Our favourite cookbooks of 2023 so far

Top picks

A New Way To Bake
Philip Khoury – head pastry chef at Harrods – has created a book that will be a game-changer for the many who follow a plant-based diet. Its subtitle, Re-imagined Recipes For Plant-Based Cakes, Bakes And Desserts, says it all. There are fresh, plant-based takes on classics including tiramisu, chocolate hazelnut babka, crème brûlée and carrot cake, as well as a few side roads such as nut gelato, all using alternatives to the animal fats, eggs and dairy that are traditionally used.

There are plenty of core recipes (for creams, kinds of pastry and the rest), with recipes that take advantage of them. ‘Vrioche’ dough (a plant-based brioche) provides the base for pain au raisins, sticky date and cardamom buns and so on. This is a beautifully designed book that opens a wide door for vegans, those who are lactose intolerant – and curious cooks who just love excellent bakes and desserts.
Recipe I can’t wait to make: Tarte Bordaloue, a pear and frangipane tart.
I didn’t know that… Setting agent agar-agar is extracted from red seaweed.

Published by Hardie Grant, available from Waterstones (£30), out 31 August

Imad’s Syrian Kitchen
If this brave, inspiring debut book told only the story of how, eight years ago, Syrian chef Imad Alarnab fled Damascus, his restaurants destroyed in the war, to travel through Europe to London by any means possible, I would unreservedly recommend it to you. That it also comes with over 80 recipes – some traditional, others adapted – that bring Syrian flavours to your kitchen makes it all but essential. The book is named for Alarnab’s London restaurant and includes the building blocks of Syrian cooking (making spice blends such as baharat) to delicious dishes including shurabat ends (a beautifully spiced lentil soup) and buttered halibut. And yes, I have already made the rolled baklava. Very much living up to its subtitle – A Love Letter from Damascus to London – this is a rich and rewarding book, written with not a little courage.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Saroja, a dish of breaded baby aubergines and cheese.
I didn’t know that… Damascus is one of the world’s oldest cities, with parts thought to have been inhabited for 10,000 years.

Published by HQ £26, out 6 July, available from Waterstones (£21.99).

Comfort and Joy
Born in Kenya to Indian parents, Ravinder Bhogal – food writer and chef/owner of restaurant Jikoni – developed an early love of vegetables from her grandfather’s “Edenic” allotment and marveling at the produce of local women growers. This lively and engaging vegetarian book shares that love and revels in Bhogal’s belief that “vegetables are the soul of the kitchen… [offering] endless opportunities for play.” The recipes deliver on that: hot and sour sweetcorn risotto with lime leaf butter and mango and ‘golden coin’ curry are among the many that insist on being made. Bhogal moved to multicultural London at an early age, and everything about Comfort and Joy reflects the richness of her heritage and experience (turn to pxx for my interview with her to learn more). You won’t find much that you can easily categorise, but if you like the idea of modern, inventive and cross-cultural recipes, written with warmth and love, there’s no-one doing it quite like Bhogal.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Sweet and sour dal with chickpea flour pasta rags.
I didn’t know that… Lime leaf salt would have quite such a transformative effect on a tomato salad.

Published by Bloomsbury, available from Bloomsbury (£26).

The Flavour Thesaurus: More Flavours
I would happily read anything Niki Segnit cares to write: a shopping list, a birthday card, and most definitely this, her third book. It follows on from her first – and classic – book, The Flavour Thesaurus, focussing this time on plant-based flavour combinations, and how and why they work. Segnit clearly wants us to feel the joy of understanding and playing with flavours as deeply as she does. As beautiful, lively and humorous as the writing may be, this is a serious, scholarly resource that should always be near the kitchen. I read it, smiling, in a single day, incapable of doing anything else until it was finished.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Neri miso, a combination of miso, honey and water or sake, which has “extremes of salt and sweet that are so balanced it’s as if your taste buds have been put into a painful, yet deeply soothing, yoga position” .

