Ottolenghi

Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage

Mezcla, meaning ‘mixture’ in Spanish, is a celebration of fusion food and represents a journey through author Ixta Belfrage’s childhood experiences of Italy, Brazil and Mexico. You may recognise Ixta as the co-author of Flavour alongside benevolent culinary overlord Yotam Ottolenghi.

Many of the recipes are the meeting point of these cuisines. Cannelloni enchiladas for instance, with the tortillas swapped for lasagne sheets or the Brazilian beef dish rabada com agrião covered in Mexican mole. Alongside, are plenty of other dishes that take inspiration from around the globe and introduce us to unique interpretations of familiar dishes.

There is so much joy to be found in this book, not least from Yuki Sugiura’s photography which is almost as satisfying as eating the actual dishes. The recipes are positively unsubtle, vibrant and as if designed by algorithm for maximum satisfaction (there’s a recipe for half a loaf of sourdough with cheese, honey and chilli butter for goodness sake).

Highlights of the quick cooks include oyster mushroom skewers covered in rose harissa and roasted until charred; a ricotta dip with hot sauce and pine nuts; marinated prawns with burnt lime; and a bavette steak covered in a soy and maple butter. A butternut and sage lasagne gratin, in which I wanted to submerge myself and never return, is a standout of the Entertaining section, alongside noodles made from omelette with a charred red pepper sauce; a mushroom and sesame roll; and a prawn lasagne with habanero oil.

It must be noted as the Belfrage does in the foreword, that fusion food comes with baggage. Despite all cuisine in some way being a result of thousands of years of migration, invasion, trade routes and cultural exchange, there are legitimate concerns around appropriation and the dilution of tradition.

We are in safe hands here though. Mezcla presents distinctive takes on recipes that feel familiar and new at the same time while still respecting the traditions from which they derive. It is a mezcla of playful, personal and imaginative cookery with recipes and inventiveness that you won’t find anywhere else.

Cuisine: International
Suitable for: Beginner, confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Five stars

Buy this book
Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage

Review written by Nick Dodd a Leeds-based pianist, teacher and writer. Contact him at www.yorkshirepiano.co.uk

Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi

What’s the USP? Flavour is the third in the series of Ottolenghi’s veggie focused books following on from Plenty and Plenty More. This edition focuses on maximising the distinct characteristics of different vegetables and exploring cooking techniques to ramp up their flavours to create “flavour bombs”. The book is divided into three categories – Process, Pairing and Produce – with each featuring subcategories discussing further techniques for making the most of vegetables. Process for instance, delves into charring and ageing; Pairing has sections dedicated to acidity and chilli; while Produce is all about the ingredients themselves.

Who wrote it? Yotam Ottolenghi, who if you’re reading this blog likely needs no introduction. If you do need a reminder, he’s the reason you chargrill your broccoli rather than boil it. And if you need more than that, he’s an internationally renowned writer, chef and restaurateur. He’s joined by frequent collaborators from the Ottolenghi family Ixta Belfrage and Tara Wigley.

Is it good bedtime reading? Only if you want to get back out of bed to start cooking. There are insightful and in-depth forewords to each of the book’s sections though the main value of this book will be found in the kitchen.

How annoyingly vague are the recipes? Not at all. Everything is written with the utmost care and attention to weight and size with all opportunities for doubt removed. Instead of fretting about whether your small onion is actually medium-sized or if your handful of herbs depends on how big your mitts are, it’s listed in precise measurements (if you’re interested, one small onion is 60g).

Will I have trouble finding the ingredients? We often have a philosophical Ottolenghi-chicken or egg debate in our household: do the Ottolenghi team make recipes based on what they can find at Waitrose or do Waitrose stock Ottolenghi ingredients knowing their customers are likely to own a copy or two? All of this is to say you can get 99% of what you need in this book from Waitrose, including the more unusual ingredients such as dried black limes or Aleppo chilli flakes. You’ll also find them more affordably at an international supermarket if you should have one near. Failing that, Ottolenghi have their own online pantry for you to order from including the 20 main ingredients you’ll need for this book.

What’s the faff factor? That definitely depends on what you’re making. Some of these recipes take hours and are all the better for it such as Spicy Mushroom Lasagne and Aubergine Dumplings alla Parmigiana. Many others require little effort and with most recipes, you can take shortcuts to reduce the time. My first try at Swede Gnocchi with Miso Butter took most of the evening making the gnocchi from scratch. The second time took minutes, simply making the sauce and using pre-made gnocchi.

How often will I cook from the book? While suffering from a bout of COVID-19 at the beginning of the year, I itemised every recipe I wanted to cook from every cookbook I own to pass the time (don’t judge me, it was a simpler time). Such is the depth of the recipes in this book, I listed almost every recipe from Flavour. There are meals for all occasions in here: quick weeknight dinners such as Spicy Berbere Ratatouille with Coconut Salsa, adventurous weekend cooking projects like Cheese Tamales, or adventurous weekend cooking projects that can be modified to be quick weeknight dinners like the Stuffed Aubergine in Curry and Coconut Dal. I have yet to stop returning to this book for old favourites or to find something new.

Killer recipes: Stuffed Aubergine in Curry and Coconut Dal, Spicy Berbere Ratatouille with Coconut Salsa, Hasselback Beetroot with Lime Leaf Butter, Miso Butter Onions, Oyster Mushroom Tacos, Tofu Meatball Korma, Charred Peppers and Fresh Corn Polenta with Soy-Cured Yolk… I really could list the whole book here.

Should I buy it? If you haven’t already bought it by this point I haven’t done a good enough job in this review.

Cuisine: International
Suitable for: Beginner and confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Five stars

Buy this book
Ottolenghi, Flavour
£27, Ebury Press

Review written by Nick Dodd a Leeds-based pianist, teacher and writer. Contact him at www.yorkshirepiano.co.uk.

