'The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa'
By Marcus Samuelsson
Photos by Gediyon Kifle
Wiley -- 2006
Buy it on Amazon

Known for his inventive Swedish creations at Aquavit, Marcus Samuelsson tackles the food of his birth continent in "Soul of a New Cuisine." (Born in Ethiopia in 1970, Samuelsson and his sister were orphaned and adopted by a Swedish couple.)

While this is a cookbook, "Soul of a New Cuisine" acts more like a coffee table centerpiece with lush photos of markets and Samuelsson on his adventures to discover African cuisines.

Samuelsson writes, "from the start [I] had a clear idea that this book would not be a definitive encyclopedia of African cooking. Rather, this cookbook is a reflection of the Africa I've seen, experienced and appreciated."

What we tested and whether its worth buying after the jump.

Takeaway Tips: You don't have to go crazy cooking from scratch to get a taste of Africa. Try making one of Samuelsson's African spice rubs and use it on the meat at your next cookout.

Quality of pictures: Gediyon Kifle's photographs make this cookbook more at home on your coffee table. There's some food porn here, but most of the images are worthy of National Geographic -- the faces of a continent that Samuelsson, for simplicity's sake, divides into North, West, East and Southern regions.

We tested: Boerewors Sausage Patties, Green Masala, Cucumber Sambal, Tarragon Mustard

We tried Samuelsson's boerewors or "farmer's sausage" for a grill-out. His recipe calls for homemade green masala, whose fiery base is eight seeded jalapenos blended with grated ginger garlic and a handful of other spices.

Don't be fooled: These are labor intensive recipes, especially when you have to make some of the base ingredients -- i.e. green masala, barbecue sauce -- for the main event. But we were sold once we tasted the end results of the sausage, a spicy (and fattening) blend of bacon, beef, lamb and veal. Guests were too as these fat patties quickly disappeared from the serving platter. Our South African pal said the barbecue sauce tasted "like home" (she jumped at the chance to take home the leftover sauce).

Samuelsson recommended serving the dish with grilled bread, the mustard and the sambal. The tarragon mustard really didn't deliver; it was too earthy, our tasters said. The cucumber sambal was easy peasy -- just a few chopped items mixed in a bowl -- and tasty too.

Worth the investment: If you are an Afrophile, this is a must have. Curious cooks might want a look too.