Matilde Carrasco publishes 23 easy, tasty, and healthy recipes with products from the Valencian huerta (market garden). It is a delicious proposal that goes beyond the classic recipe book, an aspect that the author herself highlights: “It started out as a cookery book, as it has these 23 easy, tasty and healthy recipes…but the truth is that it has also ended up being a work that describes l’Horta Nord with all its richness, its problems and the life history of its farmers”. She was born in 1962 in Castril, a village on the high plateau of Granada. Coming from a family of lifelong farmers, she considers herself to be an immigrant from the countryside. Carrasco came from Granada to live in Teulada (Alicante) with her parents and her two sisters. She later travelled to Valencia to study Business Studies, where she settled permanently and has spent most her life.

One of the most outstanding aspects of this book is that, as the author stresses, “as well as being a cookery book, it deals with social issues such as the immigration of undocumented African children, the history and current affairs of l’Horta Nord and it is also worth mentioning that it was created to support a project such as the Huerta Ubuntu coop. V.”.

Therefore, those who read it will find, as the author describes, “a book of simple, rich cuisine, with fresh vegetables from our garden, which has five real stories of farmers from the garden and also tells some of the experiences of the African children. A work that supports a social project such as the ‘ubuntu coop v. vegetable garden’. And that raises awareness of the Valencian huerta and all its richness close to the city of Valencia, helping to prevent it from disappearing”. In short, a proposal which, according to Matilde Carrasco, is designed “for those who want a healthy lifestyle, to eat well, but don’t have time; for young people, so that they can change their way of eating; and, in general, for everyone who likes the Valencian huerta”.

Carrasco has always been linked in one way or another to the countryside, to the land, her parents kept the orchard, irrigated land, olive, and almond trees of her hometown, although over time and with the changes of life it was others who cultivated these lands and looked after them, but the strong ties with them continue to this day. Nowadays Mati, as she likes to be called by her friends, is a simple, hard-working, busy person with little free time, but who likes to enjoy the good things that life gives her and make the most of them. One of the things she enjoys is cooking, a simple, tasty, and healthy cuisine, making the most of the vegetables, fruit, and greens that nature gives us. Her recipe book helps like-minded individuals cook easy and healthy meals, whilst also providing a backstory about the farmers who produce the products we consume.

To buy the book: https://www.agapea.com/Matilde-Carrasco-Barranco/23-Recetas-Faciles-ricas-y-sanas–9788419440587-i.htm

Report by Sabina Redfern

Article Copyright 24/7 Valencia

Contact Matilde: 661 86 72 17