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi

Think of Shelf Love as a culinary extemporisation by the Modern Ottolenghi Quintet featuring Noor Murad, Verena Lochmuller, Ixta Belfrage, Tara Wigley and Gitai Fisher. They are the key players who work at the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen (OTK) in a converted railway arch in north London devising recipes with Yotam Ottolenghi for his cookbooks and restaurant and cafe empire. Shelf Love is the first of a planned series of OTK-branded cookbooks and is designed to help you work with what you have in the house and make the most of (and improvise with) the ingredients lurking on your shelves, in your veg box, in your fridge and in your freezer. There’s a chapter on sweet things too thrown in for good measure.

You should buy Shelf Love if you ever find yourself staring vacantly into your fridge at six o’clock at night wondering what on earth you are going to make for dinner. The book is not only packed with thrillingly delicious recipes such as magical chicken and parmesan soup with papparedelle; one pan crispy spaghetti with chicken; spicy pulled pork vindaloo; sweet potato shakshuka with sriracha butter and pickled onions, and carrot cake sandwich cookies, but each one comes annotated with a ‘make it your own’ footnote with suggestions for substitutions and alternatives. As you cook through it, Shelf Love encourages you to think for yourself so that one day you may not be left with unloved ingredients at the back of your fridge, but you will still want to keep the book in a prominent position on you kitchen bookshelf.

Cuisine: International
Suitable for: For beginners/confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Four stars

Buy this book
Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi
£25, Ebury Press

Cookbooks for Christmas 2020

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It’s been another golden year for cookbooks. Well, 2020 had to be good for something. With the shelves already groaning with countless thousands of food and drink related books, we should have reached saturation point long before now, yet somehow, food writers and chefs keep coming up with new and exciting ways of exploring and revealing the culinary world.

This year, when time seems to have stood still while simultaneously slipping through our fingers, I’ve been truly grateful to read a recipe that has inspired me to get in the kitchen and create a memorable moment, salvaging something tangible, yet transitory from these bleak months.

At their best, cookbooks capture the knowledge, expertise and passion of talented and dedicated people who, as well as making a few quid, want to share their hard won wisdom. There are plenty of examples of just that in our selection of the best of the year.

Cookbooks are the things of delight. Bound slabs of paper and ink that bring only joy. After all, what ill can come from Bill Granger’s scrambled eggs made with 300ml of whipping cream? (Let’s not dwell on health issues here, and besides, the recipe feeds four. I didn’t eat it all myself and anyone that tells you different is a liar.)

They spread the gospel of enlightenment through flavour, a scripture of nourishment and indulgence. So why not share the good news with family and friends this year and buy them a lovely new cookbook or two to add their collection, and if you click on the ‘Buy this book’ link in each of the reviews to make your purchase you’d really be helping us out. So, without further ado, please open you copy of The French Laundry, Per Se on page 230 and let us now recite our saviour Thomas Keller’s recipe for Paupiette of Dover Sole. Amen, and Merry Christmas to one and all.

Our highest rated cookbooks of 2020

The French Laundry, Per Se by Thomas Keller
What the publishers say: Keller opened Per Se in New York City in 2004, and since that time, the French Laundry and Per Se have become inextricably linked, influencing each other’s evolution through the exchange of chefs and ideas. A lot has changed in 20 years, and the recipes and techniques featured in The French Laundry, Per Se will delight and inspire professional and home cooks as only those in Keller’s books can. Here, he and his chefs offer meticulous, in-depth recipes for both beloved and iconic dishes–Salmon Cornet, “Peas and Carrots,” and Butter-Poached Lobster, for example–as well as essays of reflection, notes on the restaurants’ daily operations, information about farmers and purveyors, and lessons for young chefs the world over. In addition to more than 100 recipes, a basics chapter featuring such revelations as Parmesan mouse, tomato water, and a variety of stocks not only give readers insight into the foundations of these groundbreaking recipes but can also be used to elevate the food of any home cook. Full review coming soon

Buy this book
The French Laundry Per Se by Thomas Keller
£60, Artisan

Australian Food by Bill Granger
The sheer variety on offer including braised lamb ragu with tagliatelle and pecorino and green herb risotto with raw summer salad makes Australian Food a pandemic kitchen panacea but Granger’s skill as a creative chef and recipe writer, honed over more than a quarter of a century, ensures it will have enduring appeal.
Read the full review here

Cuisine: Australian/International
Suitable for: Beginners/Confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Five stars
Buy this book
Australian Food
£20, Murdoch Books

Home Cookery Year by Claire Thompson
What the publishers say: Home Cookery Year is the new essential kitchen bible, year-round and every day. Claire Thomson writes foolproof, imaginative recipes to please the whole family – as a professional chef and mum of three, she understands what it’s like to whip up tasty, crowd-pleasing dishes in minimal time at the end of a busy working day.

What we say: One of the most exciting books of the year as a decidedly understated title. Claire Thomson’s book avoids laboured gimmicks or even niche cooking themes, seeking instead to simply provide a wealth of tantalising, achievable dishes for everyday life. An absolute must-have, the sheer variety of dishes on offer here would allow you to survive the next twelve months on this book alone. A Home Cookery Year year, if you will. Read the full review here

Cuisine: International
Suitable for: Beginners and confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Five stars
Buy this book
Home Cookery Year: Four Seasons, Over 200 Recipes for All Possible Occasions
£30, Quadrille Publishing Ltd

Falastin by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley
The recipes are uniformly enticing and well written, the articles are informative and fascinating, the book is beautifully designed and the location and food photography by Jenny Zarins is gorgeous.If you’re already a fan of Tamimi and Wigley (and Ottolenghi of course) there is just no way you won’t want to add this terrific book to your collection. If you are just getting into Middle Eastern cooking then is a great place to start. Read the full review here

Cuisine: Palestinian/Middle Eastern
Suitable for: Confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Five Stars
Buy the book
Falastin: A Cookbook
Ebury Press, £27

The Hand and Flowers Cookbook by Tom Kerridge
What the publisher’s say: The Hand & Flowers is the first (and only) pub in the world to acquire two Michelin stars. At this relaxed and accessible dining space in the heart of Buckinghamshire, Tom Kerridge serves up innovative, sophisticated dishes that masterfully reinvent and elevate British classics for the twenty-first century.