I didn’t know that… in Italy, during the Second World War, shortages of bean coffee meant that caffe d’orzo (barley coffee) became popular.

Published by Bloomsbury, available from Blackwells, out 11 May (£20)

Love is a Pink Cake

Owner of East London’s Violet Bakery, ex-Chez Panisse pastry chef and baker of cakes for royals, Claire Ptak has credentials that are as impressive as this beautiful book. It’s divided to reflect the two sides of her life, with recipes such as black tea poppy seed muffins from her California birthplace, and apricot, chamomile and honey scones from her English home. The book is full of recipes that celebrate the seasons, and Claire introduces you to her favourite growers. There are plenty of tips to build confidence and improve technique, too.

Recipe I can’t wait to make Pistachio green plum cake with candied violets.
I didn’t know that… Early in his career, Andy Warhol illustrated etiquette expert Amy Vanderbilt’s cookbook (Claire named her book after a set of Warhol’s prints).

Published by Square Peg, available from Blackwells (£22).

Notable releases

The Cheese Wheel
Cheese expert Emma Young uses her experience as maker, judge and cheesemonger to create a flavour-led guide to everything from reblochon to caerphilly. The ‘wheel’ refers to the six chapters at the heart of the book: Fresh, Bloomy Rind, Washed Rind, Blue, Soft, Semi Hard, into which over 100 cheeses are allotted based on their dominant character. There are notes about tasting, pairing, origins and creating cheeseboards.
This is such a helpful book: the detail and organisation build a sense of understanding, working in confidence-building steps from what you know and like to a broader world of flavour and pleasure. It’s written in a bright, friendly tone, and I loved the mix of personal, historic and culinary.

Combo I can’t wait to try: Parmigiano reggiano with an imperial stout.
I didn’t know that… Olfactory memory (the personal recollection of aromas) is key; tomme de savoie tastes like strawberry laces to Emma.
Published byEbury Press, available from Blackwells (£14.99), out 17 Aug.
Design by Lucy Sykes-Thompson

Jeremy Pang’s School Of Wok: Simple Family Feasts
From a line of three generations of Chinese chefs, Jeremy Pang has built a following from his YouTube channel, cookery school and regular TV appearances. In his latest book, Pang throws his net wide – 80 recipes taken from nine countries across East and Southeast Asia – to share his lifelong pleasure in feasting with loved ones. As well as enticing recipes – black vinegar ribs, naxi fried fish and turmeric sweetheart cabbage caught my eye – the inclusion of techniques such as his ’wok clock’ and ‘feasting wheels’ makes this highly accessible. A book of bold flavours, colours and contrasts.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Prawn jungle curry.
I didn’t know that… In Singapore, the satay is so good on the streets, no one makes their own.

Published by Hamyln, available from Waterstones £22

Welcome To Our Table

Wife-and-husband team Laura Mucha (a poet and author) and Ed Smith (food writer) have joined forces to create, as the subtitle promises, A Celebration Of What Children Eat Everywhere. The target age-range is 4-7 years old; the mission, to inspire children to be inquisitive about culinary experiences and cultures beyond their own.
The numerous one-to-two-page chapters, such as Remarkable Rice, Brilliant Bread and A Sprinkle of Spice – feature global dishes (without actual recipes). The cold Spanish soup salmorejo, North African shakshouka and xi hong shi chao ji dan (stir-fried eggs and tomato) from China all feature in the Terrific Tomatoes chapter.

