Istanbul – Globetrotter Travel Guide

The People’s Cookbook

UKTV Food was on to a winner with The People’s Cookbook. It wasn’t just a cookbook (the one you see before you) but a TV series of the same name. The judges for the competition, for competition it was, were Antony Worrall Thompson and Paul Rankin, but the authors of this book are the Great British Public.

The People’s Cookbook represents what good food is all about. It’s good ingredients, family and friends, and recipes that people love. These recipes are not just a list of instructions but more documents of history and heritage, and a catalyst for stories of joy, tragedy, courage and fun. You’ll know that these recipes are going to be good because they have stood the test of time. If grandma’s bread pudding had the texture of a brick then it’s unlikely that the next generation would have bothered to preserve the recipe.

I could happily tuck into any of these dishes and I can understand why people are proud of them. They don’t just cover the spectrum of traditional British fare but reflect the ethnic diversity that truly is modern Britain. Some recipes have been adapted from the original if the ingredients were hard to find in the UK, but the recipes don’t seem to have suffered for that.

Ann Keeling has a recipe for Chicken Earl. No, this isn’t a scaled down version of Chicken a la King but a delicious bake of chicken, bacon and vegetables. It’s the recipe from Ann’s home economics teacher Mrs. Earl. A great dish to fill up a family of four boys.

Bill Meswania came to the UK as a refugee from Uganda. They were sent to a camp on Dartmoor before being relocated and the food was a shock. Bill offers Beteta Wada Spiced Gujarati Potato Balls which are delicious with a tangy mint and yoghurt dip.

This is a heart-warming and charming book. It has recipes that are easy to follow and not over-taxing. It has delightful pictures not only of the food but of parents and grandparents who are the originators of most of the recipes. The contributors are passing on their culinary memories and that’s a gift usually reserved for family members. It’s a lovely book and a treat to read.

Cooking for Coco

Cooking for Coco? Strange name! Is it like working for peanuts? Not at all. This is such a charming book about foods for your baby, in this case Coco who is the daughter of Siân Blunos. That name might sound familiar. Siân is the wife of chef and well-known TV food demonstrator, Martin Blunos. He of the spectacular moustaches. So that’s the family introductions out of the way.

The meals for your baby are probably the most important you will ever prepare. You have the responsibility of feeding a balanced diet appropriate for their age, but had you considered that you are also moulding their eating habits? Don’t complain that your kids are picky eaters...it could be partly down to you!

Siân has three children, Coco being the last. She is a busy mum but wanted to give her kids the best quality and most interesting food. Both Siân and Martin are chefs and so they understand the joy of eating a wide range of foods, and why shouldn’t you start to enjoy those when you are a baby? How about a slightly revamped adult gourmet menu?

The idea is that you introduce your baby to as many different foods, flavours, textures as soon as they are able to eat them. Did you know that babies introduced to chewy foods early are less likely to grow up to be picky eaters? The wider variety of foods we eat the less likely we are to develop a whole list of serious illnesses in later life.

So you’re thinking that this sounds like a lot of extra work. Well, no! Think about it. If your kids can eat, and indeed expect to eat, the same as you then there is no additional preparation of hot dogs or fish fingers or anything in the shape of a monster. It’s just one meal for all members of the family, with a bit of blender work. There’s plenty of advice about freezing your homemade meals, so some evenings you won’t need to do any cooking at all. Like the sound of that?

The recipes are simple and flavourful. You’ll want to start with the fruit puree for small babies, but those purees would be lovely as adult desserts with perhaps a light dressing of crème fraiche. The veggie purees are versatile and would work well as either an adult side dish or part of a gratin. These aren’t dull and boring. Fennel and Potato Cheese Puree is sophisticated and delicious. The food will get chunkier but just as tempting as the months go by.

I am sure you have plenty of cookbooks for scrumptious adult food. Your baby deserves to have equally delectable and exciting tastes. You’ll swell with pride when your two-year-old says “Pass the kumquats, Mum”.

The Japanese Kitchen

500 Juices and Smoothies

Apple Press has a series of books called 500 something or other and this is one from that very series. They are chunky and colourful volumes and always great value for money. 500 Juices and Smoothies is written by Christine Watson who trained at Leith’s School of Food and Wine and she now works as a food writer and stylist.