The incredible new cookbook presents 70 of the best dishes that have ever appeared on the menu, including Roast hog with salt-baked potatoes and apple sauce; Slow-cooked duck breast, peas, duck-fat chips and gravy; Smoked haddock omelette; Salt cod Scotch egg with red pepper sauce and picante chorizo; and Chocolate and ale cake with salted caramel and muscovado ice cream.

What we say: You’ll be glad to see all the classic dishes have been included and that the book’s claim to be a definitive collection of the pub’s recipe is an accurate one. At over 400 pages, the book has a pleasing heft, the design is colourful yet classic and elegant, and the food photography by Cristian Barnett is simply stunning. If you’re after Kerridge’s diet friendly fare, you are definitely barking up the wrong butter, cream and foie gras-laden tree, but if you are a fan of Tom Kerridge’s restaurants and want to challenge yourself in the kitchen, this is the book for you. It will also be of particular interest to professional chefs. Read the full review here.

Cuisine: British
Suitable for: Confident home cooks/Professional chefs
Cookbook Review Rating: Five stars

Buy this book
The Hand & Flowers Cookbook
£40, Bloomsbury Absolute

Home Style Cookery by Matty Mathseon
At 368 pages, Matheson has packed a lot in and pretty much delivers a dish for every occasion, drawing on a wide range of global culinary influences in the process. Matty Matheson is one of the most exciting and original voices to have emerged on the cookery scene in the last five years or so. His first book was a must buy. This one is even better. Read the full review here

Cuisine: Canadian/International
Suitable for: Confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Five stars
Buy this book
Matty Matheson: Home Style Cookery
£25, Abrams

The Rangoon Sisters by Amy Chung and Emily Chung
What the publishers say: The Rangoon Sisters is a celebration of the incredible food and flavours that are found throughout Myanmar, including over 80 evocative recipes that have been made easy and accessible for the modern home cook by supper club extraordinaires Emily and Amy Chung.

What we say: It’s a real pleasure to find a cookbook that hones down on a cuisine that will be unfamiliar to many British tongues whilst still remaining entirely accessible – right down to sourcing your ingredients. The result is a book that has seen as much use in our kitchen this year as any other, filled with irresistible flavours and unending inspiration. An unprecedented joy, with a killer mango and lime cheesecake recipe to boot. Read the full review here

Cuisine: Burmese
Suitable for: Beginners and confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Five stars
Buy this book
The Rangoon Sisters: Recipes from our Burmese family kitchen
£20, Ebury Press

Fäviken: 4015 Days, Beginning to End by Magnus Nilsson
Erik Olsson’s photographs that span the life of the restaurant provide a visually stunning counterpoint to Nilsson’s recipes, stories, anecdotes and musings. Who would want to read a book about a closed restaurant? When it’s somewhere as remarkable as Fäviken, and written by someone as talented as Nilsson, who wouldn’t?
Read the full review here

Cuisine: Nordic
Suitable for: Professional chefs
Cookbook Review Rating: Five stars
Buy this book
Fäviken: 4015 Days, Beginning to End (FOOD COOK)
£45, Phaidon

My Wild Atlantic Kitchen by Maura O’Connell Foley
What the publishers say: A compilation of Maura O’Connell Foley’s favourite recipes created throughout her career in Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland spanning over six decades and is a comprehensive collection capturing over 250 recipes.

The book features stand-out dishes from the first tea shop she and her mother, Agnes, opened in 1961 to The Purple Heather Restaurant and Piano Bar, The Lime Tree Restaurant, Packie’s and Shelburne Lodge which she continues to run today with her husband Tom. Recipes include Drop Scone Pancakes with Dry Cured Bacon and Apple Syrup, Confit of Duck Leg with Pear and Ginger Salad and Twice Baked Hazelnut Goat’s Cheese Soufflé.

What we say: The recipes are great, the book looks fantastic and you’ll learn about an important piece of Irish restaurant history too. My Wild Atlantic Kitchen is one of my favourite books of the year and I bet it will yours too.

Cuisine: Irish
Suitable for: Confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Five stars
Buy this book
€35 Order from mywildatlantickitchen.com
(The book is also available from Amazon
My Wild Atlantic Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections
£35, Maura O’Connell Foley)

Sun and Rain Ana Ros
Roš‘s lack of any formal culinary training has led to a highly individual style based on the abundant natural larder of the extreme north-west of Slovenia which she transforms into eye-catchingly plated dishes such as marble trout roe with rosa di Gorizia chicory and yeast. Sun and Rain is a comprehensive look at the life, culinary philosophy, and cooking of a remarkable figure in the modern culinary scene. Read the full review here.

