Sharing the love

The most striking thing about the cover of Share is that it shows a very humble meal. A young African girl bends over a small clay oven on which sits a tin pot full of rice - hardly a sumptuous feast styled to within an inch and designed to stand out among rows and rows of drool-worthy cookbooks.

And yet, it is very beautiful. So this is the one I pick up to scrutinise.

Share is a cookbook by Women for Women International, a charity that supports women in war-affected countries from Kosovo, to Iraq, to the Sudan.

With a foreword by Meryl Streep, the book draws together the celebrity and humanitarian worlds - with favourite recipes shared for the cause.

Want to cook Aung San Suu Kyi's Burmese tomato fish curry? Go straight to page 210. Nelson Mandela shares his favourite Caranguejo recheado, or stuffed crab, while Archbishop Desmond Tutu shares an exotic fruit salad with passionfruit syrup.

If you're more curious about what your favourite celebrity cooks at home, turn to Kate Spade's gooey chocolate brownies, Dame Judi Dench's bread and butter pudding, or Sir Richard Branson's family fave, spag bol, which comes with instructions for how to convert it to shepherd's pie if you're running low on groceries that week.

Annie Lennox offers porridge with spiced fruit compote - and the tip to add a little salt and the little bit of cream from the top of the milk to ward off the Scottish cold. But porridge is hardly the stuff of inspirational cooking, which is why there is a good dose of seriously credentialled chefs.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver, Maggie Beer and Stephanie Alexander lend their expertise, as does Chez Panisse owner Alice Waters, and lesser-known food gurus such as Jesse Ziff Cool, who opened one of the first organic restaurants in the US in 1976.

I'm keen to have a crack at (Sudanese model and author) Alek Wek's okra stew, and the spinach fennel risotto from human rights journalist and co-author of Half the Sky, Sheryl WuDunn. Both recipes look inordinately easy and a little bit special.

Meryl Streep's contributions are wheatberry salad and orange, watercress and pumpkin seed salad.

Among the comforting photos and recipes are stories from women who have survived war and unimaginable turmoil and displacement. There are facts on why countries have been embroiled in civil conflict alongside their national dishes. In terms of value-adding to a cookbook, this one delivers a healthy dose of geopolitical education. Above it all floats the idea that food has the power to heal, sustain and bring family and community together.

>>Share, foreword by Meryl Streep, edited by Alison Oakervee (Kyle Books, distributed in Australia by Simon and Schuster, May 2013, $40). Profits from sales of the book - a minimum of $6 from each sale - go to Women for Women International.

Emma Macdonald is a staff writer.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's sticky glazed spare ribs

Serves 6-8

These sweet, sticky, spicy ribs make an excellent dish to share — no one can stand on ceremony while tucking into them. Make sure you keep a few back for a solitary treat to be nibbled cold once everyone has gone home. You can roast the ribs as whole racks, which looks great, or ask the butcher to chop them into one or two-rib pieces.

1.5kg pork ribs (about 2 whole racks)

Marinade

6 tbsp redcurrant, plum, apple or other fruit jelly

2 tbsp clear honey

2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste

1 tbsp finely grated

fresh ginger

½-1 medium-hot red chilli, finely chopped, or ½ tsp chilli flakes

2 tbsp soy sauce

Combine the marinade ingredients, whisking together well. Put the ribs in a large ovenproof dish, pour the marinade over and use your hands or a brush to get them well coated. Cover and leave to marinate in a cool place for at least an hour, or several hours if possible in the fridge, turning them from time to time.

Preheat the oven to 170C. Turn the ribs in their marinade, cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Increase the oven temperature to 190C. Remove the foil and turn the ribs again, basting them with the sauce. Cook the ribs, uncovered, for a further 35-45 minutes, turning and basting two or three more times, until they are glossy and dark and coated in the caramelised sauce.

Remove from the oven and spoon any sauce from the dish over the ribs. Leave until they are cool enough to pick up with your fingers, then tuck in. Serve with steamed rice and wilted greens, or with a side serving of roast spinach.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s Burmese fish and prawn curry

A classic fish curry that is quick to make, with chunks of fish and prawns in a warming fragrant tomato sauce.

Serves 4

2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tbsp fish sauce

300g firm, sustainable white fish, cut into cubes

300g raw tiger prawns, peeled

5 eschalots

2-3 red chillies, deseeded if you prefer

5 garlic cloves

2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled

3 tbsp vegetable oil

½ tsp paprika

800g fresh tomatoes, chopped

100ml fish or vegetable stock

30g fresh coriander

1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

Mix the turmeric, fish sauce and a splash of water to make a paste. Coat the fish and prawns, and set aside on a plate for 15 to 20 minutes to marinate.

Meanwhile, place the eschalots, chillies, garlic and ginger in a food processor or blender and blitz together until they form a paste. Heat the oil in a deep frying or saute pan and fry the paste for two to three minutes until softened and fragrant smelling. Add the paprika and cook for a further minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes and fry for five to six minutes until softened. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Stir in the prawns and cook for two minutes, then stir in the fish. Cover and leave to simmer gently for about five minutes, or until the prawns are pink and opaque and the fish is just cooked.

Reserve some of the coriander for garnish and coarsely chop the rest. Gently stir into the curry and season to taste with extra fish sauce and lime juice. Serve with steamed rice, garnished with the reserved coriander.