This book has a wealth of recipes (well, 500 in fact) and they fall into various categories. There are simple smoothies and boozy blends, health tonics and thick and frosty mixes, but lots more. They couldn’t be easier to prepare so you have no excuse for not indulging. They are quick to make and portable as well.

We all need our “5 a day” and that’s a target that is sometimes difficult to achieve. I have a friend who says that red wine and crisps count as two but you could easily collect some of those five in the form of juices and smoothies...or you could munch away at a pile of Brussels sprouts!

You’ll need a few bits of equipment to be able to produce the best texture of smoothie or juice but Christine explains what you need and why. Then just add fruit and veggies with some other inexpensive ingredients and you’re off. This isn’t “cooking” so you see and taste the results in seconds.

The Health Tonics are what lots of us are interested in. Something to do us good with no E numbers or extra sugar. Maxi “C” gives a bit of a boost when you feel a cold coming on. There’s a Cold Remedy for those of you who didn’t drink the Maxi “C” in time, and a Digestion Smoothie which is a nasty name for a delicious, fibre-rich and healthy drink.

OK, so there are a few smoothies and shakes that are more for dessert than health but you can drink these when you are on your own. How about a Chocolate Marshmallow Cloud Shake or a Peanut Butter and Jam Smoothie! My favourite is probably Amaretto and Apricot Boozy Smoothie. Not for every day but what a treat!

Christine Watson has amassed a tempting list of mostly healthy and always delicious drinks that are made in moments. Buy this book and you’ll keep the blender out on the counter.

Brunch

Garden Feast

Garden Feast is an inspiring volume by Melissa King. She is a passionate gardener, TV presenter and writer with a degree in horticulture. The delicious recipes come from Heronswood Cafe in Victoria, Australia and offer lovely ideas for using the freshest of ingredients that have travelled less than 50 yards (45.72 metres) to reach your kitchen.

Melissa has written Garden Feast with, well, gardens in mind and the bias is towards those with space to cultivate, but anyone with a local farmers’ market or pick your own farm would enjoy this book. It’ll give you ideas for those seasonal gluts so you can make the best of fruit and veg when it’s at its cheapest.

Space to grow food doesn’t mean that you need acres of walled and romantic kitchen garden. There are plenty of tips in Garden Feast for those of us who only have a small area with some tubs. Think of the money you could save if you didn’t have to buy any more pricey bunches of herbs. How about a few leaves of cut-and-come-again lettuce? You could grow that on the balcony of a 6th floor flat.

There is a wealth of gardening information relevant to each plant, tree or root. You’ll learn about growing and harvesting as well as cooking. The important consideration when growing your own produce is to select what will grow well on your particular patch and to choose those things that you and your family will enjoy eating. Melissa provides you with everything you need to make a success of your vegetable garden.

The recipes are lovely and there are several for each fruit or vegetable. There are preserves, tarts, salads and bakes. They are tempting and designed to show off the depth of flavour that you will find with produce that has never seen the inside of a chilled lorry or supermarket.

Garden Feast is an ideal book for anyone thinking of growing their own produce. Don’t wait till next spring, start planning and get the wellies out.

Cooking with Booze

Wagamama – Ways with Noodles

There are over 120 noodles-based recipes here. Incredible but true! Hugo introduces us to various different types of noodles each with its own texture, flavour and form, and then it’s on to a handy list of common ingredients. Most are readily available from your local supermarket but there are several for which you might need to visit an Asian food store. Once you are set up with your store cupboard you are ready to tackle the recipes.

Perhaps I should say that you are now ready to tackle the soup stocks. Don’t think you can just use a cube of something salty and synthetic. The quality of the final dish depends on the stock so don’t cut corners. This isn’t rocket science - it’s easy to produce flavourful broths and there are even alternatives that use stock cubes (but good quality ones) with the addition of real veggies, etc.