Cuisine: Slovenian/Progressive
Suitable for: Professional chefs
Cookbook Review Rating: Five stars
Buy the book
Ana Ros: Sun and Rain (Food Cook)
£39.95, Phaidon

Big names guaranteed to please

Cook Eat Repeat by Nigella Lawson

What the publishers say: Cook, Eat, Repeat is a delicious and delightful combination of recipes intertwined with narrative essays about food, all written in Nigella’s engaging and insightful prose. Whether asking ‘What is a Recipe?’ or declaring death to the Guilty Pleasure, Nigella’s wisdom about food and life comes to the fore, with tasty new recipes that readers will want to return to again and again including Butternut with Chilli, Ginger and Beetroot Yoghurt Sauce; Brown Butter Colcannon; Spaghetti with Chard and Anchovies; Chicken with Garlic Cream Sauce; Beef Cheeks with Port and Chestnuts; and Wide Noodles with Lamb in Aromatic Broth. This book has not been reviewed by cookbookreview.blog.

Buy this book
Cook, Eat, Repeat: Ingredients, recipes and stories.
£26, Chatto and Windus

Flavour by Ottolenghi
What the publishers say: Ottolenghi FLAVOUR combines simple recipes for weeknights, low effort-high impact dishes, and standout meals for the relaxed cook. Packed with signature colourful photography, FLAVOUR not only inspires us with what to cook, but how flavour is dialled up and why it works.

What the critics say: The result, in typical Ottolenghi fashion, is multi-step, multi-ingredient, and multi-hued recipes whose promised flavors leap from the page — from cabbage “tacos” with celery root and date barbecue sauce to saffron tagliatelle with ricotta and crispy chipotle shallots. Chipotles and other chiles are actually in abundance here… thanks to Belfrage’s roots in Mexico City. Those flavors, as well as those from Brazilian, Italian, and multiple Asian cuisines (spy the shiitake congee and noodles with peanut laab), unite with the usual Ottolenghi suspects — za’atar, star anise, harissa, labneh — to make Flavor worth the look, even for the home chef who already has Plenty and Plenty More on the shelf. (Eater) This book has not been reviewed by cookbookreview.blog.

Buy this book
Ottolenghi FLAVOUR
£27, Ebury Press

7 Ways: Easy Ideas for Every Day of the Week by Jamie Oliver
The publisher says: Jamie’s looked at the top ingredients we buy week in, week out including chicken breasts, salmon fillets, mince, eggs, potatoes, broccoli and mushrooms. Jamie will share 7 achievable, exciting and tasty ways to cook 18 of our favourite ingredients, and each recipe will include a minimal amount of ingredients with everyday options from both an ease and nutritional point of view. With everything from fakeaways and traybakes to family and freezer favourites, you’ll find bags of inspiration to help you mix things up in the kitchen. This book has not been reviewed by cookbookreview.blog.

Buy this book

7 Ways: Easy Ideas for Every Day of the Week
£26, Michael Joseph

Nadiya Bakes by Nadiya Hussain
What the publishers say: Our beloved Bake-Off winner has created your ultimate baking cookbook to help you conquer cakes, biscuits, traybakes, tarts and pies, showstopping desserts, breads, savoury bakes, and even ‘no-bake’ bakes – all with her signature mouth-watering twists.

What the critics say: Whether you’re a baking novice or fit for the Bake Off tent, Nadiya pitches this cookbook in a really accessible way, with plenty of her down-to-earth guidance so that anyone can cook from it, whatever their skill level. (The Happy Foodie) This book has not been reviewed by cookbookreview.blog.

Buy this book
Naydia Bakes by Naydia Hussain
£22, Michael Joseph

The Great British Bake Off: Love to Bake by The Bake Off Team
What the publishers say: Pop round to a friend’s with tea and sympathy in the form of Chai Crackle Cookies; have fun making Paul’s Rainbow-coloured Bagels with your family; snuggle up and take comfort in Sticky Pear & Cinnamon Buns or a Pandowdy Swamp Pie; or liven up a charity cake sale with Mini Lemon & Pistachio Battenbergs or Prue’s stunning Raspberry & Salted Caramel Eclairs. Impressive occasion cakes and stunning bakes for gatherings are not forgotten – from a novelty frog birthday cake for a children’s party, through a towering croquembouche to wow your guests at the end of dinner, to a gorgeous, but easy-to-make wedding cake that’s worthy of any once-in-a-lifetime celebration. Throughout the book, judges’ recipes from Paul and Prue will hone your skills, while lifelong favourites from the 2020 bakers offer insight into the journeys that brought the contestants to the Bake Off tent and the reasons why they – like you – love to bake. This book has not been reviewed by cookbookreview.blog.

Buy this book
The Great British Bake Off: Love to Bake
£22, Sphere

All Rounders

Take One Tin by Lola Milne
What the publishers say: Quick, easy and environmentally friendly, tinned foods have many of the benefits of fresh, plus can also be used to create delicious, versatile meals without breaking the bank. With just a few ingredients from your storecupboard topped up with some fresh extras, you can create simple speedy suppers, tasty take-to-work lunches and even impressive dinner party desserts, including a hearty Flageolet Bean & Artichoke Gratin, a spicy Sri Lankan Mackerel Curry and a fruity Peach, Mango & Passion Fruit Pavlova.

What we say: Published with almost suspiciously good timing, Take One Tin was the best storecupboard cookbook on the shelves by the time lockdown hit. Using accessible ingredients and simple recipes, Lola Milne allowed readers to knock up some unexpectedly delicious meals from the tins already on their shelves.

Best for: Tier 3 Families and Survivalist Recluses
Cuisine: International
Suitable for: Beginners and confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Four stars
Buy this book
Take One Tin: 80 delicious meals from the storecupboard

Table Manners by Jessie and Lennie Ware
What the publishers say: Cooking through Table Manners is like having Jessie and Lennie at the table with you: brash, funny and full of opinions. In true Ware style, their cookbook is divided into Effortless, A Bit More Effort, Summertime, Desserts and Baking (thanks to Jessie’s brother Alex), Chrismukkah (Christmas, Hanukkah and celebrations) and, of course, Jewish-ish Food. These delicious, easy dishes are designed for real people with busy and sometimes chaotic lives with the ultimate goal of everyone eating together so unfiltered chat can flourish.