Engaging and warm as the words are, the colourful illustrations by Harriet Lynas magnify and enhance the message of this unique celebration of how we eat.
I didn’t know that… 11 billion sachets of tomato ketchup are sold each year.
Published by Noisy Crow, available from Blackwells (£14.99)

Pasta Et Al
Alec Morris was taught to make pasta by his Nonna. He turned the Sunday pasta-making sessions with his children – the two little ‘Als’ – at their Australian home into a successful blog that spawned this brightly designed and photographed book. Expect methods for making more than thirty pasta doughs, with over forty shapes of all kinds.
The step-by-step tutorials include images numerous enough to guide and few enough not to confuse. The appealing recipes showcase the different pasta forms superbly: gemelli with slow-cooked pork shoulder ragù and saffron lorighittas with blue swimmer crab made me particularly hungry. The subtitle – The Many Shapes Of A Family Tradition – reflects the importance of family food traditions and connections that run through the book.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Red wine capunti with sausage and broccoli rabe.
I didn’t know that… Tequila would make such a good marinade for prawns.

Published by Hardie Grant, available from Waterstones (£26)

Malta
Chef, photographer and food writer Simon Bajada has created a truly beautiful book. Australian by birth and of Maltese heritage, Bajada invites us to delve into the food culture of an island that has perhaps been under-exposed to a wider audience. Unsurprisingly, seafood is laced through the book – hello, octopus salad and stuffed squid – but there is much else to explore. The influence of Greece, Spain, Italy and North Africa is clear, but Malta’s food emerges individual, and even the familiar has touches that delight – Maltese scrambled eggs, for example, with cumin and mint. Warmly and vividly photographed, too.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Maltese orange tart.
I didn’t know that… Prickly pears grow abundantly across Malta.

Published by Hardie Grant, available from Blackwells (£21).

Time & Tide

In the follow up to her first book Sea & Shore, chef Emily Scott invites you to share in the recipes that colour her day: chapters such as Rise & Shine are plump with early morning delights. Beautifully photographed, the book is rich in the colours and landscapes of the north Cornwall coast where Scott runs her Watergate Bay restaurant. Short essays – relating to time and place, foraging, and more – punctuate the unfussy, flavour-led recipes, such as monkfish and saffron curry; clotted cream and lemon drizzle bundt cake and gorse-flower fudge.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Cornish mussels, smoked bacon, cider, clotted cream, wild garlic.
I didn’t know that… Folklore tells us not to pick sea campion – one of Scott’s favourite wildflowers to spot on a coastal walk – “for fear of imminent death.” Its cliff-edge habitat may explain that.

Published by Hardie Grant, available from Waterstones (£28).

Sweet Salone
Chef Maria Bradford grew up in Freetown, Sierra Leone – a capital with a rich history of culinary influences from incomers invited and otherwise – and brings her love of its food and flavours to her debut book. Expect street food (binch akara – black-eyed bean fritters in onion gravy), traditional recipes (sweet potato leaves and okra sauce) and drinks such as a ginger spiced sour. Bradford now lives in Kent, where she runs catering business Shwen Shwen, but pleasingly the recipes aren’t diluted for a British audience; you may need to source some ingredients – grains of paradise and hibiscus powder among them – online, but that’s part of the pleasure and adventure of this joyful book.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Kankankan cauliflower fritters with yogurt and mayo sauce (photograph: Yuki Sugiura).
I didn’t know that… The now widespread breadfruit came to West Africa from New Guinea and the Philippines.

Published by Quadrille available from Blackwells (£25).

Salt and the Art of Seasoning
This latest book by Cornwall-based cook and writer James Strawbridge is a practical, beautifully produced deep dive into the world of salt, including everything ‘from curing to charring and baking to brining’. Early sections familiarise the reader with the nature and types of salt, its history and the different ways of measuring and seasoning with it, while the practical skills – dry and wet curing, fermenting and so on – come with appealing recipes: scallop ceviche and cider-brined chicken to name just two. This is a superb hands-on exploration for those who like to get under the bonnet of their food.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Salt-baked pears with miso caramel.
I didn’t know that… Salt crystals grow as upside down pyramids on the surface of crystallisation tanks.
Published by Chelsea Green Publishing, available from Waterstones (£27). Photographs by James Strawbridge.