OK, so let’s explore the main recipes. There are chapters on sauces, soups, wraps, in fact everything that is even slightly noodle-related. I was pleased to see a chapter devoted to children: kids love pasta of any kind, and it’s fun to try eating with chopsticks. There is a great selection of dishes here for youngsters to make (with mum or dad), to eat and enjoy. The recipes are simple with few ingredients but delicious combinations such as ginger, soy sauce, orange, chicken and sweetcorn...little hands might need a spoon for that one!

The recipes are truly scrumptious and provide ample choice for meat eaters, fish lovers and vegetarians alike. They are simple to make and rely on fresh ingredients. The dishes work well as a meal for one but equally for family feasts.

It’s difficult to select just a few recipes that typify this book. Its charm is that the dishes are so diverse. Pork Gyozas are meat-filled wontons, Prawn Salad Rolls are light and refreshing and don’t need cooking, but my favourite is Chicken and Egg Noodles with Black Bean Sauce. It’s one of those dishes that is embarrassingly easy but has robust favours and a texture that makes this a regular weekday dinner.

I confess that I am impressed with this book and I didn’t expect to be. I love noodles but I couldn’t imagine a whole volume of recipes. But here it is, and I’ll be using it often.

The Food and Wine Lover’s Guide to Portugal

Charles Metcalf and Kathryn McWhirter are a formidable team. I know of Charles from his numerous appearances on food-related shows like Good Food Live on the UKTV Food network. Kathryn has a wealth of experience as both a food and wine journalist and editor.

I had expected this book to be just a guide to Portuguese wine, but it’s much more than that. It is, in fact, just what the title says, a guide for lovers of both wine and food. It’s a sumptuous and chunky volume that I find most appealing. There is no verbal or graphic padding, this is just cover to cover information, lovely photographs, and charm.

This book works on two levels. First, as a guide for those who are lucky enough to take a trip to Portugal and second, for the rest of us who want to know more about the country and its food and wine. I should say that this book will very likely encourage you to go to Portugal even if you hadn’t considered it before.

Kathryn and Charles lead us around every region of Portugal, introducing us to wineries, directing us to good restaurants, pointing out places of interest along the way, and escorting us to the most comfy places to spend the night. You’ll feel confident that you’re getting the most out of your visit.

Let’s take Douro as just one example. It’s a region in North East Portugal. There’s a large-scale map with places of food- and wine-related interest and accommodation clearly marked. Next it’s pages and pages of information about wine. Remember we are just looking at the wine of this small region and there is a handy list of wines to watch out for. The next section covers food and where to buy it, either in a restaurant (there is a comprehensive list) or at a market, deli or specialist food shop.

You won’t want to be eating and drinking all the time, so take notice of the Exploring Douro pages that are full of ideas to pass the time. Boat trips, train rides, spectacular views and even local festivals are all listed, and after a long day you’ll pick your guest house from the dozens reviewed, relax with a glass of Port and make plans for tomorrow.

Every element of this book had been meticulously researched by people who have an obvious love of Portugal, its wines and its people. It’s informative, fascinating and a thoroughly gorgeous book. I hope that Charles Metcalf and Kathryn McWhirter will consider writing similar guides for other wine-producing countries.

Homestyle Asian

and I’d say it’s a winner. We are talking about the whole of Asia so the recipes are diverse. Each one is clear with photographs of the finished dish but also photographic step-by-step instructions and there is nutritional information for each recipe.

You will already be familiar with the cooking techniques - stir-frying, steaming, etc - and the ingredients are almost all to be found in the local supermarket. It’s the combinations of spices and fresh vegetables or meats that makes Asian cooking so popular. We all want to eat healthier foods that don’t take ages to cook.

Homestyle Asian covers everything from soup to salad, curry to dessert. The book is divided by food rather than country so the chapter on noodles and rice includes Udon Noodles from Japan, Phad Thai from Thailand, Chinese Fried Rice, Singapore Noodles, etc.

There are lots of classic recipes from all over Asia: California Rolls (have you never heard of Continental Drift?), Tempura, Sichuan Chicken, Thai Beef Salad, Chilli Crab, Nasi Goreng and many more. This is a one-stop Asian cookbook!