What we say: The Table Manners cookbook manages to capture everything that makes the podcast so appealing. For every ounce of personality, there is an equal measure of pure, unfettered passion for food. As well as being an above-average entry in the popstar cookbook sub-genre, Table Manners features enough recipes drawing on the Wares’ Jewish background to ensure it works wonderfully as a casual introduction to the cuisine.

Best for: Food Podcast Fans
Cuisine: European/Jewish
Suitable for: Beginners and confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Four stars
Buy this book
Table Manners: The Cookbook
£22, Ebury Press

For the food (and wine) nerd in your life

Coconut and Sambal Lara Lee
What the publishers say: Coconut & Sambal reveals the secrets behind authentic Indonesian cookery. With more than 80 traditional and vibrant recipes that have been passed down through the generations, you will discover dishes such as Nasi goreng, Beef rendang, Chilli prawn satay and Pandan cake, alongside a variety of recipes for sambals: fragrant, spicy relishes that are undoubtedly the heart and soul of every meal.

What the critics say: London chef and food writer Lee brings an intimate knowledge of Indonesian cuisine to this stunningly photographed debut collection of recipes gathered from the author’s Indonesian grandmother and from cooks Lee met traveling through the island nation… This sumptuous collection is perfect for home cooks and armchair travelers alike. (Publishers Weekly) This book has not been reviewed by cookbookreview.blog.

Buy this book
Coconut and Sambal by Lara Lee
£26, Bloomsbury Publishing

The Whole Chicken by Carl Clarke
What the publishers say: Carl Clarke has garnered the reputation from his industry peers and the general public alike as an authority and advocate on cooking ethically reared chicken. What he doesn’t know about chicken isn’t worth knowing, from brining and seasoning to poaching, grilling and frying.

What we say: The Whole Chicken is rich with globally inspired recipes that will mix up your usual roster of chicken dishes. Clarke writes passionately and unpretentiously in a book that is as fun to look at as it is to cook from.
Read the full review here

Cuisine: Global
Suitable for: Beginner to confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Four stars
Buy this book
The Whole Chicken: 100 easy but innovative ways to cook from beak to tail
£22, Hardie Grant

Stark by Ben and Sophie Crittenden
Stark is no ordinary Michelin-starred restaurant. Ben Crittenden converted a sandwich shop in Broadstairs and, working alone in a tiny kitchen, serves creative tasting menus to a dozen customers a night. It’s fitting then that Stark is also no ordinary cookbook. In addition to the recipes, 42 of them inclduing Hake, mushroom, dashi, the extraordinary story of the restaurant is told with breath-taking honesty. Read the full review here.

Cuisine: Progressive British
Suitable for: Professional chefs
Cookbook Review Rating: Four stars
Buy the book
Stark by Ben and Sophie Crittenden
£30, A Way With Media
Also available at Amazon Stark

A Purnell’s Journey: There and Back Again by Glynn Purnell
Weighing in at 6.5kg and standing over a foot tall, Glynn Purnell’s third book is a lavish production. The book follows Purnell’s route to Michelin success in the heart of Birmingham’s city centre along with a selection of Purnell’s restaurant’s ‘greatest hits’ including monkfish masala with red lentils, pickled carrots and coconut garnish that ably demonstrate the chef’s knack for creating memorable dishes that stand the test of time. There and Back Again serves up a generous enough helping of amusing anecdotes and stunning visuals to justify its hefty price tag. Read the full review here

Cuisine: Progressive British
Suitable for: Professional chefs
Cookbook Review Rating: Four stars
Buy this book
A Purnell’s Journey
£85, A Way With Media
Also available at Amazon: There And Back Again: A Purnell’s Journey

The Pie Room by Callum Franklin
What the publishers say: Calum knows good pies and in his debut cookbook, The Pie Room, he presents a treasure trove of recipes for some of his favourite ever pastry dishes. Want to learn how to create the ultimate sausage roll? Ever wished to master the humble chicken and mushroom pie? In this collection of recipes discover the secrets to 80 delicious and achievable pies and sides, both sweet and savoury, veggie and meat, including hot pork pies, cheesy dauphinoise and caramelised onion pie, hot and sour curried cod pie, the ultimate beef Wellington and rhubarb and custard tarts.

What we say: For many casual home cooks, pastry represents the last great mountain to climb. Franklin’s book explains the basics brilliantly, but allows for the reader to progress quickly to more interesting and tantalising offerings. Whilst the book doesn’t exactly promise to turn you into the master of elaborate decorations that Franklin is, it does provide a wide variety of unmissable dishes that will appeal both to beginners and confident pastry-wielders alike. Read the full review here

Cuisine: British
Suitable for: Confident home cooks/Professional chefs
Cookbook Review Rating: Four stars
Buy the book
The Pie Room: 80 achievable and show-stopping pies and sides for pie lovers everywhere
£26, Bloomsbury Absolute

Dirt by Bill Buford
If you’ve read and enjoyed Buford’s previous books, Dirt will not disappoint. If you’re unfamilar with French cuisine, this is an excellent introduction to the subject and even if you’re a Francophile, you will almost certainly learn something new. Buford may be guilty of throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the book (actually, there are kitchen sinks) but it is nevertheless an extremely readable book, albeit one that will probably appeal most to the food and restaurant nerds among us. Read the full review here

Cook Book Review rating: Four stars
Buy this book
Dirt: Adventures in French Cooking
£16.99, Johnathan Cape

