An Alexandria food and travel writer will soon unveil his latest cookbook, a culinary journey through Spain with recipes inspired by the works of writer Ernest Hemingway.
“Hemingway’s Spanish Table” is the eighth cookbook for writer Howie Southworth, following his locally inspired “A Taste of Alexandria,” a collection of recipes from the city’s restaurant scene, which was published in 2024.
In the new book, Southworth says he zeroed in on every reference to food and drink in Hemingway’s novels set in Spain, which include “The Sun Also Rises” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”
“I followed his words and those meals across Spain, which then turned into a fairly narrative cookbook,” Southworth said. “I was able to find that wine in the sun in Pamplona and the suckling pig after a long night in Madrid, and the paella and the rice dishes on the beach in Valencia.”
Southworth and his wife have lived in Alexandria for more than 20 years, with the exception of a stint where they lived in Spain in 2017. That experience inspired him to write his latest book, he said.
He returned to Spain to research the book, mapping the locations Hemingway traveled to, visiting Madrid, Seville, Ronda, Valencia, Pamplona and Barcelona.
“There is a passage of Hemingway’s work at the top of every recipe,” Southworth said. “There’s a wonderful quote about the meal that he has on the beach in Valencia, where there’s rice dishes and there’s roasted chicken.”
Recipes include pimientos rellenos (stuffed roasted peppers), bocadillo de calamares (fried calamari sandwich), and cochinillo asado con patatas asada (roasted suckling pig and potatoes). He also includes beverages like the “Hemingway daiquiri” (a concoction of grapefruit, lime, rum and maraschino liqueur).
Southworth’s writing in the book was also influenced by Hemingway, who was known for his short, terse sentences and iconic dialogue style, he said.
“I just got done reading thousands of pages by Ernest Hemingway,” Southworth said. “I’m nothing if not malleable as a writer, so I think that what we’re seeing in the book is heavily influenced by what I was reading when I when I was writing the thing.”
Prior to writing, Southworth led a career as an instructional development specialist with colleges including the George Washington University and Columbia Business School, according to his LinkedIn profile.
That all changed in 2007, when he enrolled into The Art Institutes to become a chef. He graduated two years later with a diploma in culinary arts. Since then, he’s also published work with The Washington Post, Salon and Alexandria Living Magazine.
Southworth is hosting a cookbook launch for his latest work on April 8, from 6-8 p.m. in Old Town at Casa Luna (300 King Street).
Looking ahead, the author said he is working on a project to highlight the golden age of railway travel.