 There are quite a few dishes that are new to me. Hot and Sour Lime Soup with Beef sounds tangy and interesting, Chilli Octopus Salad will be flavourful and light, and Noodle Cakes with Chinese Barbecued Pork will be a stunner for a smart lunch.

There is a nice selection of Asian desserts that would make an exotic end to your meal. I am often at a loss and it’s too easy to resort to ordinary fruit salad, but how about a fruit salad with pineapple, papaya, star fruit and ramboutans! There is a scrumptious Coconut Ice Cream and you don’t even need an ice-cream maker, but the most striking has got to be Sticky Black Rice sweetened with palm sugar. It’s easy to make but will be both delicious and memorable.

Don’t open this book unless you have got a nice cup of tea or glass of red wine. You won’t want to put it down. A lovely book and great value for money.

A Pike in the Basement

Simon Loftus has had a life filled with travel and food. That’s a combination that can bring both pleasure and pain and, in this case, some witty stories. His experiences will make you laugh out loud and you’ll admire his fortitude.

A Pike in the Basement - Tales of a Hungry Traveller is a history of Simon’s food-related life. The chapter headings are charming (Harvest Lunch), thought-provoking (Bullets and Smashed Homelettes), worrying (Shoot a Sheep for Breakfast) and delicious (Fried Eggs and Chapatis). So now you are hooked (nice link, huh?) and you just need to know more, before you even read the first paragraph.

A flooded basement started Simon on his quest for good food and drink. He was seven years old when a flood filled his father’s cellar. His dad decided to drink the wine stored there before it was contaminated by the salt water. Simon can still remember his first sip of ’45 Mouton Rothschild and he didn’t grow up to be a lager lout!

This is a man with a sense of adventure and a taste for fine food. I don’t necessarily mean expensive meals and rare ingredients but the right dish at the right time in the right place. Simon’s memories revolve around food (and drink) and he has collected some marvellous ones during his travels. His constitution has enabled him to survive encounters that would have defeated a lesser man (or woman). Those experiences have been retold with great humour but I am still not persuaded that a glass of Retsina is a good idea for breakfast!

“A fresh peach brings back a walled garden in Brittany, the smell of saffron recalls paella in Andalusia, and the succulence of a watermelon evokes a dusty afternoon in Isfahan.” Well, how romantic is that! But this isn’t an over-sincere travelogue, it’s a rollicking good read. Simon is a cross between Delia Smith and Indiana Jones.

You’ll love this book if you have passions for either food and drink or travel. It’s poetic and a lot of fun.

China to Chinatown

There can’t be a single town in the UK or North America that can’t boast at least a Chinese takeaway or a brace or two of Chinese restaurants, but have you ever wondered why it’s Chinese food that is so ubiquitous and not, say, Malay or Turkish?

J.A.G. Roberts has written China to Chinatown – Chinese Food in the West and it’s a book that goes some way towards charting the history of our (that is, western) relationship with those delicious dishes that have been loved and loathed in turn over the last couple of hundred years.

Eighteenth and nineteenth century Europeans living in China were very reluctant to even try Chinese food. It was often more of a reflection of social prejudice than dislike for a cuisine they knew nothing about. It’s true that there were (and still are) a few challenging dishes. The prospect of eating dogs was, and still is, rather distasteful to Europeans who are more comfortable eating a cute fluffy lamb or bunny.

Chinese food became more popular to westerners when they had the opportunity to eat Chinese food on home territory. Some of the first restaurants frequented by Europeans were in California where there was a sizable Chinese population, and having your own Chinese chef became a status symbol.

There have been various “Chinatowns” around Britain for a considerable time. These were not places that most of the indigenous population would frequent. They were considered as dens of vice with laundries, and the few eateries catered to the Chinese, with no concessions to western tastes.

These last decades have see our eating habits change, and now Chinese food is no longer considered strange or fear-provoking. “Instant” Chinese food was available in supermarkets in the 70s and fish and chip shops run by Chinese might also sell a spring roll or two.

Ken Hom had a popular TV cooking series in the 80s and he helped to present Chinese food as delicious, fresh and different. Most of us have a wok at home and now find Chinese restaurants that don’t offer European dishes, and these days you’ll have to ask for a fork. We have come to expect higher standards and are more eager to try authentic dishes.

