We’ve cherry-picked eight titles to add to your kitchen shelf this wintertime (whether you’re a food connoisseur or a non-chef).
From cakes to curries, there’s something for every palette – and skill level. Aprons at the ready…
Ottolenghi Test Kitchen
Extracted from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, £25) All photography by Elena Heatherwick.
Surveying the larder and unsure what to whip up? Get inspired by the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen team’s new book, which is all about using what you’ve got and cooking with less stress and less fuss – but with all the ‘wow’ of an Ottolenghi meal.
Dishoom: From Bombay With Love
Since the first restaurant launched in 2010, we’ve been obsessed with Dishoom. Learn to cook the Dishoom menu of Bombay comfort food in no time at all, with this as your sidekick. We’ve bookmarked their Masala Chai and the Bacon Naan Roll.
Cook, Eat, Repeat
Cook, Eat, Repeat combines recipes with evocative essays about food. We’re zoning in on the chapter ‘A Vegan Feast’ and flagging some new ideas for Christmas dinner, as we prepare to welcome all the family around the table this holiday season.
The Violet Bakery Cookbook
Fancy something sweet(ish)? Claire Ptak’s cookbook is ‘about making baking worth it: simple to cook and satisfying to eat’. If you can’t get to The Violet Bakery – a cake shop and cafe in Hackney – in person, try your hand at whipping up anything from cinnamon buns to butterscotch blondies from your home kitchen.
A Modern Cook’s Year
Make the most of seasonal produce with Anna Jones as your culinary guide. Divided into six seasons, invest in this tome for year-round delectable vegetarian dishes. With some 250 recipes to choose from, there’s no want for choice.
Andalusia: Recipes From Seville And Beyond
Prepare to embark on a mini food journey with Chef Jose Pizarro’s Andalusia. Relish page after page of drool-worthy food photograph and then take a stab creating some lip-smacking, simple Spanish food yourself, with an array of fuss-free recipes to assist.
The River Cafe Cookbook
Reinterpreting Italian farmhouse cooking at the River Cafe, Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers’ The River Cafe Cookbook champions simple, quality Italian cuisine. Spotlighting uncomplicated food, which is vibrant in flavour, there won’t be a page left unturned in this delectable recipe book. Trust us.
A Table For Friends
Celebrate the joy of eating with friends and family with Skye McAlpine’s easy-to-follow recipes. A ‘helpful, approachable, down-to-earth kitchen companion’ that will encourage you to host more – even if your something of a domestic novice – this book has done much for our cooking repertoire and our social life.
Any Questions or Tips to add?