Vietnamese Vegetarian
Food writer, photographer and supper club cook Uyen Luu has created a beautiful book that majors – as you’d hope – on the pleasurable combining of sweet, sour, hot, umami and bitter flavours. I didn’t know whether to make dumplings (and if so, tapioca with sweet lime sauce, or cabbage, tofu and kimchi first?) or throw myself at the mercy of the fried bánh canh noodles with purple sprouting broccoli. In the end, I made the lemongrass noodle soup and it was a bowl of happiness. Written with joy and zest, expect equally delicious helpings of the traditional and fresh takes.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Green papaya salad with pomelo, apple and artichoke.
I didn’t know that… The Vietnamese way of asking ‘how are you’ is to say, ‘have you eaten rice yet?’

Published by Hardie Grant, available from Waterstones (£25).

50 Pies, 50 States
If ever a subtitle took me by the scruff of the neck and pushed my face into its pages, it’s Stacey Mei Yan Fong’s ‘An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the United States Through Pie’. Singaporean by birth, Fong moved to the USA 17 years ago and says an extended thank you in the way that means most to her. “Every time I am feeling a little too much, or sometimes not enough, I bake a pie,” she explains. Characterfully written and brightly designed and illustrated, this original book invites the reader to explore each state through its food. Embrace the US cup measurements and you’ll be rewarded with recipes that range from the expected key lime pie from Florida to a pasty-inspired pie for Montana, which has both a buffalo stew and cherry filling…

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Honey peach pie with pecan crumble topping.
I didn’t know that… Washington State reportedly produces almost half of the USA’s apples.

Published by Voracious, available from Blackwells (£30), out 29 June.

Simply Scandinavian
Copenhagen-based chef Trine Hahnemann has been writing outstanding food books for a good while, and this is no exception. Focusing on uncomplicated, seasonal recipes that might entice us on a midweek evening, Hahnemann refuses to compromise on quality, only the faff; whether it’s the roast pork loin in vermouth, the chicory, salmon and blood orange salad, or the autumn pear pie with hazelnut pastry, you know it’s going to deliver. The design is as pleasing and straightforward as the recipes.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Chicken breasts in curry sauce with grapes.
I didn’t know that… Potato pancakes are a Norwegian tradition at weddings.

Published by Quadrille, available from WHSmith (£27), out 8 June.

For The Love of the Sea II
Compiled by food writer Jenny Jefferies, this volume of the For the Love Of… series is the second that celebrates the craft and culture of the British seafood community. The 40 contributors (fishmongers, restaurateurs, foragers, filmmakers and more) share their stories and recipes, set against the context of how a sustainable fish and seafood industry might contribute to the nation’s food security. The recipes – oat fried herring and champagne oysters among them – are varied, uncomplicated (Mitch Tonks’ mackerel shawarma is an excellent exception) and let the produce speak for itself.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Pale smoked haddock scotch egg.
I didn’t know that… Cornish sea salt contains over 60 naturally occurring minerals.

Published by Meze Publishing, available from Blackwells (£22).

Tandoori Home Cooking
Raised in Mumbai and now living in the UK, Maunika Gowardhan uses her second book to share tandoori recipes from her life and travels in India, which she’s cleverly adapted to suit conventional ovens. The recipes are bright and enticing, and beautifully balanced across the whole: I made three that took my eye, and each was exceptional. Insightful tweaks and tips – such as the value of the ‘double marinade technique’ – lift everything, and make a better, more knowledgeable, cook of you.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Aubergine tikkas in creamy yogurt, mustard, chilli and ginger.
I didn’t know that… The walls of a traditional tandoor are strengthened by straw.

