Cooking the books
Have your rolling pins at the ready for Eithne Farry’s choice of mouthwatering new cookbooks
A Flash In The Pan: Simple,
Speedy Stovetop Recipes by John Whaite
(Kyle Books, £20)
Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite’s latest book is all about making speedy but sophisticated flavoursome food using basic kitchen equipment, a few sharp knives and a sprinkling of spices. The dishes can be made in 30 to 45 minutes and there’s no need for an oven as you can rustle up jalapeño chicken burger with Cheddar corn fritters, Vietnamese hot dogs bahn mi and burnt butter, sage and blue cheese omelette on the hob.
Eat Well For Less Every Day by Jo Scarratt-jones
(BBC Books, £14.99)
Featuring 80 recipes from the bbc’s hit show, Jo Scarratt-jones taps into the trend for healthy, tasty meals that won’t break the bank or take an age to prepare. She offers tips on budgeting, kitchen gadgets and making the best use of the freezer – go big on batch cooking is her advice. Alongside breakfast suggestions, snacks and light bites, the main meals are appealingly achievable. Pick from speedy vegetable biryani, aubergine chilli traybake and lentil and cumberland pie. Leon Happy Baking by Claire Ptak and Henry Dimbleby (Octopus, £16.99)
The authors hope that their baking book will become “batter-smattered, tacky with toffee and dog-eared through use” and it seems a likely outcome for recipes built on the belief that food should taste good and do you good, too. There are wheat, dairy and refined sugar-free offerings plus vegan and gluten-free options alongside more traditional savoury or sweet bakes from French onion tart and salmon and dill muffins to pineapple upside-down cake and Eccles cakes.
Baking With Kim-joy by Kim-joy
(Quadrille, £18)
Kim Joy was a finalist in the Great British Bake Off but her super-cute creations won her a place in the heart of bakers everywhere. Her book is just as appealing, with step-by-step photographic instructions, sweet illustrations by the author and a host of tasty treats in the shape of kittens, koalas and space turtles. She transforms a chocolate cake into a woodland retreat decorated with cookie deer, makes meringues into mushrooms, and bakes bee-shaped almond and honey biscuits. Delightful.