Next month sees the publication of The Cookbook Book (Phaidon), which features a page from the last two hundred years of classic cookbooks, from Mrs Beeton’s Household Management to the epic-looking Singers & Swingers in the Kitchen, which includes such gems as the Rolling Stones’ hot dogs recipe. So here’s our pick of this season’s books and how to blag having mastered them.
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**Plenty More - Yotam Ottolenghi **
Yotam had entire chapter in Plenty named ‘The Mighty Aubergine’ years before emojis made it the universal symbol for a ‘a bit of a boner’ - he’s basically the king of making healthy food that takes an afternoon in the kitchen to sort out but then makes you seem like a bit of a goddess. Plenty More is full of the same sort of anything-but-bland recipes as before, but the Thai Red Lentil Soup is some sort of hangover elixir. Make a vat when you’ve got the time and bask in smugness when you need it. Just remember to say you’ve been making it since it was in the Guardian a few years ago…
**Friends Food Family - Sasha Wilkins **
Sasha Wilkins is LibertyLondonGirl, and this is very much written in the style of her blog, peppered with advice on sparkling wines and where to pick up vintage crockery. Sure. The recipes are undeniably delicious-looking and a great source of inspiration but we’re not 100% sure they’re as effortless as she claims. But… her Hangover Cure: Fried Gnocchi with Mozarella & Tomatoes is incomparable. It’s as epic as it sounds and can be done in front of an X Factor repeat when all of your vintage crockery is full of fag butts.
A Modern Way to Eat - Anna Jones
If you associate veggie food with endless bland cheese and or sanctimonious lentils, you need Anna Jones in your life. She worked with Jamie Oliver for years, she writes like someone you might like to sit at a table with, and this book is a design dream. It also features recipes called things like Raw Thai Citrus Crunch Salad, which sounds like skipping a burger might not be so bad. Her Full of Greens Fritters claim to take ten minutes and we tested them. It’s more like 12 mins, and the courgette version is much easier - but they’re bloody good.
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Hemsley + Hemsley
The healthy eating stars of the summer, the Hemsley sisters seem to have been everywhere with their brightly coloured nutritious goodies. Can we be bothered to get further than admiring their blunt fringes on instagram and actually use the book though? Well, yes and no. There is much in the book that you can’t possibly bother making if you also have a job, but then their salads are properly ace for days when you you’re bored rigid of iceberg and some tomatoes, and the Beef Ragu with Courgetti is inspired. (Tell everyone this!) Basically it’s spag bol without the guilt - the sauce is great and spaghetti made from courgettes is - incredibly - fun, easy and properly tasty.
How To Eat - Nigella Lawson
Before the domestic drama phase, before even the domestic goddess phase, Nigella was nailing simple, tasty food that didn’t require refitting a rented kitchen or trekking to Borough Market for a weird ingredient. How to Eat is a kitchen bible and her Linguine with Clam is a fast recipe that can turn a crappy day at work around in 20 minutes. Get stuck in to one of the gorgeous reissues and you’ll enjoy it for life.
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Follow Alex on Twitter @Hemmo
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.