The swings in popularity of Chinese food have had more to do with the politics of the moment rather than culinary preferences. More Chinese have come to the UK and food is big business. The days of deeply-felt suspicions are gone and the rumours of cat skins being found in dustbins are now consigned to the annals of urban myth.

It’s been a fascinating evolution and J.A.G. Roberts has penned an absorbing account. China to Chinatown probably tells us as much about our own attitudes as host community as it does about food.  A worthwhile read.

The Rough Guide to China

Stylish Indian in Minutes

This volume just oozes class. Gus Filgate is one of the best photographers around and his stunning pictures are contrasted marvellously by black and white shots of striking Indian ladies and gentlemen at cocktail parties and dinners.

Monisha had found the preparation of authentic Indian food in the UK to be something of a challenge for her British friends. Her professional training had equipped her to produce classic dishes which were popular with everyone, but she wanted to develop recipes that gave the sense of smart home cooking to the British audience. The Indian cookbooks Monisha found in the UK presented Indian food as complicated, over-exotic and only to be tackled by those with endless time and the support of several assistants!

Her skill allowed Monisha to ditch the European-targeted Indian cookbooks and devise her own techniques to provide truly authentic dishes, the sort that are made by truly authentic Indians! All of the ingredients used in

Traditional Teatime Recipes

This is a lovely book from Jane Pettigrew and The National Trust. It draws on Jane’s expertise as a tea expert (nice choice of words, huh?) and presents what must be one of the finest collections of traditional recipes for afternoon tea goodies.

The British are known to be big tea drinkers but we are in fact only third in the world for tea consumption after Ireland and the Arab States. We have, however, cultivated tea drinking into a cross between the formality of the Japanese Tea Ceremony and the informality of a children’s picnic. There are rules about how to make a “nice cup of tea” and even the use of forks for cake-eating. The fun aspect is that you do get to eat cakes and tarts and biscuits and buns....

Traditional Teatime Recipes is a book full of the most delightful sweet things that we (well, anyone of my age and older) will remember from Sunday teas at auntie’s, tea rooms and smart hotels on rainy afternoons. These are truly the cakes that we ate, and the same cakes that some of us were taught to make in cooking lessons...when there were cooking lessons!

What could be nicer than an afternoon at one of the The National Trust’s wonderful properties? These days there are welcoming and comfortable cafés which will be happy to ply you with some teatime favourites. Have  a sit down, a cup of tea and a slice or two of, say, Orange Gingerbread or Chocolate Rum Cake, even a couple of Yorkshire Curd Tarts (those are to die for)!

Each recipe has a little history, and they tell us that, yes, we have been baking delicious cakes for centuries. The recipes are easy to follow and would hold no terrors for even a novice cook. The ingredients are not expensive or exotic, but you will find the finished articles to be scrumptious and irresistible.

It’s good to see that the art of Afternoon Tea is enjoying something of a renaissance. There is a lot of interest in tea generally, now that its health benefits have been publicised. Jane has suggested various types of tea to drink with the cakes. For Petworth Pudding, Jane advises Kenyan or China Yunnan; Fat Rascals, that’s the name of these fruity buns, would be best served with Yorkshire tea.

Afternoon tea is a very agreeable way to pass some time. A chance to relax, enjoy a cup of reviving Earl Grey and a munch on a little bit of tradition. There is everything in this book you would need to host an authentic tea party, or why not just put your feet up and pamper yourself!

Eating for Victory

This is a fascinating book of reproductions of official Second World War instruction leaflets, and it will bring back memories for many a grandmother who had to feed a family on rations that seem very meagre by today’s standards.

Picture this, dear reader: Britain is at war and imported produce has to run the gauntlet of enemy U-boats and battleships. Most of the men were away fighting but that still left millions of people at home working for the war effort. There was a risk that food wouldn’t last and so a strategy was adopted that gave fair shares to all, introduced the housewife to strange new products and taught her what to do with them.

Parks were dug up to grow vegetables, and people were encouraged to use their own gardens to produce as much food as possible. Chickens and rabbits were kept in many a back yard. City dwellers didn’t naturally have the countryman’s matter-of-fact attitude to livestock and were often reluctant to eat what had become a family member.

