Top cookbook picks

Second Helpings

Food writer (and delicious. health writer) Sue Quinn is widely admired for deeply researched and tested books, and this may be her best yet. Focusing on innovative ways to use leftovers, fridge odds and ends, and tail-ends of packets, the 100 recipes are a celebration of what otherwise might not get used. There are ‘master’ recipes (such as risotto) to adapt to what’s at hand, as well as everything from handy tricks (including whipped flavoured butters) to mains such as lemony yogurt pasta with (leftover) chicken and za’atar. I particularly liked the emphasis on generating leftovers intentionally – roasting double batches – as a way of saving energy and part-preparing the next meal. As Quinn says, “Framing a dish around food that needs using up is a helpful guide” to creating delicious meals. Saving money and wasting less never tasted so good. Published by Quadrille and available from Bookshop.org (£18.99) or Amazon.com. Photographs by Facundo Bustamante.

I didn’t know that… The delicious crispy crust on the bottom of a paella is known as socarrat.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Ham, cabbage, apple and mustard gratin (below).

Bahari

British-Omani chef Dina Macki takes us on a journey through the flavours of Oman and Zanzibar, exploring their history and culinary influences. Chapters focus on the cuisines of the capital, Muscat, the interior of the country, the extensive coast (bahari means ‘ocean’ in Swahili) and the island of Zanzibar, as well as the author’s early life in Portsmouth. The flavours are bold and the combinations often surprising: shuwa (48-hour spiced lamb), habbar bil-tamar (date squid salad), and avocado and cardamom ice cream are among over 100 recipes. Interspersed are personal essays on identity, community, the role of food in bringing us together and understanding where we’re from, and more. A thoughtful, beautifully photographed book that will be enjoyed as much as a cover-to- cover read as a cookbook. Published by and available via DK (£26) and Amazon.com. Photographs by Patricia Niven.

I didn’t know that… Bergamot grows in Oman (where it’s known as sfargel) and is treated in the same way as lemon.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Ma’ajeen – Dhofari beef in a sweet milk stew (below).

Seasoning: How to cook and celebrate the seasons

Writer and cook Angela Clutton’s third book explores the seasonality of over 50 fruit and veg. Those familiar with her award-winning The Vinegar Cupboard know she does a deep-dive brilliantly; to this we can add – as Rachel Roddy’s cover quote states – the ‘poetic and practical’. Each season includes a list of what’s at its best but also what’s on that season’s shoulders, where overlaps and culinary possibilities exist.

The 75 recipes offer ideas for doing something different with the familiar: broccoli tempura with white miso mayonnaise, and kohlrabi and sprout winter slaw tasted every bit as good as they looked on the page. Beautifully photographed and illustrated, Seasoning is both a toolkit for delicious seasonal eating and a joy of a read. Published by Murdoch Books and available via Bookshop.org (£30) and Amazon.com, out 7 March. Photographs by Patricia Niven.

I didn’t know that… Mackerel can swim at 10km/hour.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Asparagus, hot-smoked trout and pea shoot tart (below).

The best of the rest

Baking for Pleasure

Pastry chef and Junior Bake Off presenter Ravneet Gill’s third book, released in December, oozes with enthusiasm and appeal. With over 80 recipes for everything from weekend bakes to dinner party pieces to savoury bakes, the emphasis is on cooking for pleasure, enriched with Gill’s familiar accessibility. The ’nduja puff pastry sausage rolls made my weekend and the malted chocolate and peanut loaf was finished off in a day. This is a super-helpful book, with good baking advice and widely available ingredients. It inspires you to bake, then rewards your efforts. Published by Pavilion and available at Bookshop.org and Amazon.com. Photographs by Mike Tsang.

I didn’t know that… Saffron in rice pudding is so good.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Brown butter and honey baked tart (below).