Published by Hardie Grant, available from Waterstones, out 4 May (£25)

The Pepperpot Diaries
Andi Oliver’s remarkable book shares the glorious diversity of Caribbean food, reflecting the influence of the islands’ indigenous peoples as well as “those who have come and gone and stayed” throughout their often-painful history of global trade, colonialism, slavery and indentured servitude. As its subtitle, Stories From My Caribbean Table, suggests, this is a personal book, communicating the experience of a black British woman drawn to her roots. The recipes – such as tea-brined spiced chicken and sticky star fruit pork chops – are inviting, and Caribbean green seasoning is currently accompanying almost everything cooked in my house. As Oliver puts it, while there is “a dark shadow in the story… in our food, there is light and joy and survival” – and this pours out from her celebratory book.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Aromatic shrimp curry.
I didn’t know that… Short ribs would taste so good cooked in cola.

Published by DK, available from WHSmith out 27 April (£27)

Honey
Amy Newsome’s first book is a plot-to-plate love letter to bees and their glorious honey. While this beautifully photographed book is rooted in the passing of the beekeeper’s year and what makes bees so magical, the majority of its pages are dedicated to making the most of honey in the kitchen. The recipes are a diverse delight, from smoked lime and honey chicken to lemon pollen pie.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Gochujang apricot sticky wings.
I didn’t know that… Honeybees’ fuzzy body hair has the correct electric charge to attract pollen grains.

Published by Quadrille, available from Waterstones, out 11 May (£27)

Pomegranates & Artichokes
Born in Iran, Saghar Setareh has lived in Italy since her early twenties. Her first book is a seriously beautiful, rich sharing of the food culture of her two ‘homes’ and the space between, capturing how the migration of ingredients, recipes and people informs and develops food traditions. This personal, lively and engaging book – laced with sour cherries, pomegranates, filopastry, anchovies and courgettes – delivers as fully on photography (her own) and writing as it does recipes.

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Saffron roast chicken stuffed with dried fruit.
I didn’t know that… Iran is the world’s largest producer of pistachios.

Published by Murdoch Books, available from Amazon, out 4 May (£26)

Mother Tongue: Flavours of a second generation

I smiled so much reading British-Indian food writer Gurdeep Loyal’s debut book; this is the work of a real talent. Inventiveness, originality and pleasure run through every page. Feeling like an immigrant in both Britain and India, Loyal uses that licence to play with and reinvent the familiar and to create striking combinations, while including the deliciously different: ingredients such as the wonderfully sour kokum (a dried fruit used to add bright acidity) get a welcome inclusion. The recipes are consistently inviting, and more than occasionally wow-out-loud thrilling: I couldn’t decide between sticky treacle and kokum chicken lollipops or coconut-crab crumpetswith railway crispy eggs, so I made both, and I’m so glad I did. In the introductory pages, Loyal builds your confidence in understanding flavour combinations (or ‘chords’ as he puts it). This is a book of terrific writing, bold photography and fresh design, by an author who leads you with a confident, friendly, humorous voice.

Recipe to make: Pear and panjiri trifle – panjiri is a Punjabi dessert made from flour cooked in ghee, with sugar or jaggery, spices and ground nuts.
Fun fact… Who knew red leicester cheese would go so well with spice and sweet potatoes?

Published by 4th Estate, available from Amazon, out 2nd March (£26).

Andaza

Scotland-based Sumayya Usmani’s exploration of the food of Pakistan is full of enticing recipes, but this is a memoir, too, about growing up as a woman in Pakistan in the 1980s and 90s, and how cooking helped Sumayya find her place in the world.

Recipe I can’t wait to make Bitter lemon, mustard seed and garlic pullao.
I didn’t know that… Andaza means ‘estimation’, in the sense of cooking relying on the senses.

Published by Murdoch Books £25, out 13 April – find the recipe for Sumayya’s pulao mentioned above here!

Of Cabbages and Kimchi

As a longtime fermenter, I wondered how much James Read’s illustrated book on its joys and benefits might have for me. I’m delighted to say: a great deal. There are adaptable methods for sauerkraut, kombucha, soy and more, plus lively recipes, such as soy caramel dark chocolate tart, that spring from them. A book to inspire confidence in newcomers and engage the converted.

