Seven delectable cookbooks to inspire you this month
Our food and gardening columnist Chris Gordon shares seven delectable and inspiring cookbooks released this month
Maggie’s Recipe for Life by Maggie Beer and Professor Ralph Martins
Maggie Beer says, ‘I have two great passions – sharing my love of cooking delicious simple food and improving the health and nutrition of older people.’ Her enthusiasm is very evident in this wonderful new cookbook. Here she has joined up with Professor Ralph Martins (Professor of Neurobiology and Foundation Chair in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease at Edith Cowan University) to create a wonderful array of recipes that are delicious but also can help fight the symptoms of Alzheimer’s by providing the nutrients needed for optimum brain health. Maggie has generated more than 200 recipes full of beautiful ingredients that will nourish you and your family. It’s all about balance, variety and choosing foods that give you the best chance of being in good health, now and into your future. Another timeless collection from our very own Ms Beer.
River Cafe 30 by Ruth Rogers, Rose Gray, Wyn Owen and Sian Trivelli
When I lived in London I visited the River Cafe for an astonishing meal. Their truly simple, modern, Italian cooking has inspired so many loved chefs today. This book is a salutation from one of the world’s most iconic restaurants on its 30th birthday. There are 120 simple, modern Italian recipes – revisiting favourites from the first iconic River Cafe blue book, updated for home cooks today, and introducing 30 new recipes, with new tips and anecdotes from Ruth Rogers. This book is a must-have for all food lovers.
Corsica by Nicolas Stromboni
This is one of those tremendous cookbooks that includes travel tales and photographs that seem to capture some sort of paradise. It’s especially hard to take while I’m writing this, as the Melbourne wind hurtles past my window. I long to go there, and this book is the easy, cheap means to do it. This beautifully photographed book celebrates all that is Corsican: the people, the geography and, most importantly, the food. It is also home to a unique cuisine – blending the best of French and Italian food – that respects its home-grown produce: citrus fruits, grapes, chestnuts, cheese, herbs, fish, seafood and charcuterie. This book breaks my heart. It’s fantastic.
America by Gabrielle Langholtz
Do not be put off by this bold stars-and-stripes cover. This is the Silver Spoon equivalent of American food, with over 800 recipes. This book shows and celebrates the country’s myriad traditions and influences, regional favourites and melting-pot fusion – the culinary heritage of a nation, from appetisers to desserts and beyond, state by state. And as a special extra, there are 50 essays and menus from a ‘who’s who’ of 100 food experts and chefs.
Cornersmith: Salads and Pickles by Alex Elliott-Howery and Sabine Spindler
There is a clear plan to this wonderful cookbook: braise some veggies, toss some leaves, sprinkle with nuts or seeds and then brighten with oil and vinegars, serve with bread and preserves. And then, the most perfect summer meal will be right at your fingertips. I love that this cookbook keeps everything simple and accessible. No fancy talk, no elaborate ingredients: just recipes that make sense on any night of the week and for any occasion. Did I mention there’s no meat in this cookbook? You won’t even notice, I promise.
Hummus & Co by Michael Rantissi and Kristy Frawley
People have been asking the staff at Sydney’s Kepos Street Kitchen to produce a cookbook for years – and finally, the wait is over. Think: recipes for family barbecues with plentiful salads that burst with flavour, or a Sunday slow-roast of cumin-spiced lamb shoulder, with Persian cranberry rice pilaf and tangy vegetables, followed by pistachio and rosewater cake with plums and mascarpone. There are also, of course, recipes for dips… including what is apparently the best hummus recipe in the world.
Mr & Mrs Wilkinson’s How it is at Home by Matt Wilkinson and Sharlee Gibb
This is a cracker of a book. It’s beautifully presented, features sweet family photos throughout, and has realistic chapter titles (like: ‘When Mum’s Away’ or ‘When the Kids are Away’) and a range of fresh, approachable recipes. There are tricks and treats for every meal, from breakfast right through to evening meals. I like that this family have opened their hearts and home. I love that they acknowledge that life is chaotic and that not every evening is about meat and three vegetables. Sharlee and Matt are simply keeping it real. And they have included the Pope Joan recipe for the best chocolate brownies in Melbourne. Frankly, the book is worth it for that page alone.
