Book Of Recipes That Will Change Your Kitchen, And, Possibly, Your Life!

Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee’s book of recipes will change your kitchen, and, possibly, your life

- Shreevatsa Nevatia

On the day Abhijit Banerjee spoke to us via Zoom last month, he was thinking of making himself an endive salad with walnuts, some apple and a little blue cheese. “The range of flavours is stunning,” he claimed. “The apples are there for sharpness, the walnuts for nuttiness and then I add a little mustard for some bitter-sweetness. It is just wonderful!”

There is something very tangible about the Nobel laureate’s delight. It makes it hard to not salivate. Cheyenne Olivier only makes the envy worse when she reminds Banerjee that this French salad used to be a “staple” when she worked with him in Boston.

Olivier, an illustrator, has joined our call from France. For three years, she pitched in as an au pair, helping Banerjee and his wife Esther Duflo look after their two children. She remembers this time with much affection. “Abhijit could never be a boss,” she smiles. “I started gradually in the kitchen. I’d chop some onions, maybe some cilantro, but I then started doing full dishes under Abhijit’s supervision. I was soon proposing my own things. For three years, we cooked at least two meals, almost every day.”