12 highly giftable cookbooks for every type of cook
By Georgie Gordon
Classic French Recipes; Sugarcane.
Classic French Recipes (Phaidon), a beautiful, cloth-covered compendium by the late Ginette Mathiot, demystifies the seemingly daunting techniques of French cooking. Half the recipes can be made with as few as five ingredients and all feature foolproof instructions for executing iconic Parisian bistro fare and provincial classics, from soufflés to crème brûlées and beef bourguignon.
Filipino food is having a moment, with a flourish of new restaurants opening in Sydney and Melbourne, but the range of cookbooks remains limited. Thankfully, Arlyn Osborne’s Sugarcane (Hardie Grant) fills the void like a mochi-stuffed chocolate chip cookie. A feast for the eyes and belly, it focuses on Filipino-inspired sweet treats such as mouth-watering cakes, kitsch jellies and custards, and decadent puddings and tarts, including an irresistible pandan coconut cream pie.
Italian Coastal; Pocha.
Amber Guinness’s latest book, Italian Coastal (Thames & Hudson), reads like an itinerary of “where we’d rather be”. The next best thing to being there, surely, is to be transported by taste to one of the most beautiful places on the planet. We might be at home eating pistachio-crusted pork chops or zucchini, mint and béchamel lasagne, but mentally we’re on the Aeolian Island of Salina.
Don’t know your bibimbap from your bungeoppang? The former are Korean rice bowls, the latter cute fish-shaped pastries, and both are found in Seoul’s street markets – as is all the food in Su Scott’s fabulous Pocha (Quadrille). The title, short for pojangmacha, takes its name from the vendors who serve cheap Korean comfort food: think fun snacks such as mozzarella corn dogs and KFC-inspired chicken wings as well as dishes authentic to the bustling city, such as Seoul-style bulgogi. It’s an eye-opening introduction into an eclectic and ever-changing cuisine.
Ela! Ela!; I’ll Bring Dessert.
Melbourne-based chef Ella Mittas looked to her Greek heritage and spells working on the island of Crete and in Istanbul for her first book, Ela! Ela! (Murdoch Books). She shares stories and recipes of traditional dishes such as the okra in tomato found on Greek tables as well as interpretations of her favourites dishes such as chicken rice, inspired by the pilaf made by late-night Turkish street vendors. Each chapter is devoted to a different place, with Ella exploring its community and culture through its food.
Ask Benjamina Ebuehi – self-proclaimed “designated dessert person” – to bring a plate and you might find a poached quince and custard crumble cake or a tray of preserved lemon cookies gracing your table. Her new book, I’ll Bring Dessert (Quadrille), brims with simple but show-stopping recipes that can be made ahead or easily assembled. There are sweets to feed a crowd, like cherry slab cake, as well as ideas for more intimate meals such as a date-night chocolate cake for two.
On Sundays; Baker Bleu: Bake It Till You Make It.
Dave Verheul’s beautiful book On Sundays (Hardie Grant) offers plenty of inspiration to get you out of your Sunday roast rut, with recipes and menu suggestions for long lunches through the seasons. An autumn menu sure to soothe the soul might start with stracciatella, walnut pesto and cime di rapa, follow that with “Sunday after a tough week” steak with pepper sauce, and end with bitter orange ice-cream.
If your attempt to master bread-making ended with the last lockdown, Mike Russell’s Baker Bleu: Bake It Till You Make It (Murdoch Books) is here to lead you to sourdough success. This definitive guide not only makes baking bread, pastries and Roman-style pizza bases accessible to the home cook, it includes recipes for all Baker Bleu’s beloved baked goods (there are outposts in Melbourne and Sydney), including focaccia and its famous Vegemite twists.
Easy Wins; What Can I Bring?
In Easy Wins (4th Estate), Anna Jones selects 12 kitchen pantry heroes – olive oil, onions, peanuts, tomatoes, capers, chilli, tahini, garlic, miso, lemon, vinegar and mustard – and devotes a chapter of vegetarian recipes to each. The humble lemon, for instance, inspires a pilaf with buttery almonds and a green chilli and cheddar tart. Every kitchen’s hardest working allium, garlic, is roasted for broccoli rigatoni and fried for crispy egg-fried rice. It’s food that will have even the most resolute carnivore salivating.
Sophie Hansen is an expert on effortless entertaining and her latest book, What Can I Bring? (Murdoch Books), takes the anxiety out of what to make when you’re asked to bring a plate. Ditch the soggy salads and gluggy pasta for cherry tomato tarts and a cracking coleslaw with green apples, bacon and buttermilk dressing. There are also cake-stall sweets, dips and inspired ideas for potluck dinners.
Beatrix Bakes Another Slice: Home.
Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice (Hardie Grant) isn’t a one-bowl-brownie type of book for those looking for a quick sugar fix, but a delightfully in-depth guide to making the very best bakes by the queen of cakes, Natalie Paull. It will appeal to novices, enthusiasts and experts alike, from the relatively simple tangelo custard creams to ambitious projects involving croissant dough and a whole lot of sugar-encrusted deliciousness in between.
“New and different isn’t always better,” says award-winning cookbook author Loukie Werle, who eschews fads for timeless fare in her latest book, Home. Loukie’s home is a pretty house in a valley and these are the dishes she cooks for friends and family. It features drink-friendly dishes such as parmesan dusted meatballs, comforting soups such cannellini bean and pancetta, a crowd-pleasing prawn linguine pasta, and decadent desserts such as cherry clafoutis. Tried and true recipes to cook and share with those you love.
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