After a successful stint working for / with Yotam Ottolenghi, this is Ixta’s first solo endeavor. The 100 recipes within the book primarily focus on the varied cuisine of Brazil, Italy and Mexico - all countries she has a personal connection to. You’ll find both quick(ish) and easy(ish) meals, as well as ones requiring a more leisurely pace. All of them will have bright, bold and clever flavors. This was a fun book to cook our way through for the week. Here are the dishes we made:• Crispy Oyster Mushroom Skewers with Crushed Chickpeas - Those who claim they don’t enjoy mushrooms because they are too “slimy” would do well to try a dish like this. No slime in sight. Here, gorgeous clusters of oyster mushrooms are tossed in a harissa chile oil and roasted in the oven until crispy. These skewers are placed atop a bed of crushed chickpeas, garlic and Greek yogurt. Our mixture may have needed more finesse. It was a bit more on the thicker, chunkier side than we would prefer. To finish, a zesty, herbaceous salsa verde is drizzled over the plate.• Dende Marinated Shrimp with Burnt Lime - We now live in an era where it’s perfectly acceptable (dare we say, seductive?) to use words like “burnt” or “charred” in a recipe or menu title. What a time to be alive!The base of the marinade is red palm oil and ghee. To these, ginger, garlic, onion, red chiles, Scotch bonnets, lime juice, tomato paste, sugar and chipotle are added - creating an intoxicating blend that is vibrant and pleasingly spicy.As the recipe promises, you’ll have leftover marinade - which we discovered paired well with leftover takeout rice and a fried egg for an impromptu lunch the following day.• Mango and Cheese Salad with Jalapeño and Lime - No boring salad here! These flavor combinations intrigued us. We chose an aged cheddar, but a hard goat cheese or pecorino would be great too. My wife bravely and expertly peeled the mangoes. Thinly sliced shallots receive a quick pickle, while a simple dressing of olive oil, lime juice, maple syrup and sesame oil is whisked together. This is normally the part where we’d mention how this would make a great light lunch or a companion side dish to a dinner but, we aren’t going to instruct you when to eat this stunner. We’d eat this for breakfast!• Fish Poached in Charred Tomato Broth - Although the ingredient list for the recipe is long, this actually isn’t a difficult (or time-consuming) dish to create. The base of this dish is formed by frying cherry tomatoes and a Scotch bonnet chile in a dry, hot skillet before adding garlic, paprika, tomato paste, cilantro and basil. We chose cod but any sturdy white fish will do. The fillets get tucked into the broth. We served this with wedges of toasted bread. Since neither of us are fond of mayo, we skipped the accompanying paprika aioli and whipped up a simple Greek yogurt substitute instead.• Charred Red Pepper Sauce with Omelet Noodles - We’ve saved the best for last! Not only does this dish showcase a clever presentation of eggs, it also happens to be gluten-free! A very thin omelet is prepared in a nonstick skillet (not unlike a crepe) and cut into thick(ish) ribbons.These get tossed in an insanely delicious sauce featuring charred red pepper, garlic, a bit of heavy cream, lemon zest + juice, Parmesan, a pinch of nutmeg and tomato paste. The omelet noodles are the perfect vessel for absorbing the sauce. This is a recipe we’ll be making again!