Rationing had the strange effect of actually improving the diet of many Britons. The depression years between the wars brought unemployment and poor health through lack of even basic nutrition. The Second World War brought full employment and rations that were, for some, better than the food that they were used to.

Housewives were tempted (oh, no they were not!) with whale meat and tins of spam, but children grew up not knowing what a banana was. A week’s ration consisted of 100g bacon, 6p worth of meat, 50-100g cheese, 100g margarine, 225g sugar, 50g tea, 1 egg, 2-3pints milk. Children had extra cod liver oil. Lucky kids!

Eating for Victory is full of recipes for things like Cheese and Vegetable Cutlets which sound quite nice. It’s a patty of mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, onion and cheese. The cheese is just described as “Cheese” so I guess there was just one sort.

Powdered milk and eggs were available and War Cookery Leaflet Number 11 is all about dried egg. This was pure egg that had been spray-dried but could be used in cooking once reconstituted with water. There is a chapter on Cakes Biscuits and Scones without Eggs and the recipes look very good.

The recipes all seem healthy although I think a modern diner might add a bit more seasoning, a raspberry vinaigrette or chilli-infused peanut oil. There are plenty of vegetables, and meat is more of a condiment. There are basic instructions for tart-making and bottling vegetables as well as advice on healthy eating.

Anyone with a passion for British food and its history will be enchanted by this book. It captures a dark time in our history but shows that life on the home front continued. Mums cooked, kids complained and people managed.

A Taste of China

A Taste of China is one of Ken Hom’s first books and probably one of the best. It’s now back in print and I would urge anyone who has an interest in China and its food to buy a copy.

This is described as the definitive guide to regional cooking and it is indeed that, but it’s also a very personal and charming journey. Ken visits his family and an ancestral shrine with his mother for the first time, and finds that he is very much at home. It’s Ken’s relationship with the Chinese people that has allowed him to write this unique book.

Ken Hom was one of the first and is still one of the most respected Chinese food writers and was the first to make Chinese food truly accessible to the British home cook. His quiet reserve and his evident passion endeared him to millions. This book reflects just that same passion and pride.

 Some of the dishes will be quite familiar to lovers of Chinese food and they are classics. Ken has included a number of family recipes and that adds so much to the quality of this volume. Every single recipe has a history or anecdote to give some background to the dish and to fire the imagination. This is a book to read before you even consider putting a hand on a wok, and could almost be part of an autobiography.

There is not much here for which you would need a trip to Chinatown. All the ingredients are now quite common in any average UK high street with an Asian supermarket. It’s the combinations of flavours that make these dishes something special. There is nothing taxing about the cooking methods but all these recipes are authentic, diverse and delicious. There are examples of street food, health-reviving recipes, restaurant dishes, and city and country cooking.

One of my favourite dishes for a quick meal is Dan Dan Mian (Spicy Sichuan Noodles). It’s flavourful, fragrant and if you try it once I promise you will make it often. It represents a typical spicy dish of the region of Sichuan but it’s also typical of Ken’s recipes, being simple to make but giving delicious results.

This is one of those “must have” cookbooks. It has already stood the test of time and seems as fresh and absorbing as it did when first published. It’s a fascinating story of a chef’s homecoming and a wonderful introduction to the rich tapestry of Chinese food.

Provence Cookery School

Gui Gedda is the essential element to the success of this book/school. He is the chef who ran a popular Provencal restaurant in Bormes-les-Mimosa not far from where I lived in Le Lavandou. He has written books and had also run cooking courses. Just the right chap for the job of chef for this new enterprise.

You have a full week at the school with each day filled with visits to markets and learning how to choose the best produce. You’ll learn how to make the most authentic of Provencal dishes (yes, I can vouch for their authenticity). There will be time to consider the merits of Aperitifs, and you will feel that your “stay” has been worthwhile.

The first day starts with a look at basic store cupboard ingredients and some equipment. There is nothing very exotic and you won’t feel that you need a trip to Marseille to buy that very special cast iron, blue-enamelled casserole dish...although that would be very nice!

