Have A Holly Dolly Christmas…from Parton’s family favourites to Prue Leith’s hacks, Constance Craig Smith selects the best cookery books to give this year
Comfort is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury £30, 320pp)
Showcasing food that is both ‘creative and comforting’, the recipes include jacket potatoes with aubergine and green tahini, sausage and lentils with mustard creme fraiche, and a delectable apple, blackberry and ginger crumble cake.
As ever with Ottolenghi, there’s a rather daunting list of esoteric ingredients, but these dishes are worth the effort.
Mary's Foolproof Dinners is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Mary’s Foolproof Dinners by Mary Berry (BBC Books £28, 304pp)
You know exactly what you’re getting with Mary Berry: food that will delight the whole family and that can be prepared with minimum fuss, often using cunning shortcuts.
The standouts among the 120 recipes include Parma ham and cauliflower cheese parcels, a fennel and onion tarte tatin, and a decadent no-bake chocolate truffle tart.
Simply Jamie is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Simply Jamie by Jamie Oliver (Michael Joseph £30, 288pp)
Jamie says he wrote this book to ‘celebrate the simple joy of cooking’. His recipes are beautifully straightforward, with most of them having no more than four or five stages.
Whether it’s a lamb Madras traybake, a creamy chicken and chive pie or a no-churn ice cream, these are things you can cook with confidence.
Cooking and The Crown is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Cooking And The Crown by Tom Parker Bowles (Aster £30, 240pp)
Alongside favourite royal recipes – smoked haddock souffle, partridge hotpot, a sturdy ginger cake – Parker Bowles spills the beans on royal eating habits. Queen Victoria was greedy, Edward VII had ten-course dinners and the Queen Mother loved rich, creamy sauces.
By contrast, for lunch the Queen has chicken broth while the King skips it altogether.
How To Eat 30 Plants a Week is available now from the Mail Bookshop
How To Eat 30 Plants A Week by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Bloomsbury £25, 272pp)
Eating 30 different plants a week sounds like a challenging target but Fearnley-Whittingstall shows how, with some minor tweaks, it’s easily achievable – and reassuringly, spices, nuts and tinned beans all count.
From a moreish porridge loaf to a root and rosemary hot pot and a seedy, nutty frangipane tart, these are dishes packed with goodness.
Fast and Fresh is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Fast And Fresh by The Hairy Bikers (Seven Dials £18.99, 192pp)
Although you get the calorie count and information on carbs, fat, fibre and salt for each of these recipes, there’s no shortage of flavour.
From the venison meatballs with blackberries to the Mediterranean fish bake and the lentil and almond pate, it’s all delicious, and a fitting swansong for the much-missed Dave Myers.
Cook Once, Eat Twice is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Cook Once Eat Twice by Nadiya Hussain (Michael Joseph £28, 256pp)
Nadiya’s aim is to make this ‘the most useful book on your shelf’. Her emphasis is on preparing tasty meals for the whole family with a minimum of waste, often making two meals from one set of ingredients.
She even whips up something scrumptious from unloved food like banana skins, stale bread and out-of-date salad leaves.
Greekish is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Greekish by Georgina Hayden (Bloomsbury £26, 288pp)
This collection of more than 100 recipes pays tribute to the author’s Greek-Cypriot heritage, with food that is less labour-intensive than traditional Greek food; Hayden calls it ‘low effort, high-reward’.
Standout recipes include grilled halloumi studded with apricots, a roasted lemon and oregano chicken with a feta dip and a golden filo custard pie.
Sift is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Sift by Nicola Lamb (Ebury £30, 352pp)
The tempting sweet treats here range from an upside-down sticky pear and walnut cake to a banana pudding pie, but best of all is the section that demystifies the chemistry of baking, explaining how small variations in ingredients, temperature and assembly methods will radically alter your bake.
A great read for anyone aiming to hone their baking skills.
Life's Topo Short To Stuff a Mushroom is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Life’s Too Short To Stuff A Mushroom by Prue Leith (Carnival £25, 224pp)
Striking just the right balance between impressive dishes and hassle-free cooking, this is one of Prue Leith’s best books, crammed with time-saving techniques and a raft of ‘handy hacks’.
Whether it’s the twice-baked cheddar souffle, grilled Caribbean spiced fish with pineapple salsa or a croissant, pear and chocolate hazelnut pudding, you’ll want to cook it all.
