10 of the best new cookbooks for winter (and beyond)
From spice-filled street food recipe books to back-to-basics guides, here are some of the best cookbooks for better winter cooking - and eating.
Taverna: Recipes from a Cypriot Kitchen by Georgina Hayden
I'm bracing myself for the onslaught of #europeansummer holiday makers clogging my Instagram feed. But this year I have a secret weapon: Georgina Hayden's Cypriot cookbook Taverna. The Jamie Oliver alum's second book is an ode to Cyprus. From the sunshiny citrus illustration on the cover to the sun-dappled tablecloth shots, it's an evocative, authentic, home-style taste of the Med. I'll be making her haloumi and apricot jam toasties and moussaka stat, and once the weather warms, the honey-drizzled kataifi pastry, haloumi and zucchini pie. Everyone's favourite squeaky cheese also stars in an intriguing bundt cake that blurs the sweet-savoury lines. Annabel Smith
Penguin, RRP $55
Where Cooking Begins: Uncomplicated Recipes to Make You a Great Cook by Carla Lalli Music
Despite what it says on the tin, this is not just for beginners. Well-seasoned home cooks will find plenty of practical tips, too. American magazine Bon Appetit's food director and test kitchen personality Carla Lalli Music walks you through seven cooking techniques: saute, pan-roast, steam, boil and simmer, confit, slow-roast and pastry dough. Then it's time to "cook with abandon" with the 70 recipes that follow. Although rooted in technique, Lalli Music's flexible recipes encourage a relaxed and looser approach, and more intuitive cooking. Plus it has that beautiful Bon App style stamp - think juicy steak and seafood close-ups, casually assembled salads on neutral ceramics and hot pink platters that match the book's belly-band. AS
Clarkson Potter, RRP $54.99
A Basket by the Door by Sophie Hansen
Much like Annabel Crabb's Special Delivery, A Basket by the Door is full of portable dishes you can tote to a get-together, pack up for a picnic, or deliver to a friend or loved one in need. Sophie Hansen aka @locallovely has divided her cookbook into seasons and into cute themes ("smoko", "chilly spring evening supper", "dhal for your darlings" ...). Bookmark the "tray in bed" - a trifecta of aromatic chicken pho; ginger, lemon and turmeric super tonic; and sunshine orange jelly - for when the flu hits your household or "bring in the big guns" and make her proper chicken pie from scratch. Hansen's self-styled homely recipes and photography reveals life on her family's property and its gorgeous Country Style-style homestead near Orange in NSW. AS
Murdoch Books, RRP $39.99
Moorish by Ben Tish
When Yotam Ottolenghi lavishes praise on a new cookbook on Instagram, you sit up and listen. Especially when it features an epic wood-baked Moorish chicken pie so beautifully rustic it virtually gleams off the page. This is the third book for London chef and restaurateur Ben Tish and it's a lavish one. Vibrant southern Mediterranean cooking marked by the culinary influence of the Moors is the theme here - think bold spices and big, smoky flavours, covering everything from generous breakfasts to baking (hello chestnut, chocolate and cinnamon cake) to slow-cooked dishes that will fill the house with evocative scents. Oh, and check out the goat's labneh and shrimp fritters, too – they have the Ottolenghi stamp of approval. Megan Johnston
Nhum - Recipes from a Khmer Home Kitchen by Rotanak Ros
If you're hungry for new flavours, you'll love this gorgeous, ambitious cookbook by pioneering Cambodian chef Rotanak Ros (aka Chef Nak). Filled with 80 fresh and ultra-healthy recipes, it is a celebration of the best of Khmer cuisine from the Cambodian jungles, rivers, mountains and coastal regions. From street food classics to aromatic soups, exciting salads to palm sugar caramel stews, each dish is beautifully captured by photographer Nataly Lee. Chef Nak's passion and vision to revive a culinary heritage nearly obliterated by the Khmer Rouge and contemporary cultural pressures shines through on every page. MJ
Bazaar by Sabrina Ghayour
Vegetables get the star treatment in this colourful celebration of all things plant-based and vegetarian. This is no esoteric collection of hippy recipes, however. British-Persian chef Sabrina Ghayour makes the most of Middle Eastern flavour profiles to create crowd-pleasing dishes to win over the meat-lover in your life and satisfy any palate and occasion. Grains and pulses feature in heartier dishes, alongside spectacular sides and vibrant dishes filled with herbs and spices. That means haloumi flatbreads with preserved lemon, roast vegetable bastilla and potato, and ricotta and herb dumplings - sounds delicious to us. MJ
Street Food: Vietnam by Jerry Mai
Mouth-powing, friend-wowing recipes from the great Jerry Mai, the woman behind Melbourne Vietnamese game changers Annam and casual street-food chain Pho Nom. Street Food: Vietnam is packed with 70 recipes spanning everything from the now-everyday faves (bahn mi, rice paper rolls, stir fries, warming phos and noodle salads) to the traditional classics (Jerry's mum's signature dish, hu tieu nam vang, among them). Colourful, fun and practical, it's the perfect book for anyone who loves the vibrancy of Vietnamese street food, and has recipes for all levels of skill and chilli tolerance. Andrea McGinniss
Tokyo Stories by Tim Anderson
Tokyo is so hot right now (was it ever not?), and managing to capture the energy and excitement around this coolest of cuisines and cultures is this eye-popping new book by Tim Anderson. The neon pink-dipped pages peppered with interesting stories and lively snaps make this much more than your average cookbook. The great thing is it's packed more than 80 great recipes too. From streetfood faves (katsu sando, curry pan, dumplings) to ramen, complex curries and so much more, this one's a keeper. And will look very cool on your coffee table. AM
Breakfast The Cookbook by Emily Elyse Miller
From the "why hasn't someone done this before" files, this extraordinary global stop-and-taste tour of breakfasts around the world is a must for early risers and lovers of brunch, done in as-always fine Phaidon style. Work your way through hundreds of recipes extending far further than eggs (although there's plenty of those too), from our own legendary vegemite on toast to far-flung regional dishes such as Egyptian ful medames (stewed fava beans), each woven with cultural context so you can learn as you linger. Chuck out the cornflakes, the most important meal of the day just got a lot more interesting. AM
Good Food Favourite Recipes
Well, we might be a touch biased, but this is probably the best new cookbook of 2019. Good Food's first book is a beautifully photographed collection of more than 100 recipes from our super talented stable of world-class chefs, featuring your (and our) favourite recipes as featured in Good Food from cooking legends including Neil Perry, Adam Liaw, Kylie Kwong, Jill Dupleix and more. From quick weeknight winners to show-off dinner party desserts, carnivores to vegans and everything in between, there's plenty to go round for absolutely everyone. AM
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