Best new cookbooks in October
The Moroccan Soup Bar by Hana Assafiri (available 26 October)
Over the last 17 years the Moroccan Soup Bar has become a much-loved Melbourne institution. It’s a unique dining experience with Hana, head chef and owner, telling you what’s what on the menu. She says: ‘At the Moroccan Soup Bar we strive to rectify the imbalance where women in all societies and religions are among the most vulnerable and marginalised. Modern cooking is underpinned by the innovation and creativity of women, and I would like to pay homage to the ingenious creativity of women’s cooking over the centuries.’ I love that, and this cookbook is a tribute to this much needed philosophy. All the favourite vegetarian dishes are included in this collection including the famed chickpea bake, and there is even a recipe for the restaurant’s wall paint, passed down to Hana by her father. This book is essential for all vegetarians, and Melburnians.
Adam Liaw’s Asian Cookery School by Adam Liaw
Our household uses Liaw’s cookbooks often. The recipes are easy, delightful and accessible. This book, however, goes one step further. More than just a recipe book, it will teach you about the ingredients and techniques of the Asian kitchen for a comprehensive grasp of how you can create original Asian flavours. I like to believe this book is the next best thing to having Adam in the kitchen with me: explaining, describing, stirring … With his help, it won’t take long for homemade dumplings and green tea ice cream to become your new commonplace family choices. If you fancy Asian food, this is the cookbook you require in your kitchen.
Cornersmith by Alex Elliott-Howery & James Grant
This book is showing the way forward to a utopian lifestyle, or back to times past. This is how it goes: grow the food, share the food, and then open a café where you trade the food. The owners and chefs of Cornersmith are making this model work, not only by providing classes on how to make butter and jam and more, but also showing how simple is often best. This wonderful book shares the Sydney café’s recipes for bottling, fermenting and creating perfect meals. Seriously, could it be any more like a Portlandia episode?
The Great Australian Cookbook
This is a ripper of an idea: take 100 Australian leaders in the food industry, ask them what they cook at home for their family, and share. The list is impressive: Perry, Wilkinson, Beer and Alexander together with Solomon, Calombaris and more. Each chef, cook or food provedore has bestowed a couple of family friendly recipes, and been photographed in their own homes. This book becomes a moment in time in our Australian culinary history. Want to know what we were eating in 2015? Read this!
Luke Nguyen’s France by Luke Nguyen
Hands up if you wish you had Nguyen’s lifestyle? Honestly, the man’s job is to travel to the most beautiful parts of the world to eat. No wonder he is always smiling. In this stunningly presented book, Luke embarks on a journey to absorb the mysteries of classic French dishes and how these recipes have influenced Vietnamese cuisine. Along the way, he catches up with long-distance relatives and meets locals who disclose decades-old secret family recipes. In return, Luke shares his knowledge of Vietnamese cooking and adds his own unique flourishes to some of these classic dishes.
The Nordic Cookbook by Magnus Nilsson (available 26 October)
Scandinavian food is not all about pickled herrings and smoked meats. There is more to eating well in a cold climate and this wonderful book explores the dishes that typify the food of this vast geographical region. The recipes are influenced by the traditional ingredients that can be found from Sweden to Finland, Norway and Denmark; recipes that concentrate on using the freshest of ingredients and are simple to create. Usefully, at the end of the book there is a glossary explaining substitutes for hard-to-find ingredients – essential for us here on the other side of the world. Think dinner-party gems like beetroot carpaccio with goat’s cheese and minted pea relish, or venison cooked with coffee, honey parsnips and rocket; as well as everyday treats like Swedish meatballs, Danish smørrebrød, and gooey cinnamon buns. This is a delight of a book for anyone who dreams of white Christmases all year round.
Party Grub by Thug Kitchen
Not necessarily for serious wannabe chefs, but rather for your average share-house good-time people, this is a cracker of a book suitable for any festive celebration, for reluctant cooks, and for difficult-to-buy-for punters. Party Grub is full of more than 100 never-before-seen recipes for birthdays, holidays, sporting gigs, after hour gatherings and binge television sessions. This collection of wild and wacky recipes will make sure you’re equipped with dishes to bring the flavour without a side of fat, calories, and guilt. Also included are cocktail recipes, because sometimes these parties need a pick-me-up of the liquid variety.
Near & Far by Heidi Swanson
Swanson is a treat of a cook and this gorgeous book reads like a travel journal, with photos and sticky notes to accompany each of her vegetarian dishes. Beautifully presented, this is the type of book you may have casually sitting on your coffee table as well as in your kitchen. Think Mexican tacos with mushrooms, or a paprika-spiked tomato soup from Amsterdam with brown butter tortillas, made in Swanson’s very own Californian kitchen. I adore that her recipes are modest, using unassuming ingredients – no need to take an extra shopping list to the market for these recipes, all are practical, nutritious, delicious and easy.
