Cookery books
Recently I came to the conclusion that either I owned too many
cookery books or that I had started to collect them. As I couldn't
bear to get rid of any and I still wanted more, I have become a
collector. Unfortunately right now I don't get to use them all regularly
and instead read them, fantasising about what I will cook once the
children are more self-sufficient. Anyway here are my current favourites
and the ones I do use quite regularly.
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French Provincial Cooking By Elizabeth David
This is a fantastic book. Beautifully written if a bit daunting
as there aren't many instructions in some cases and there
are no pictures. But the descriptions are wonderful and the
book is worth buying just to read the first sections on the
regional cuisine of France. I use two recipes very regularly:
French Onion Tart and the simple Daube Provencale or casserole.
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Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book
Everyone should own this book. Organised alphabetically,
there are sections on almost every type of vegetable. Each
section starts with the history, then a bit on buying and
preparation, followed by recipes. This is not a vegetarian
cookery book. It's a book on how to cook vegetables so for
some recipes the vegetable is the main attraction, for others
it is contained in a larger recipe (e.g. aubergine in moussaka),
and some of the recipes are sweet not savoury. To be honest,
it's worth owning pretty much anything by Jane
Grigson .
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The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver
I didn't watch the TV programme this is based on. And I was
a bit sceptical at first. All that hype. But this is a really
good book. Thorough, with lots of variations and some great
recipe ideas. We always use his risotto recipe and the spicy
squash is brilliant (used on own, in risotto and added to
dough to make bread - all his suggestions and they all work).
I also have Jamie's
Dinners
- a family cookbook with some very good ideas in it and a
great stew recipe.
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The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden
A fabulous book. I bought it because I started reading it
over the shoulder of someone on the top deck of the 73 bus
(it is the kind of book you read on a bus). This is her labour
of love. A history of the Jewish people told through their
food - it even has jokes. A book to read and then to use,
the Apple cake, chocolate cake and orange and almond cake
are wonderful. Again no pictures, or at least not of the food.
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How to Eat by Nigella Lawson
Definitely her best book. Huge, no pictures, lots and lots
of recipes, an excellent chapter on basics. Some of her later
books seem a bit gimmicky - publisher-led or worse marketing
department led. You know the kind of thing - huge text, huge
pictures, not much text and a nice price tag. I do use the
Domestic
Goddess book too (although for baking also try this cheap
little book which is really good for baking with children
- 101
Cakes and Bakes)
and I own Feast
but sadly don't currently have enough time to try it out.
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Cupboard Love by Tom Norrington-Davies
My most recent purchase. A good book for people who want
to eat well but don't have enough time to shop regularly or
cook slowly.
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The New English Kitchen by Rose Prince
Well worth reading if like me you didn't pay enough attention
to how your parents and grandparents used up leftovers, cooked
economically and shopped sensibly. A good book for families.
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