For Vegetarian, Vegan and Plant-based cooks

Vegetarian Silver Spoon
There’s a homely feel to recipes such as chard and chickpea soup with tofu; buckwheat lasagne with broccoli and eggplant-tomato strudel. Lesser known ingredients such as black chickpeas (used in a salad with apple and Jerusalem artichoke) will invigorate any cook’s interest in meat and fish-free cooking, making The Vegetarian Silver Spoon a valuable addition to their cookbook collection. Read the full review here

Cuisine: Vegetarian
Suitable for: Beginners and confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Four stars
Buy this book
The Vegetarian Silver Spoon: Classic and Contemporary Italian Recipes (FOOD COOK)
£35, Phaidon

Vegan JapanEasy by Tim Anderson
What the publishers say: Believe it or not, Japanese cuisine in general is actually quite vegan-friendly, and many dishes can be made vegan with just a simple substitution or two. You can enjoy the same big, bold, salty-sweet-spicy-rich-umami recipes of modern Japanese soul food without so much as glancing down the meat and dairy aisles. And best of all, it’s super-easy to make! In Vegan Japaneasy, Tim Anderson taps into Japan’s rich culture of cookery that’s already vegan or very nearly vegan, so there are no sad substitutes and zero shortcomings on taste.

What we say: Tim Anderson continues a run of excellent Japan-centric cookbooks with this excellent vegan title. The rare sort of vegan cookbook that will be just as welcome with meat-eaters as with the intended audience, Anderson fills up on umami-rich, impossible-to-resist dishes. The French Onion Ramen is one of our recipe highlights of the entire year. Read the full review here

Cuisine: Japanese
Suitable for: Beginners and confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Four stars
Buy this book
Vegan JapanEasy: Classic & modern vegan Japanese recipes to cook at home

Restore by Gizzie Erskine
What the publishers say: Using the principles of eating seasonally, less meat and more plants, eating root-to-shoot or nose-to-tail, and using clever techniques to maximise flavour, Gizzi will give us recipes that don’t compromise on flavour or satisfaction, but which are better for us, and the planet. Thoughtful, insightful, but above all a delicious collection of recipes that show how good food doesn’t have to cost the earth.

What the critics say: An important read in the current climate, Gizzi Erskine’s latest book offers thought-provoking and insightful commentary on the issues surrounding the way we farm, cook, eat and shop, and how we can restore the earth, and our bodies, with food. As always, Gizzi’s recipes are creative, seriously satisfying and packed full of flavour. Think marmite, onion and roast root vegetable stew with cheesy scones, korma wings, wet and wild monkfish kievs and black pepper crab. (BBC Good Food) This book has not been reviewed by cookbookreview.blog.

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Restore by Gizzi Erskine
£26, HQ

Falastin by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley

What’s the USP? I can’t do better than quote the introduction: ‘This is a book about Palestine – its food, its produce, its history, its future, its people and their voices’. There are also recipes, more than 100 of them.

Who are the authors? You’ll know Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley from such books as Jerusalem and Ottolenghi: the Cookbook. Tamimi co-founded the Ottolenghi restaurant empire. Wigely worked in publishing before joining the Ottenleghi test kitchen a decade ago.

Is it good bedtime reading? In addition to the short foreword by Ottolenghi and seven-page introduction, there are page-long introductions to each of the nine chapters that cover everything from breakfast to sweets as well as articles covering subjects including ‘The yoghurt making ladies of Bethlehem’, ‘Vivien Sansour and the Palestinian Seed Library’ and ‘The Walled Off Hotel, the seperation wall, and the Balfour balls up’.

Will I have trouble finding the ingredients? As has been noted before on this site, thanks in part to Ottolenghi, ingredients such as za’atar, Aleppo pepper, date syrup, rose harissa, sumac and labneh now seem quite commonplace, at least to the enthusiastic home cook. If you do have trouble tracking them down in your local shop, you can source them online from ottolenghi.co.uk.

What’s the faff factor? This is not restaurant cooking but on the other hand, these are not quick’n’easy one pot wonders either. You’ll be chopping, finely slicing, picking leaves, chargrilling, roasting, whipping, braising, frying, baking, blitzing, caramelising and making dumplings, dressings, and dips; soups, salsas, and sauces. Nothing however is excessively complex or beyond the abilities of your average keen cook.

Must cook recipes: spiced chicken arayes (pan fried pitta bread sandwiches); chilled cucumber and tahini soup with spicy pumpkin seeds; spiced salmon skewers with parsley oil; upside-down spiced rice with lamb and broad beans; sumac onion and herb oil buns; knafeh nabulseyeh (a sweet mozzarella, ricotta and feta kataifi pastry dessert drenched in orange blossom water syrup.

What will I love? Tamimi and Wigley have already proved beyond doubt that they are a class act and Falastin does nothing to alter that. The recipes are uniformly enticing and well written, the articles are informative and fascinating, the book is beautifully designed and the location and food photography by Jenny Zarins is gorgeous. As is usual with the Ottolenghi family of books, there’s a code to access a fully illustrated and searchable database of all the recipes online (you can even print off a shopping list for each recipe) which is a very useful and fun bonus.

What won’t I love? I can’t believe you’re even asking this question, go to the back of the class.

Should I buy it? If you’re already a fan of Tamimi and Wigley (and Ottolenghi of course) there is just no way you won’t want to add this terrific book to your collection. If you are just getting into Middle Eastern cooking then is a great place to start.

