Some of the best cookbooks of 2011 as
chosen by Catherine Phipps. Photograph: David Levene for the
Guardian
This year has been
spectacular on the book front – it turned up two books from which I have cooked
repeatedly. I hardly ever find myself following recipes to the letter but did so
again and again with Hawksmoor
at Home). They have completely revolutionised how I cook steak and provided
me with a host of accompanying sauces (such as stilton hollandaise or poached
oyster sauce). The emphasis is on comfort food, whether it's beef shin macaroni
or apple pie with a boozy, spiced Tom and Jerry custard. It's a brilliant read,
full of whimsy and steakhouse cartoons, Dan Lepard's photography is stunning and
all proceeds go to Action Against Hunger. I love it.
Coincidentally, the other
book to which I have turned on innumerable occasions this year also involves Dan
Lepard. Short
and Sweet was one of several
good baking books, but for me his was definitive.
Hawksmoor at Home was not
the only good restaurant cookbook this year. Bocca
has become possibly the best all-rounder in my Italian cookbook collection.
Ingredients are given simple and sympathetic treatment with stunning results. My
other restaurant standout The
Modern Pantry is full of fresh ideas for fusion food from Peter Gordon
protégé, Anna Hansen. Unusual ingredients are expertly described and the flavour
combinations are exciting rather than outlandish.
Anna Hansen is one of
several women who put strong, interesting flavours at the heart of their
cooking. Maria Elia's Full
of Flavour has ingredient-based chapters and encourages experimentation –
refreshing in a cookery book. Silvena Rowe's Orient
Express is arranged by exotic flavour pairings – za'atar and saffron, chilli
and cumin and, best of all, sumac and fresh herbs.
Sophie Grigson's Spices
is a romp through the major players of the spice world. She is on top form here,
knowledgeable as ever, riotously funny in places and provides enough unusual
recipes to make this a worthwhile buy. If you want to delve deeper, I recommend
Sally Francis's Saffron.
Francis is one of only two UK saffron producers and her book traces its history,
as well as providing some recipes by fellow Norfolk dwellers including Tim
Kinnaird's moorish gold, saffron and cardamom macarons.
There were some beautifully
produced reissues
of some classic works released earlier in the year, and here are a couple
more to add to the list. The
Constance Spry Cookery Book is a joy, not least because the pure, elegant
design of the book does justice to both Rosemary Hume's recipes and Spry's very
engaging prose style.
The other is Anissa Helou's
The
Fifth Quarter, a book devoted to offal. Helou is incredibly well read and
this shows in the eclectic and inspirational recipes. Besides delicious Middle
Eastern offerings there is an emphasis on classic French Bistro, an impressive
rollcall of British writers (including Fergus Henderson on tripe), some
historical curiosities (a 1758 Spanish recipe for a sweetly spiced ox tongue
pie) and the occasional nod to China with a hot Szechuan pepper brains dish.
Interesting offal is becoming more widely available – a good thing in austere
times, so there's definitely room also for Jennifer McClagan's Odd
Bits, which is also quite definitive. Despite the fact that they can be very
tasty morsels, Blandine Vie's book on Testicles
cannot pretend to be quite so useful, but it makes up for that by being the most
enjoyably eccentric read this year.
This was not a big year for
TV chef tie ins, but those we had were great – Rick
Stein's Spain was well researched and as engaging as ever. Simon Hopkinson
also dipped his toe in with The
Good Cook; while there is nothing earth shattering, each recipe is elevated
by Hopkinson's unwavering attention to detail and his gentle wit. You will learn
something useful on each page.
Finally, a trio of books
you will want to curl up with. Kerstin Rodger's Supper
Club was just one of a wonderful batch of books by first
time authors – it's beautiful, funny and highly original. In
At The Deep End sees Jake Tilson weaving together reminiscence, travelogue
and references to greats such as Alan Davidson in order to cure himself of a
fear of fish and begin exploring the heart of the fishing world.
Finally,
Elisabeth Luard's Cook's
Year in a Welsh Farmhouse is full of cleverly seasonal recipes which combine
the ingredients fundamental to Luard's old Mediterranean life with those of her
present in Wales. However, it is her writing and observations which I love as
they make me yearn nostalgically for my own country childhood. The perfect
Christmas read.
No comments:
Post a Comment