This is part of an imaginative series of small books, each of which offers a charming seasonal dinner menu. There is a confident, thoughtful unpredictability about them which we greatly admire.

They truly are small (5" x 7", 36 pages) paperback, but composed with care. Author Brian Voll is a home cook who enjoys having friends over to give himself an excuse to step outside his usual boundaries.

Menu No 6 offers recipes for:

• Mezcal cocktail with tepache
• Radishes with anchovy butter
• Raviolo al'uovo nel brodo di Parmigiano
• Green harissa rice pilaf
• Asparagus and roasted-pickled beets
• Cod broiled in chermoula
• Carrot cake with cardamom and fromage blanc