Cuisine: Palestinian/Middle Eastern
Suitable for: Confident home cooks
Cookbook Review Rating: Five Stars

Buy the book
Falastin: A Cookbook
Ebury Press, £27

Cook from this book
Sweet tahini rolls (Kubez el tahineh)
Chicken musakhan
Labneh cheesecake with roasted apricots, honey and cardamom

Sweet tahini rolls (Kubez el tahineh) by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley

286_sweet_tahini_rolls

The journey of these rolls can be traced through Lebanon to Armenia, where these kubez el tahineh come from. They are simple to make, impressive to look at and loved by all. They’re a particular favourite with kids. Eat them as they are, or sliced and spread with dibs w tahini, the Palestinian equivalent of peanut butter and jam, where creamy tahini is mixed through with a little bit of grape or date molasses (see page 336).

Keeping notes: These are best eaten fresh on the day of baking but are also fine for 2–3 days once baked, warmed through in the oven. They also freeze well, after they’ve been baked and left to cool: you can pop them into the oven straight from the freezer until warmed through.

Makes 10 rolls
Dough
1½ tsp fast-action dried yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
110ml whole milk, lukewarm
300g plain flour, plus extra
for dusting
75g unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
Olive oil, for greasing
Salt

Filling
100g caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
120g tahini
Topping
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 tbsp white sesame seeds

First make the dough. Put the yeast, sugar and milk into a small bowl and mix to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes, until it starts to get frothy. Meanwhile, put the flour and ½ teaspoon of salt into the bowl of a freestanding mixer, with the dough hook in place. Mix on a low speed, then slowly pour in the yeast mixture. Add the melted butter and continue to mix for about a minute.

Add the egg, then increase the speed to medium and leave for 5 minutes, for the dough to get well kneaded. Using your hands, scrape the dough into a ball: it will be slightly sticky and elastic. Place it in a lightly oiled bowl, turning it a couple of times so that the dough gets well greased. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to rest in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until almost doubled in size. Put the sugar and cinnamon for the filling into a small bowl. Mix well to combine, then set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about 35 x 50cm. Drizzle the tahini over the dough, then, using the back of a spoon or a spatula, spread it out evenly, leaving 1cm clear of tahini at both the shorter ends. Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the tahini and leave for 10 minutes, until the sugar looks all wet.
Starting from one of the long sides, roll the dough inwards to form a long, thin sausage. Trim away about 2cm from each end, then slice the dough into 10 equal pieces: they should each be just over 4½cm long. Sit each piece upright, so that its cut side is facing upwards, then, using your hands, gently flatten out to form an 8cm-wide circle. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 160°C fan. Transfer each roll of dough to a large parchment-lined baking tray, spaced 2–3cm apart. Brush all over – just the top and sides, not the base – with the egg yolk, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 18 minutes, or until cooked through and golden. Remove from the oven and set aside for about 20 minutes – you don’t want them to be piping hot – then serve.

Extracted from FALASTIN: A COOKBOOK by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley (Ebury Press, £27) Photography by Jenny Zarins

Cook more from this book
Chicken musakhan
Labneh cheesecake

Buy the book
Falastin: A Cookbook
Ebury Press, £27

Labneh cheesecake with roasted apricots, honey and cardamom by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley

323_labneh_cheesecake

Cheesecake is not, traditionally, a dessert eaten in Palestine, but all the ingredients are: the labneh and filo, for example, the nuts and floral orange blossom. The base was Noor’s idea: blitzing up the sheets of filo to make crumbs. Mixing this with the nuts calls baklava to mind. The result, we think, is distinct and special.

Getting ahead: If you are making your own labneh (which couldn’t be easier: it just requires getting organised a day ahead), then it needs to be made 1–5 days before using. To get the 500g of labneh required, you’ll need to start with 850g of Greek-style yoghurt, mixed with ⅔ teaspoon of salt (see page 48 for the recipe). The base and cheesecake are best baked the day before serving, so that it can chill in the fridge overnight. The apricots are best roasted and put on top of the cake on the day of serving. Once assembled, the cake is best eaten the same day.

Playing around: Rose water or vanilla extract can be used instead of the orange blossom water, if you like. If using vanilla in the filling, use 1½ teaspoons of vanilla paste or the scraped seeds of ½ a vanilla pod, in addition to the vanilla extract already there. Lots of other fruits – stone fruits or otherwise – work as well as the apricots here. Peaches, plums and cherries are also good, as are strawberries. As ever, with nuts, other nuts can be used apart from those we suggest: Brazil nuts, for example, or macadamia nuts. They both work well in any combination in the base: just keep the net weight the same.

Serves ten to twelve

Base
5 sheets of good-quality filo pastry (about 110g)
90g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
40g walnut halves
60g pistachio kernels
1½ tbsp plain flour
50g caster sugar
10 cardamom pods, shells discarded and seeds finely crushed in a pestle and mortar (or ¾ tsp ground cardamom)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp flaked sea salt

Filling
500g labneh (either shop-bought or 850g of Greek-style yoghurt, see headnote and page 48, if making your own)
500g ricotta
210g caster sugar
⅔ tsp flaked sea salt
5 eggs (2 whole, and 3 with yolks and whites separated: you will only be using the yolks of these)
2 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tbsp orange blossom water
1¼ tsp vanilla extract
1½ tbsp cornflour

Topping
75g runny honey
2 tsp orange blossom water
40ml orange juice
6 cardamom pods, shells on, seeds roughly bashed together in a pestle and mortar
350g ripe apricots, stones removed, cut into 6 wedges
A small handful of picked mint leaves, to garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 160°C fan. Grease and line the base and sides of a 23cm springform baking tin and set aside. To make the base, lay out one sheet of filo on a clean work surface. Measure out a third of the butter – this will be used for brushing the sheets – and set the remaining 60g aside for later. Brush the sheet until well coated, then top with the second filo sheet. Continue in this fashion until all the filo and butter has been used up, finishing the last layer with a coating of butter. Transfer the filo stack to a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 15 minutes (or longer) before breaking apart into large shards. In two batches, place the shards in a food processor and blitz for about 10 seconds, to form fine crumbs. Place in a medium bowl, then add the nuts to the processor. Blitz for about 20 seconds, until fine but not powdery. Add the nuts to the filo along with the flour, sugar, spices, flaked salt and remaining two-thirds of butter and mix to combine. Tip the mixture into the base of the lined tin and press it down firmly and evenly so that the whole base is covered. Bake for 12 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

