It’s easy to get stuck in a culinary rut when you’re cooking at home! I know it happens to me. However, by flicking through the pages of some of the best cookbooks around, you should find all the inspiration you need to mix things up in the kitchen. Here are four cook books that I have been exploring recently and loving what I have found!
English food writer and TV presenter Mary Berry is nearing her eightieth birthday, but she shows no sign of slowing her efforts behind the stove. Her recent book Mary Berry Cooks the Perfect is a reflection of her immense knowledge and skill. It is crammed full of recipes (over 100 in total), including everything from feather-light cakes to meltingly moist and tender salmon. For each recipe, Mary shares her “key to perfection”.
Another Brit– Jamie Oliver also has plenty of kitchen ideas to offer. The chef and campaigner’s newest cookery book is Jamie’s Comfort Food. England’s favorite meals are given indulgent twists in this selection that includes cheese toasties with cheddar crowns and mac and cheese with lobster. It’s a great source for if you want to get the family together and give them something really filling and delicious. (And it reminds me of my time studying abroad in London!)
For fresh and healthy kitchen creations, it’s hard to beat the Israeli chef, writer and restaurant owner Yotam Ottolenghi. His zingy recipes are loved by people across the world, and in Ottolenghi, The Cookbook, you’ll find a wealth of fabulous flavor combos. This impressive tome contains 140 recipes covering everything from salads and roasted vegetable concoctions to meat and fish treats.
If you’re after a solely vegetarian cookbook, A Modern Way to Eat by Anna Jones could be perfect (my best friend is a vegetarian, so I have to throw a book in for her– and one that I love too!). Anna honed her skills in the kitchen working with the likes of Jamie Oliver and she certainly knows her stuff when it comes to putting together sumptuous meals. A modern take on vegetarian eating, it introduces new and simple dishes including a tomato and coconut cassoulet and a pistachio and squash galette.
Of course, these are only four of the cookbooks now available (and ones I’m really excited about). There are many more fantastic resources to reach for too!