Dinner is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Dinner by Meera Sodha (Fig Tree £27, 320pp)
If cooking yet another family dinner feels like a chore, here are dozens of ideas for vibrant, easy-to-prepare meals, all vegetarian or vegan.
Among the standouts are cashew and tamarind curry, a Marmite risotto with tomato and crispy chilli butter and a coconut and cardamom cake. An excellent compendium of unusual dishes.
Tom Kerridge Cooks Britain is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Tom Kerridge Cooks Britain (Bloomsbury £25, 272pp)
Celebrating the wealth of wonderful British produce, Kerridge showcases ingredients like parsnips, celeriac, rhubarb, gooseberries, lamb and Cheddar cheese.
The food is hearty and uncomplicated, with dishes such as pork and sage meatballs, beer battered cod with mushy peas and plum and apple cobbler. Using seasonal local produce, he advises, will elevate your cookery.
Korean Made Easy is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Korean Made Easy by Se Ji Hong (Kyle £22, 176pp)
After K-pop, K-dramas and K-beauty, could K-food be the next big thing?
This vibrant vegetarian book shows that there’s much more to Korean food than kimchi, with recipes for gimbap (similar to sushi), Korean corn dogs, and japchae, a stir-fry made with glass noodles. There’s also the recipe for bean sprout broth, which is ‘Korea’s official hangover soup’.
Good Lookin' Coookin' is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Good Lookin’ Cookin’ by Dolly Parton (Ebury £27, 272pp)
These family recipes from Dolly and her sister Rachel include a sweet potato casserole, grilled chicken with a zesty marinade and their mama’s luscious banana pudding.
The folksy anecdotes and childhood reminiscences make this a very appealing book. Enjoy, y’all!
I Love You is available now from the Mail Bookshop
I Love You by Pamela Anderson (Sphere £26, 288pp)
Actress Pamela Anderson is a vegan and her appetising dishes include an artichoke dip, a baked whole cauliflower with harissa and a fragrant olive oil cake flavoured with rosewater.
A quirky but charming book, lavishly illustrated with photos of Anderson, her handsome sons and her many pets.
Easy Wins is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Easy Wins by Anna Jones (Fourth Estate £28, 352pp)
‘Easy wins’ are ingredients like lemons, capers and mustard that effortlessly add depth to dishes.
Each chapter is themed around one ingredient and these inventive vegetarian recipes – corn on the cob with caper and herb crumb, or a hot lemon and bay pudding – burst with taste.
Sobremesa is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Sobremesa by Susana Villasuso (Square Peg £27, 240pp)
An invitation to ‘slow down, cook fresh food and come together’, Sobremesa is packed with tacos, enchiladas, tostadas and churros, as well as tangy salads, soups and stews, showing the incredible variety of Mexico’s cuisine.
Read this and you’ll be convinced you need more avocado, limes and chilli peppers in your life.
Rick Stein's Food Stories is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Rick Stein’s Food Stories (BBC Books £28, 288pp)
Inspired by Stein’s travels around Britain, this book reflects the influence of the immigrants who have made our cuisine so rich and varied.
There’s a fragrant aubergine biryani and steamed Chinese pork bao buns. The luxurious puddings, such as a double-crust apple pie, are more classically British.
French Cooking For One is available now from the Mail Bookshop
French Cooking For One by Michele Roberts (Les Fugitives £12.99, 152pp)
This slender volume insists that food for one should be simple yet delicious. Drawing on memories of her French grandmother’s cookery, Roberts’ recipes are elegant and – mostly – quick to prepare: celeriac croquettes, trout with almonds, or sausages with apples and cider.
A delightful little book.
Sebze is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Sebze by Ozlem Warren (Hardie Grant £28, 255pp)
This vegetarian book, whose title means ‘vegetable’, shows there is so much more to Turkish food than the ubiquitous kebab. There are sections on breads, pulses and rice, meze, casseroles, street food and sweets.
From kisir, a spicy bulgar wheat salad with pomegranate molasses, to a semolina sponge cake with oranges, this is refreshingly different food.
Big Mamma is available now from the Mail Bookshop
Big Mamma: Italian Recipes in 30 minutes (White Lion £25, 320pp)
This collection of super-speedy Italian classics features punchy dishes like marinated anchovy fillets (punningly called Jon Bon Chovy), saffron risotto and a Sicilian caponata.
Woven through the book is useful information on basics like pizza dough, Bolognese sauce and perfect pesto. Packed with jokes and quirky facts about Italy, it’s an entertaining read.
