Our Cookbook Heroes

The ones we turn to again and again and again and again

We love cookbooks almost as much as SoRo loves lentils (and legumes in general to be honest). They’re full of pretty pictures! They inspire us on lazy sundays! They look reeaaaaaaal good piled up in our kitchens! This week we get misty eyed about Nigel Slater’s elegant frugality and fangirl over two of our favourite female food writers. (Can you guess which ones? You can probably guess.) Dive in!

And now for the cookbooks!

• Fresh India by Meera Sodha Perfect spicing and recipes that just work! Also a recipe for caramelised almonds that’s worth the cover price alone.

• Cornersmith: Salads & Pickles by Sabine Spindler and Alex Elliot-Howery
  If you’ve ever wanted to know how to pickle ANYTHING this is your bible, plus tips for reducing kitchen waste and a BROWN BUTTER VINAIGRETTE.

• The River Cafe Classic Italian Cookbook by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers
  Come for the pasta! Stay for a million ways to cook beautiful vegetables, and learn how to treat your lentils with the same care as your risotto.

• The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater If there ever was a cookbook that encapsulated the term ‘an elegant sufficiency’ it is this book.

• Dining in by Alison Roman Will we ever tire of cooking from this cookbook? Honestly we’ll probably only stop when we get our mitts on a copy of her new book Nothing Fancy.

An extra five because we love you!

• Roast Chicken and Other Stories, Simon Hopkinson for beautiful, enchanting food writing and downright delicious recipes. 

• Supernormal Cookbook, Andrew McConnell for all the delicious recipes from this killer Melbourne classic. 

• The Tivoli Road Baker, Michael James & Pippa James All those doughnut recipes and more from one of the best cafes in Melbourne

• The New Vegetarian, Alice Hart is just one of those books you want to pick up and flick through whenever you see it. The photography is gorgeous, the recipes are creative and thoughtful and a little bit unexpected.

• Pizza Camp: Recipes from Pizzeria Beddia, Joe Beddia To be completely honest the dough recipe in here is INTENSE and maybe a bit much for regular rotation, but the cooking method and topping ideas are next level and have resulted in some of the best pizza SoRo has ever cooked at home.
  

You guys also love your cookbooks, here are some of your faves:

• Anna Jones! A Modern Way to Cook, A Modern way to Eat and The Modern Cook’s Year

• Ottolenghi! Jerusalem (with Sam Tamimi) and Simple

• Hetty McKinnon! Community, Neighbourhood and Family

• Ostro: Pleasure That Comes From Slowing Down and Cooking With Simple Ingredients, Julia Busuttil Nishimura

• Tortellini at Midnight, Emiko Davies

• Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, Samin Nosrat

• Midnight Chicken & Other Recipes Worth Living For, Ella Risbridger

• Flavour: Eat What you Love, Ruby Tandoh

• Lateral Cooking, Nikki Segnit

• How to Eat a Peach, Diana Henry

And so many more! (Check the cookbooks highlight on our instagram for the rest of them.)

NB: We use some affiliate links which means if you buy a book we recommend through our newsletter, we may receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting!

Thanks goes to our sponsor DRNKS.com for their support of this episode. Don’t forget to use the code HIGHLYENTHUSED at checkout for 10% off your order!

Look we don’t want to tell you to ‘get back in the kitchen’ but if these books don’t make you want to spend the weekend cooking we don’t know what will.

Ciao for now!

S&S