To make the filling, clean out the food processor and add the labneh, ricotta, sugar and salt. Pulse for just a few seconds, to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the eggs, egg yolks (the spare whites can be saved for something else), orange zest, orange blossom water, vanilla extract and cornflour. Pulse for about 15 seconds, to combine, then pour the mixture into the cake tin. Bake for 60–70 minutes, or until the cake is beginning to take on some colour around the edges but still has a slight wobble in the middle. Remove from the oven and leave to cool at room temperature for an hour before refrigerating for at least 4 hours or (preferably) overnight.

On the day of serving, preheat the oven to 200°C fan and prepare the topping. Put the honey, orange blossom water, orange juice and bashed cardamom pods into a small saucepan and place on a medium-high heat. Cook for 4–6 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture has reduced by half and is beginning to form a thin syrup. Spread the apricots out on a parchment-lined baking tray, on their side, and drizzle over half the syrup. Bake for about 8 minutes, turning the apricots over halfway through baking, until completely softened but still retaining their shape. Remove from the oven and set aside for about 30 minutes, until completely cool.

Just before serving (or up to 1 hour, if you want to prepare ahead), release the cake from its tin and transfer to a round serving platter. Top with the apricots – there should not be any overlap – and drizzle with the remaining syrup. The bashed cardamom pods can be used for garnish as well – they look nice – but these are not to be eaten. Scatter over the mint leaves, if using, and serve.

Extracted from FALASTIN: A COOKBOOK by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley (Ebury Press, £27) Photography by Jenny Zarins

Cook more from this book
Chicken musakhan
Sweet tahini rolls

Buy the book
Falastin: A Cookbook
Ebury Press, £27

Chicken musakhan by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley

246_chicken_musakhan

Musakhan is the hugely popular national dish of Palestine: growing up, Sami ate it once a week, pulling a piece of chicken and sandwiching it between a piece of pita or latbread. It’s a dish to eat with your hands and with your friends, served from one pot or plate, for everyone to then tear at some of the bread and spoon over the chicken and topping for themselves.

Traditionally, musakhan was made around the olive oil pressing season in October or November to celebrate (and gauge the quality of) the freshly pressed oil. The taboon bread would be cooked in a hot taboon oven (see page 341) lined with smooth round stones, to create small craters in the bread in which the meat juices, onion and olive oil all happily pool. It’s cooked year round, nowadays, layered with shop-bought taboon or pita bread, and is a dish to suit all occasions: easy and comforting enough to be the perfect weeknight supper as it is, but also special enough to stand alongside other dishes
at a feast.

Playing around: The chicken can be replaced with thick slices of roasted aubergine or chunky cauliflower florets, if you like (or a mixture of both), for a vegetarian alternative. If you do this, toss the slices or florets in the oil and spices, as you do the chicken, and roast at 200°C fan for about 25 minutes for the cauliflower and about 35 minutes for the aubergine.

Serves four
1 chicken (about 1.7kg), divided into 4 pieces (1.4kg) or 1kg chicken supremes (between 4 and 6, depending on size), skin on, if you prefer
120ml olive oil, plus 2–3
tbsp extra, to finish
1 tbsp ground cumin
3 tbsp sumac
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground allspice
30g pine nuts
3 large red onions, thinly sliced
2–3mm thick (500g)
4 taboon breads (see headnote),
or any flatbread (such as Arabic
flatbread or naan bread) (330g)
5g parsley leaves, roughly chopped
Salt and black pepper

To serve
300g Greek-style yoghurt
1 lemon, quartered
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.

Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1½ teaspoons of sumac, the cinnamon, allspice, 1 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Mix well to combine, then spread out on a parchment-lined baking tray. Roast until the chicken is cooked through. This will take about 30 minutes if starting with supremes and up to 45 minutes if starting with the whole chicken, quartered. Remove from the oven and set aside. Don’t discard any juices which have collected in the tray.

Meanwhile, put 2 tablespoons of oil into a large sauté pan, about 24cm, and place on a medium heat. Add the pine nuts and cook for about 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the nuts are golden brown. Transfer to a bowl lined with kitchen paper (leaving the oil behind in the pan) and set aside. Add the remaining 60ml of oil to the pan, along with the onions and ¾ teaspoon of salt. Return to a medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onions are completely soft and pale golden but not caramelised. Add 2 tablespoons of sumac, the remaining 2 teaspoons of cumin and a grind of black pepper and mix through, until the onions are completely coated. Remove from the heat and set aside.

When ready to assemble the dish, set the oven to a grill setting and slice or tear the bread into quarters or sixths. Place them under the grill for about 2–3 minutes, to crisp up, then arrange them on a large platter. Top the bread with half the onions, followed by all the chicken and any chicken juices left in the tray. Either keep each piece of chicken as it is or else roughly shred it as you plate up, into two or three large chunks. Spoon the remaining onions the top and sprinkle with the pine nuts, parsley, 1½ teaspoons of sumac and a final drizzle of olive oil. Serve at once, with the yoghurt and a wedge of lemon alongside.

Extracted from FALASTIN: A COOKBOOK by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley (Ebury Press, £27) Photography by Jenny Zarins

Buy the book
Falastin: A Cookbook
Ebury Press, £27

Cook more from this book
Labneh cheesecake
Chicken musakhan