Small Pleasures

Ryan Riley is the co-founder of Life Kitchen, a not-for-profit cookery school for those whose sense of taste has been affected by cancer or Covid. His second book focuses on flavoursome recipes that – as their chapters promise – comfort (I’m looking at you, harissa baked camembert), restore (including wasabi pea and miso soup) and give pleasure (pear and sweet soy caramel tarts). Although the recipes are aimed at hard times, they suit the good times equally well. As Riley writes, “This book is about the power of taste and flavour… to lift the spirit in a way that lingers far longer in the memory than the meal itself.” Published by and available from Bloomsbury (£22) and Amazon.com. Photographs by Craig Robertson.

I didn’t know that… Life Kitchen leads classes all over the UK.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Brown butter and fennel seed sausage pasta (below).

Vegan Chinese Food

Bloggers Yang Liu and Katharina Pinczolits (@littlericenoodle@littlericenoodle) have turned their skills into a book ‘veganising’ largely familiar Chinese recipes such as biang biang noodles. The recipes – for sauces, dumplings, noodles, desserts and more – are approachable with a lively, fresh design. Liu’s words – including reflections on her early years living in China – and Pinczolits’s images work beautifully together. As well as recipes, expect tips and techniques, such as bao- frying (stir-frying) and how to season and maintain a wok. Published by Hardie Grant and available from Bookshop.org (£24) and Amazon.com. Photographs by Katharina Pinczolits.

I didn’t know that… Bao – as in bao chao, a type of extra-hot frying – means fierce in Chinese.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Zha jiang mian (fried sauce noodles) with smoked tofu and beansprouts (below).

Funky

US-born chef Caitlin Ruth is well respected in Ireland, her home for 30 years, and her first book – a dive into the world of pickles and fermenting – will spread that appreciation further. Funky is the latest from lively new imprint Blasta Books and comes with its typically bold design. It’s a superb demystification of the processes, where texture and zing are as key as the flavours. There are fabulous pickles – the fennel is sensational – and inventive ferments, including a green bean pickle, as well as top ideas for using them in meals. Published by and available from Blasta Books (£13) and Amazon.com. Illustrations by Nicky Hooper.

I didn’t know that… The world’s first Zucchini Festival was in 1982 in New Hampshire, where Ruth ate her first pickled courgette.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: West Cork kimchi (illustrated below).

A Whisper of Cardamom

The fourth book from Eleanor Ford celebrates spices and their sweet affinities, with 80 recipes for desserts and bakes. The spices – from cardamom to saffron – are used thoughtfully and delicately, reflecting the ‘whisper’ in the title. That said, the spicing is transformative: the maple cardamom ice cream with crackable chocolate, and Norwegian rizcrem (rice pudding) are a joy. The reader is aware of being in the hands of an expert, guiding you through the story of how spices shaped the modern world, offering great mini-profiles and useful pairing suggestions. Published by Murdoch Books and available via Bookshop.org (£26) and Amazon.com. Photographs by Ola O Smit.

I didn’t know that… In medieval Europe, sachets of cardamom would be ‘tucked into mattresses to inspire ardour’.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: 1730 prune and tamarind tart (below).

Every Last Bite

You may know chef and author Rosie Sykes from her excellent The Sunday Night Book of a few years ago; her latest offers recipes, tips and practical advice for cooking on a budget, while minimising waste and energy use. As useful and timely as this may be, worthy it isn’t. Every recipe appeals: from quick suppers like anchovy butter toast with a fried egg to storecupboard pleasures such as Catalan-style beans with chorizo and fregola with peas and bacon. Within a few pages you forget you’re being guided along a low-waste, low-energy path because the touch is so light and the recipes so rewarding. Published by Quadrille and available via Bookshop.org and Amazon.com. Photographs by Patricia Niven.

I didn’t know that… Fresh ginger freezes really well.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Harissa baked rice with sausage (below).

The Sweet Polish Kitchen

British-Polish food writer and author Ren Behan has created a collection of babkas, tarts, cheesecakes, pastries and more – and I want to eat them all. If you like cherries, citrus, ginger and honey, you’ll also love the mix of traditional and modern recipes. Szarlotka (apple cake with a meringue and crumble topping) and seromakowiec (cheesecake with poppy seed paste) caught my eye. This is a warm invitation to investigate the spirit of Polish patisserie, with its influences from neighbours and migrants. Published by Pavillion and available via Bookshop.org and Amazon.com. Photographs by Nassima Rothacker.

