cook”. The book is split, unsurprisingly, by grain – barley, brown rice, buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, quinoa, rye, wild rice and wheat (the latter split into bulgar, farro, freekeh, spelt, wheat berries and wholewheat flour).

There’s a lot of ground to cover when it comes to the not-so humble grain, turning this into a 350-page book, but even with 200 recipes, my favourite grain – freekeh – disappointingly only has four dedicated recipes.

A handful of the pages fold out to feature a double-page chart, which provides helpful flavour combinations depending on the season. For instance, one chart for grain bowls (or buddha bowls if you frequent TikTok), recommends grain, herbs, acid, heat, fat, spice, cream, fruit/veg, crunch and protein, while a similar expanding page offers stir-fries and pilafs.

Each recipe in this hearty book is accompanied by detailed photography, while pages are interspersed with a spattering of kitsch illustrations as well as shots of rustic-looking farmland at harvest time and the odd cowboy hat.

The nature of these recipes means it is generally aimed at the home cook looking to increase their knowledge on grains. That said, the chocolate rye brownies with cashew swirl; super-grain and veggie burgers; or baked eggs with broccoli rabe, spiced tomato and buckwheat could sit happily on any all-day dining menu.

British eyes will spot a fair few Americanisms, but ingredient lists are provided in both cups and grams, meaning that Grains is accessible to all.

Grains for Every Season by Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg (Artisan, £32)