Spring Cookbook Recommendations
Fantastic new cookbooks, plus a giveaway
Indian Kitchens by Roopa Gulati
I must have looked forward to this book for at least 18 months because I think Roopa is probably the most talented cook writing about food that I’ve ever come across. Her last book, India: The World Kitchen is one I have used time and time again. I spent lockdown cooking my way through it in its entirely and was so impressed with everything I made. As expected, Indian Kitchens is a complete delight. It is divided into six regions of India and documents family recipes from people Roopa visited on a recent trip across the country. The recipes are really appealing and I have already made nearly a dozen with great results. I know this is a book I will continue to use time and time again and really savour cooking from it. For anyone who would like to make fantastic Indian food at home, I can’t recommend Roopa’s work more highly.
Danube is a spectacular new book from the James Beard award-winning author Irina Georgescu, which documents the food and surroundings along the Danube River as it flows through Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria. This is not a part of the world I know at all, but I really felt transported there having spent time enjoying Irina’s captivating writing, alluring recipes and spectacular photography of the region and. dishes featured within.
I really love Irina’s work. It is meticulous and mesmerising and has played an important part in capturing the food and food culture of the region. There was so much for me to discover, knowing comparatively little about Eastern European food, but I felt inspired to cook from the book having read it, and happily, the ingredients used are all very widely available at home. This book is magical, transporting, utterly mesmerising and a total joy.
Lugma by Noor Murad has been a really lovely book to spend some time with lately. Noor grew up in Bahrain and this book contains an enticing collection of 100 recipes based on the food she grew up eating.
I looked forward to this book as I have enjoyed Noor’s work at the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen. She is a talented cook and so I eagerly anticipated her standalone work. The book contains a mixture of recipes that feel familiar, completely unknown and really interesting. I have travelled to the Persian Gulf quite a bit over the last decade and this book really seems to reflect much of the food I can remember enjoying on my travels and there are a great number of recipes within that I am looking forward to trying. I think this book will be very much of interest to anyone who enjoys eating and cooking food from the Middle East and I’m sure readers will find plenty of new ideas and dishes within. Noor’s writing is really engaging and this book feels really personal in a very special way. A strong recommendation. And Lugma means ‘a bite’ in Arabic, in case you were wondering.
La Cocina Vasca by MarÃa José Sevilla
La Cocina Vasca by MarÃa José Sevilla has just been published this week and I’ve spent a considerable amount of time reading it this week. This book documents recipes and traditions from the Spanish Basque Country. Many of you will know already that I lived in Spain and am very interested in all things Hispanic, so this book was very much of interest to me. This is an area of Spain that still is quite undiscovered and is one I’ve really enjoyed visiting. Just like Italy, Spain’s food is really regional and the food in the north is very distinctive. This book is a really interesting read and contains several informative essays on the food traditions of the region, plus plenty of recipes. I’ve had a go at some of the pintxos already and they were fantastic. This is another lovely book from MarÃa José Sevilla that comes very highly recommended.
The Peanut Butter Cookbook by ManiLife
The Peanut Butter Cookbook by ManiLife is a great book with a really enticing collection of recipes. I’m a huge fan of ManiLife peanut butter (the dark roast crunchy is my favourite), who produce such a great products. This book really exceeded my expectations and is full of some really enticing recipes - both sweet and savoury. This is a book that will appeal to peanut butter lovers, but I really think it would be a great option for children or teenagers too, as the recipes are very alluring and would be achievable for keen younger cooks, too. It might be a nice option for some Easter cooking.
I am very pleased to give away a copy of The Peanut Butter Cookbook by ManiLife to a Paid Subscriber. Please reply to this by email to enter. I will put entered names into a draw and contact the winner to organise postage (UK-based entries, please). Please email me by Monday 14th April, 5pm UK time.