I didn’t know that… Poppy seeds are associated with prosperity, happiness and fertility in Eastern European tradition.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Behan’s mazurek – lemon cream tart with white chocolate and rose petals (below).

A Book About Bread

In his first book, baker Issa Niemeijer-Brown, owner of the award-winning Gebroeders Niemeijer bakery in Amsterdam, guides you through breadmaking, from the practicalities to creating your own bakes. The recipes are exceptional – rye bread, pizza bianca and stollen among them – but where this book really shines is in building an understanding of what happens when and why; to create your own recipes, you need to know why it works when it does as much as when it doesn’t. The chapter on Making Your Own Choices gives crucial advice that enables you to, for example, strengthen the crust, achieve an open structure and more. Published by HL Books and available via Bookshop.org (£30) and Amazon.com. Photographs by Inga Powilleit.

I didn’t know that… Instant yeast is the purest form of yeast.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Challah (below).

Gennaro’s Verdure

Few have done so much to inspire us to rejoice in Italian food than author, chef and presenter Gennaro Contaldo. His latest book focuses on making vegetables ‘the hero of the plate’, with sections related to colour.

Bold, inventive recipes feature throughout, from the simple – such as celery pesto – to the inventive (carrot soufflés). In keeping with the cucina povera tradition, the book isn’t entirely meat-free, but inclusions are minimal and easily omitted. With vibrant photography and mini- essays about each vegetable, this is a seriously satisfying read. Published by and available via Pavilion (£26) and Amazon.com, out 14 March. Photographs by David Loftus.

I didn’t know that… Potatoes weren’t used in Italian kitchens until the 1800s.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Tomato sorbet (below).

Good Eggs

Award-winning author Ed Smith has long championed the joy of eggs on his Instagram account (@rocketandsquash@rocketandsquash) and finally turns his ovoid enthusiasm to the printed page with 100 recipes and ideas to celebrate eggs. If you don’t know how to do the basics, you’re in good hands; if you do, perhaps you’d like to try a poached egg with ’nduja butter, or with truffle paste toast.

This book succeeds brilliantly in its tricky aim: offering us inventive and appealing ideas for the most familiar of ingredients. I mean, who doesn’t fancy dippy eggs with tempura soldiers, or kimchi and gochujang skillet eggs? Published by Quadrille and available via Bookshop.org (£22) and Amazon.com, out 28 March; photographs by Sam A Harris.

I didn’t know that… There are all kinds of variations on eggs benedict.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Pizza baked eggs (below).

Si Mangia

Chef and food stylist Mattia Risaliti’s first book (the title means ‘let’s eat’) shares family recipes from his early years in Tuscany. You’ll find classics (aubergine parmigiana) alongside the simple and delicious (pickled anchovies on toast), as well as intriguing mains such as Nonna Tina’s stuffed celery. This is a personal book, but what makes it sing is its sense of generosity and sharing. The recipes and landscapes are brought to life as much in the photography as the words. Published by Prestel and available via Bookshop.org and Amazon.com, out 5 March. Photographs by Nathalie Mohadjer.

I didn’t know that… Small gnocchi are called topini in Tuscany, meaning ‘little mice’.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Torta della Nonna – Italian custard tart (below).

Share

In her first book, chef and MasterChef semi-finalist Nisha Parmar has created a personal collection of Asian-inspired dinner party dishes for when you want to push the boat out. Find small plates (such as Japanese asparagus fritti) and layered mains (including gochujang lamb chops with summery noodle slaw) along with cocktails, desserts (papaya pavlova with lime leaf) and plenty of sides. There are handy hints on how to plan ahead, but what I really enjoyed is that, while the recipes are special, they’re achievable and largely uncomplicated. Published by Quadrille and available via Bookshop.org (£26) and Amazon.com, out 7 March. Photographs by Nassima Rothacker.

I didn’t know that… Savoury pistachio yogurt is so good.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Bombay crab crumpets with avocado chutney and poppadom crumbs (below).

Did you miss our round-up of the best cookbooks of 2023? Discover our top 25 picks.