RAMSAY IN 10 by Gordon Ramsay (Hodder £25, 256 pp)
COOKERY
RICK STEIN HOME
Rick Stein (BBC £26, 320 pp)
Rick Stein says he enjoyed locking himself up and being able to prepare meals for his family.
It is filled with stories and reminiscences that will accompany delicious dishes such as slow-cooked pork, seafood pancakes and the hummingbird cakes he made for his 60th.
Lockdown, he says, taught him that food plays an enormous role in ‘cheering us all up’.
RAMSAY IN TEN
Gordon Ramsay (Hodder £25, 256 pp)
Is it possible to make perfect sticky toffee, lasagne or curry in ten minutes?
Ramsay acknowledges that Ramsay cooks quicker than many, but shows everyone that it is possible to make delicious and fast food.
Based on his popular YouTube lockdown series, this is a splendid book for cooks in a hurry and his list of ‘cheat’ ingredients, like porcini powder (dried, ground mushrooms) is a revelation.
BUTTER
James Martin (Quadrille £22, 224 pp)
SICILIA Ben Tish (Bloomsbury £26, 304 pp)
James Martin calls butter ‘yellow gold’ and this unashamedly self-indulgent book ranges from sumptuous snacks such as French toast sandwich — incorporating a calorie-busting half a block of butter — to showstoppers such as roast crab with lime and chilli butter and puddings like brown butter cake with bourbon butter glaze. But don’t try using any butter substitutes: ‘They’re not a food,’ Martin shudders.
SICILIA
by Ben Tish (Bloomsbury £26, 304 pp)
After decades of Arab rule in the 9th- century, the cuisine of Sicily still reflects Moorish influences, with saffron, pistachios and pomegranates featuring heavily in the region’s dishes.
This joyful book revels in the food of the Mediterranean’s largest island, from arancini — saffron-scented rice balls — to pasta with almond cream and fresh crab, plus baked sweets and ice creams.
This is a mouthwatering delight.
SUGAR! I LOVE YOU by Ravneet Gill (Pavilion £20, 208 pp)
SUGAR, I LOVE YOU
by Ravneet Gill (Pavilion £20, 208 pp)
Pastry chef and Junior Bake Off judge Ravneet Gill advises readers to ‘lean into the sugar and have fun’. The book is vibrant and colorful and features many unusual desserts, cakes and biscuits. Highlights include Indian semolina shortbread, miso, caramel, and chocolate tarts, and white chocolate cheesecake that doesn’t need to be baked.
There’s plenty here for baking novices, plus more sophisticated challenges, like intricate patisserie.
THE SHORTCUT COOK
by Rosie Reynolds (Hardie Grant £15, 160 pp)
This book is for those who are afraid to cook another family dinner.
These recipes can all be rustled up quickly and feature ingenious shortcuts, such as a super-speedy béchamel sauce, vegetables cooked with their skins on, or smashed shortbread biscuits used as a crumble topping.
To get rid of take-out, you could become a quick cook.
TWO’S COMPANY
by Orlando Murrin (Ryland Peters & Small £18.99, 176 pp)
Most recipes are designed for four or six people but this friendly, chatty book is aimed at those who cook on a smaller scale ‘in a mood of relaxation, fun and companionship’. Murrin was a semi-finalist on Masterchef and showcases European contemporary cuisine, as well as some Asian and Mexican influences.
From cowboy chilli con carne to chocolate lava pudding, these are uncomplicated dishes that are just right for dinner à deux.
VIETNAMESE By Uyen Luu (Hardie Grant £22, 224 pp)
VIETNAMESE
by Uyen Luu (Hardie Grant £22, 224 pp)
This charming book declares that the key to Vietnamese cookery lies in ‘balancing sweet, sour, salty, umami, bitter and hot’.
Few special ingredients are required — though good-quality fish sauce is a must — and there are plenty of soups, vegetables, roasts, noodle dishes and salads which contain intense flavour but aren’t time-consuming to prepare.
Luu claims that Vietnamese cuisine is joyous and cheerful, as this book demonstrates.
PASTA A-Z
Rachel Roddy (Fig Tree £25, 352 pp)
You can find over 600 types of pasta from spaghetti and ravioli to more unusual rigatoni or cavatelli.
Roddy, an Italian longtime resident, has 50 varieties of pasta, and the recipes that go best with each.
This gorgeous book is also a guide to Italy and its culinary histories.
