Love the restaurant? Now you can give the recipes a whirl. The Square Meal team road-test the best new cookery
books from the UK’s top chefs.
Given that it’s easy to get good, inexpensive Indian food for home delivery in the UK – and comparatively difficult for the home cook to find authentic Indian ingredients – this book, co-written by
Moti Mahal chef Anirudh Arora and TV pundit Hardeep Singh Kohli, seems aimed at those with a specialist interest in Indian cooking. I tried out the recipe for lambs’ kidney masala (pictured, top
right) and it made my kitchen smell beautiful. The book is divied into chapters covering the states and cities of northern India, and the pictures are terrific.
Ben McCormack, editor
José Pizarro’s second
cookbook is a vivid, sun-soaked tour of Spain. All of the national and regional classics are represented, from croquetas to salmorejo, but the Extremadura-born chef also throws in some traditional
recipes from Spain’s islands, such as the Canary Islands’ classic papas arrugadas con mojo (wrinkly potatoes with coriander sauce). These little extras, plus more unusual inventions by Pizarro
himself – think lobster with warm lentil salad and romesco sauce – all serve to steer the collection away from déjà-vu territory. From a tempting selection of desserts, the mini cheesecakes
(pictured here) proved quick and simple to throw together. The result was delicious: the slightly tart cheesecake matched perfectly with the syrupy blueberry sauce, giving our taste buds a sneak
preview of summer.
Nicky Evans, news and online editor
For the average
spatula-wielding Brit, a collection of recipes including pigeon pastilla, rabbit biryani, and octopus on toast hardly falls into the realm of home cooking. But in his latest book, Stevie Parle
prods readers to seek out new flavours and exotic ingredients. Perhaps wisely, Parle weans us slowly – recipes are short, alternative ingredients are profusely provided, and the dishes are
generally liberal with vegetables and mindful of butter. The ingeniously simple recipe for the grilled skirt steak with anchovy cauliflower cheese – cauliflower, egg yolk, crème fraîche, pecorino
and anchovy fillets, mixed and baked to a golden brown (pictured here) – had my dinner-party guests frantically taking notes.
Emily Saka, editorial intern
Eat Your Veg (£25, Octopus/Mitchell Beazley)
‘The more of the rainbow you eat, the
better you’ll feel,’ states sustainably aware chef Arthur Potts Dawson in the introduction to his second book. Despite the title, this book is not trying to convert us all to vegetarianism,
although it’s big on using fresh, seasonal and local produce. More than 250 recipes are included – from vibrant beetroot soup with cumin and coriander to hearty carrot and horseradish stew with
oxtail.
Julie Sheppard, associate editor
Updated from the 2000 original, this book from the avuncular Rowley Leigh preaches the seasonal gospel. Particularly useful is the arrangement of certain recipes into
starter/main/dessert menus, such as ‘Summer Supper For Two’. The cream of chicken and mushroom soup I tried was a winner.
Stuart Peskett, sub-editor/staff writer
Rosie
Lovell first came onto the foodie scene with Rosie’s Deli, a small café-cum-deli in Brixton, and by running quirky supper clubs. Inspired by the culinary gurus in her family, she now brings us a
sweet assortment of hand-me-down recipes, refreshed and modernised for busy and thrifty cooks. One to try is hoummus with ground lamb, pine nuts and pomegranate.
Ami Kang, assistant online editor