3 weeks Ago By Mark Diacono
For the Love of Food I don’t know how many years ago I first ate chef Paul Ainsworth’s food at his restaurants in Cornwall, but I’ve been patiently waiting for his debut cookbook. Ainsworth is a Michelin-starred chef – he’s worked with everyone from Rhodes to Ramsay – and while this book reflects those stepping stones, the recipes are entirely approachable without being over-simplified. Homemade ‘land and sea’ crumpets (smoked mackerel and poached eggs), lemon sole with Camel Valley sparkling wine sauce, and lime and vanilla rice pudding with earl grey tea prunes give you a flavour of what to expect.
For the most part, these are recipes for when you can invest a little time and attention in making great food. Elevated as Ainsworth’s restaurant food may be, this book wears its Michelin credentials lightly: everything about it is unpretentious but special. The sort of food most of us want to eat at the drop of a hat.
Published by Pavilion £26, available from and (£30). Photographs by Issy Croker. The good morning trifle (pictured): a festival of homemade toasted buckwheat granola, berry compote and yogurt.
Dinner Having Post-it-noted so many of the 120 vegetarian and vegan recipes and made a first few, I can tell you that Meera Sodha’s fourth book is one to make a friend of: flavours are large, combinations inventive and most of what’s here is quick from thought to fork. Broccoli spaghetti with zhoug is already a family favourite, the baked butter paneer next in line to make and I’m not sure I can wait until winter to enjoy the hasselback celeriac with miso and red onion salad. For all the mains, fear not, there are desserts: my daughter has instructed me to make Sodha’s ‘A big bowl of chocolate mousse’ this weekend.
Beautiful photographed and designed, it’s also very cleverly organised: as well as traditional chapters – such as Broccoli and Other Brassica – the hugely useful ‘Alternative Contents’ also lists recipes by season, and by type, such as One Pot/Pan and Soups and Stews. While written with a lightness of touch, the book feels personal, underscored by Sodha’s gradual return to her kitchen having felt inexplicably distanced from the place she loved. Thank heavens she found her way back.
Published by Fig Tree, available from and (£27). Photographs by David Loftus. Practical factor: With recipes that draw on many cultures, organised in such a clever way, and with the emphasis on simplicity and flavour, this will become the book many people reach for to answer the question ‘What’s for dinner?’ Malaysian dal curry – coincidentally the first recipe Sodha scribbled in the orange notebook that led to this book.
There’s A Soup For That Theresa von Wangenheim’s first book is a collection of over 60 inventive, budget-friendly and largely uncomplicated soups. It spans takes on the familiar – including borscht and pantry tomato soup – and the unexpected, such as shiso leaves and lotus roots soup. Organising the book by feeling rather than season or lead ingredient is a stroke of genius: chapters include Soups To Impress, Emotional Support, Soup As Medicine and Destination Soups (including West African peanut stew) for when your tastebuds want to travel.
Closing pages show you how to make broths and stocks, as well as finishing flourishes and accompaniments such as chickpea crackers. The book’s approachability is enhanced by the colourful and lively design, and the fact that every recipe has a photograph. However you feel, whatever you need, this book has a soup to suit.
Unless you are one of those rare few who dislikes all soup, this book is for you: great, diverse ideas, simply presented. : The farfalle and pea soup; as the intro says, ‘Your heart says pasta, your head says soup, and the voice of your mother says: ‘eat your vegetables’. Here is the delicious answer to that heart-mind dilemma’.
Published by Ebury Press, available from and (£14.99). Photographs by Theresa von Wangenheim.
The Veggie Family Cookbook Claire Thomson writes highly practical, deeply useful cookbooks that aim to put delicious homemade food into the heart of everyone’s home. The subtitle – 120 recipes for busy families – says a lot about her latest. This isn’t just a chef imagining themselves into a vegetarian world: two of Thomson’s three children are vegetarian.
The emphasis is on minimal faff for maximum flavour. Chapters include Loaded Vegetable Traybakes, Panic In The Kitchen (to which she provides the edible antidote) and Family & Friends Celebrate. For the most part, the recipes are uncomplicated, time-conscious and dominated by vegetable and storecupboard familiars; where ingredients are lesser known – for example, flax and chia seeds – the recipes look so approachable you’re encouraged to dive in.