CRAVE
Ed Smith (Quadrille, £25, 256 pp)
City lawyer-turned-chef Ed Smith arranges his recipes according to flavours, from ‘fresh and fragrant’ and ‘chilli and heat’ to ‘spiced and curried’ and ‘cheesy and creamy’. Some of his creative dishes like the swede and Cheddar cheese gratin, or haggis willtons with chili oil require some skill.
OTTOLENGHI TEST KITCHEN: SHELF LOVE by Noor Murad and Yottam Ottolenghi (Ebury £25, 257 pp)
Crave’s book is for confident cooks who love to experiment with new recipes.
OTTOLENGHI TEST KITCHEN SHELF LOVE
Yottam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad (Ebury £25, 257 pp)
Ottolenghi is well-known for his passion for esoteric recipes. Shelf Love insists on using only the ingredients that can be found in your pantry. As ever, he has an original way with pulses, vegetables and grilled meats, and there’s also a selection of sumptuous sweets.
With tips on ingredient substitutions and how to prepare dishes in advance, this is Ottolenghi’s most approachable book yet.
Med
Claudia Roden (Ebury £28, 320 pp)
Claudia Roden (85), a great food writer, has shifted between cuisines from Italy, France and Turkey in her new book. Med has been five years in production and is both a gorgeous cookbook and a fascinating travel journal.
Roden’s dishes positively burst with zest and colour and, from her spiced saffron rice to a classic French lemon tart, this is the sunniest of books.
ONE POOT, PAN and PLANET
Anna Jones (4th Estate £26, 336 pp)
Anna Jones’s stylish vegetarian food has earned her a devoted following.
This fresh and delicious recipe, which includes halloumi (lemon and caramelised onion tart), green pepper and pitachio rice risotto, and superb baked dahl can all be prepared in one pan, tray or pot.
There’s great emphasis here on reducing food and plastic waste: this, she says, is ‘a way of eating that will help the planet’.
VA VA MOOM VEGAN BAKES Angela Romeo (Ryland Peters & Small £16.99, 144 pp)
VA VA VOOM VEGAN CAKES
by Angela Romeo (Ryland Peters & Small £16.99, 144 pp)
It can be difficult to create a buttery, moist cake that doesn’t contain eggs or milk. But this book will show you how.
It’s packed with more than 50 vegan cakes and bakes, from rose petal chocolate cake to a gin and tonic traybake, and there is a recipe for egg-free meringues using aquafaba, the liquid from chickpeas, instead of egg whites. A book to delight even non-vegans.
A COOK’S BOOK
By Nigel Slater (4th Estate, £30, 512 pp)
It’s like a meeting with a friend when you read Nigel Slater; very few cooks draw you in the same manner.
The book is jam-packed with his best recipes. It includes easy and creative ways to cook chicken as well as simple stews.
Nothing here is too complex, since Slater’s mantra is ‘let’s just make something good for dinner and enjoy ourselves’.
WEEKEND
by Matt Tebbutt (Quadrille £22, 224 pp)
Chef Matt Tebbutt, presenter of the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, believes weekends are all about leisurely meals, whether that’s brunch, a family barbecue or a convivial Sunday lunch.
His recipes take in many different cuisines, so you’ll find Alpine-style stuffed bread, American Cobb salad, Cape Malay lamb curry and apricot Linzer torte. For people who love to experiment with new tastes and flavors, this is relaxed, fun cooking.
FINCH BAKERY Lauren and Rachel Finch (DK £20, 239 pp)
FINCH BAKERY
by Lauren and Rachel Finch (DK £20, 239 pp)
Social media icons, the Finch sisters are Lancashire bakers. They have made their names with delicious treats such as red velvet cookies sandwiches, candy floss cakes, and their famous layered cake containers.
Their debut book guides you through creating cakes with eye-catching icing, and fun taste combinations — lemon and blueberry blondies, anyone?
An inspiring cookbook for young bakers who love to make Instagrammable cakes.
VEG PATCH
Kathy Slack (Ebury £25, 287 pp)
Kathy Slack, who is both a keen food writer and vegetable grower, has created a delightful cookbook that combines her two passions. The chapters are based around common produce like tomatoes, courgettes and beans.
The recipes range from pea and paneer curries to green sauce beetroot cake with green sauce. A guide to help anyone who wants more fruit and vegetables in their diet.
PROMOTING SMOKE
Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Paker (Pavilion £26, 243pp)
The authors run Honey & Smoke, a popular London restaurant which specialises in grilled Middle Eastern food, and believe grilling gives food a unique intensity of flavour.
Chasing Smoke not only is a unique cookbook, but it’s also a travel guide that includes the best of Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and Israel.
They are simple to understand and require only a few fancy ingredients.
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