Recipe I can’t wait to make Kefir pannacotta with mandarin and thyme.
I didn’t know that… In Germany, tinsel is nicknamed ‘silver-plated sauerkraut’.
Published by Particular Books, available from Waterstones (£22)

Pasta Masterclass

If you’re familiar with London-based chef Mateo Zielonka’s Instagram feed or his first book, you’ll not be disappointed with this colourful, practical deep-dive into all things pasta. There are techniques for various doughs and all manner of shapes – from sorpresine to farfalle – as well as fillings and sauces. A delight.

Recipe I can’t wait to make Agnolini mantovani with pumpkin and amaretti (a stuffed pasta).
I didn’t know that… Scraps left from cutting pasta are known as maltagliati, meaning ‘poorly cut’.

Published by Quadrille, available from Amazon (£26) out 20 April.

Cucina Povera

Tuscan food writer and blogger (Juls’ Kitchen) Giulia Scarpaleggia celebrates Italian rustic cooking, where l’arte dell’arrangiarsi – the art of making do with what you have – turns seasonal ingredients, cheaper cuts and storecupboard staples into great meals. Expect classics, stews, breads and more, along with surprises such as Sicilian watermelon pudding.

Recipe I can’t wait to make Chestnut flour maltagliati (see Pasta Masterclass review) with porcini sauce.
I didn’t know that… Chestnut flour is best stored in the freezer, as it has a short shelf life.

Published by Artisan, available from Blackwells (£30).

Rice Table

Su Scott’s intimate book shares the food and experience of a Korean mother living in Britain, and the relationship between her, her daughter and the food they eat. It’s engagingly written, and there’s much here about the importance of food and identity. The book is beautifully designed and photographed, and the recipes are a delight. Expect everything from innovative ferments (white cabbage and apple kimchi) to bold mains such as grilled clams with sweet doenjang (fermented soybean paste) vinaigrette.

Recipe to make: Spicy squid salad
Fun fact… Many Koreans believe the touch of the fingertips can influence the overall harmony of flavour in a dish.

Published by Quadrille, available from Waterstones, out 30 March (£27).

Salt of the Earth

Carolina Doriti’s rich celebration of Greek food is written with the affection and authenticity of someone who’s lived most of her life in Athens. As inviting as the recipes are, there’s equal pleasure in the supporting pages, which are soaked in the history of Greece and its food culture. The landscape, recipes and ingredient photographs combine with a vibrant, clean design to create a strong sense of place.

Recipe to make: Stuffed baked quince in a spiced brandy and rose syrup.
Fun fact… Olive leaves can be infused and enjoyed as a tea.

Published by Quadrille, available from Waterstones, out 2nd March (£27)

The Art of Friday Night Dinner

Eleanor Steafel’s book (nothing to do with the sitcom) is a joyous read that completely captures the special-ness of Friday nights. The writing is lively, tight and fun: briny martinis and references to the movie The Way We Were are so far up my street as to be camping in the garden. Bursting with generosity and great recipes, this is as much of a pleasure for the stories, intimacy and sense you’re in the room with a friend passing you another cocktail, another small plate.

Recipe to make: Mushrooms with sherry vinegar, potatoes, soured cream and toasted buckwheat.
Fun fact… Miso pairs so beautifully with peaches.

Published by Bloomsbury, available from WHSmith, out 30 March (£26).

Cucina di Amalfi

Ursula Ferrigno’s book has a simple proposition – to share the food of the ‘divine coast’ of Italy’s Amalfi in chapters beautifully realised by an author who was born and has lived in the landscapes she writes about. The food of this region is well loved, but expect delightful takes on the familiar – green chicory ravioli is one of many I want to try.

Recipe to make: Veal scaloppine with parsley caper sauce.
Fun fact… The entire Amalfi Coast has been listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its unique landscape and natural beauty.

Published by Ryland Peters & Small, available from WHSmith out 14 March (£20).