Hard working, realistic, inventive and full of flavourful embellishments, this book will make life easier and full of nutritious deliciousness for anyone with a family to feed. Published by Quadrille, available from and (£30). Photographs by Sam Folan.
The cannellini, potato, courgette and mint soup, borlotti bolognese (pictured) and the tiramisu. Bake with Benoit Blin The last year has been particularly good for baking books, so you can be sure that if I’m recommending another it must have plenty to offer. Benoit Blin is head pastry chef at Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons and a judge on Bake Off: The Professionals, so you’re in expert hands.
Bake covers everything from the basics of pastry making, creams and sauces to desserts including hazelnut paris-brest and coffee and cardamom tiramisu. One of the things I love about this book is that it offers recipes for the beginner all the way to those who want to ‘bake like a pro’. Steps are clear and build confidence, and even the small additions are a joy.
There are many recipes that require more attention, such as advanced ‘showstoppers’, but others with hands-on time under 30 minutes. Published by Hardie Grant £26 and available from ; also available from (£26). Photographs by Sam Folan.
Pear almondine tarte (below). The Beefy Boys: From Backyard BBQs to World Class Burgers Four childhood friends – including this book’s author, Anthony Murphy – elevated their hobby to become runners-up in the World Burger Championships and have a clutch of Beefy Boys restaurants selling their burgers. Their first book tells the story of this transformation and includes recipes for their finest.
Beefy Boys burgers are extraordinary. The first I ate – the Oklahoma Onion Boy – was made by Murphy and it knocked me sideways, and now I can try them at home. Alongside the recipes, there are tips and much sharing of expertise, including why and how to steam your burger and a range of great sauces and embellishments, which allow you to combine and adapt the recipes as you fancy.
Whether you want a low-fuss burger such as the signature Beefy Boy or something more involved like the Piggy Back (pulled pork, smashed scratching, two cheeses, a beefburger, maple mustard slaw, BBQ sauce and mustard sauce, in a bun), you’ll find what you’re after. Published by Pavilion £26, avaialble from and (£30). Photographs by Issy Croker.
The Buffalo Boy – fried chicken, red onions, shredded lettuce, buffalo sauce, blue cheese mayo and chives – I think I’ll be ruined for all other chicken burgers. Quick and Easy Vietnamese Uyen Luu’s latest book continues in her typically flavourful style of Vietnamese cooking, while focusing on quickly prepared recipes such as lemongrass minced pork vermicelli and quick chicken pho to sweetcorn rice pudding and Vietnamese tiramisu. Whether it’s snacks, soups, feasts (I really fancy trying the lemon curd roast pork ribs with garlic butter), or desserts, you’ll find plenty to please in this beautifully designed and photographed book.
Published by Hardie Grant, available from and (£25). Easy Indian Vegetarian Chetna Makan’s new book is a serious feast of Indian flavours that balances authenticity with lack of fuss. There are sides, desserts including coconut barfi, rice dishes such as vegetable and chickpea biryani, and every single mouthful of the onion paratha and black dal made me very happy indeed.
You’ll find everything for a generous feast or a straightforward yet delicious midweek supper right here, along with really useful menu plans. Published by Hamlyn (£26), available from (£25) and . The Green Cookbook Rukmini Iyer has been making our lives easier for a few years now with her inspiring and reliable cookbooks, including her Roasting Tin series.
Her latest features 75 recipes for easy vegan and vegetarian dinners. What she saves you in time and offers in simplicity in no way compromises on flavour. If recipes like green linguine with kale, white beans and feta (ready in 20 minutes) appeal, this is for you.
Published by Square Peg and available from ; also available from (£25). Photographs by Cristian Barnett. Cucina del Veneto Ursula Ferrigno’s latest focuses on the food of Venice and Northeast Italy, organised in classic style – soups, pasta dishes, fish, vegetables – and I loved every page.
There is much that feels familiar and classic – bean and cabbage soup, pumpkin and walnut gnocchi – but nothing I don’t want to eat. I made one of the simplest, spaghetti with anchovies, and it was perfect. A beautifully designed and photographed immersion in its subject.
Published by Ryland Peters & Small from and (£22). Photographs by Dima Bahta and Vladyslav Nahornyi..