The week progresses with days filled with lessons, tastings, delicious meals with delectable desserts and the odd glass of rosé. You’ll almost feel the warmth of the last rays of the setting sun... and you haven’t even moved from 13 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam.

The recipes are just what you would find in Provencal restaurants but, more importantly, in Provencal homes. They are not dishes rich with creamy sauces. This is olive country, remember. It’s all healthy and full of flavour with ingredients that give a tang such as anchovies, goat’s cheese, radishes and ..er, what was the other thing? Oh, yes, garlic.

The selection of recipes is lovely with everything from meat to sweet. None of the dishes will be over-taxing and the instructions are clear with plenty of amazing photographs to tempt you. The nature of Provencal food revolves around freshness and simplicity. Yes, it’s classy but if French housewives can do it, so can you.

Sunday Roast

Green and Black’s Chocolate Recipes

Jam with Lamb

Spicing Up Britain

No, dear reader, this isn’t another chilli-laden recipe book but rather a book about us British - how our food has developed over the last 150 years and what that development says about us as a nation. Panikos Panayi has written a well-researched and absorbing book that explains the progression from traditional to Tikka Masala.

Britain, and especially its cities, has long been the final destination of immigrants fleeing persecution, looking for freedom or a better life. They brought with them skills and a longing for a taste of home. It was a story repeated with each successive and diverse group that arrived. Chinese, Italians, Jews, Germans, Indians all sought familiar foods.

Perhaps the most evident culinary influence has been that of immigrants from India, but this impact can be traced back much further than the 1970s. Mrs. Beaton has numerous recipes for Indian dishes although they could be said to owe more to Anglo India than a maharaja’s kitchen. We have taken to the warming and aromatic spices of the subcontinent in a big way.

The first Chinese and Indian restaurants were set up to provide familiar food to workers who didn’t have cooking facilities or wives to make the meals. The Jewish community had to provide their own grocers and butchers to be assured of keeping Kosher, and before the First World War there were even numerous German restaurants, bakers and bars to be found in cities all over the UK.

There is no denying that Britain has had a bad reputation for food but we have embraced the cuisine of other ethnic groups and made a new British cuisine. The “Indian” food here would probably seem strange to a resident of Mumbai, and a Chinese exchange student wouldn’t recognise much in the local Take-Away. Fish and chip shops (selling those fish and chips that might not actually be as British as you think they are) are run by Greeks and you can have “curry” sauce on your fries, and there are shelves of bagels and Caribbean vegetables in every supermarket.

Panikos Panayi was born in London to Greek Cypriot parents. He is married to Mundeep who is an Indian Sikh. The blood in my family is Irish, English, Indian, Swedish, French and Polish. Spicing Up Britain is about who we are, and the way we eat illustrates that in a colourful and inclusive way. It’s a thoroughly good read!

Feeding the Gods

The Really Useful Ultimate Student Vegetarian Cookbook

Great British Food

Crust

This is the second bread book by Bath-based baker Richard Bertinet and doesn’t disappoint. If you have Dough in your cookbook collection you will already have reserved a bit of space just next to it for this sequel.

Richard has a very different technique for kneading dough but if you follow his method you will be producing the lightest bread imaginable. Crust is the book for you if you have failed in the past to produce a loaf that is anything other than brick-like.

Photographer Jean Cazals has, once again, produced fine pictures that illustrate the process of bread making. The combination of Richard’s written instructions and Jean’s photographs enable you to feel confident that you can, with practice, achieve a professional and tasty loaf, or Bath Bun, or Gingerbread Biscuit...or many other delicious baked treats.

Crust, like Dough, has a DVD included which gives detailed instructions for the slightly more complicated breads like Sourdough. I say more complicated but it’s not a difficult process to make fabulous traditional Sourdough. Richard takes the fear out of fermented bread and teaches you that, yes, you can do this at home. You are missing something very special if you have never tasted Sourdough bread. It has a flavourful tang that is unique.

Home bread-making allows you to use different types of flour to produce, using the same kneading and baking process, amazingly different breads. There are no additives to increase shelf life, no flavour enhancers. You have total control over the bread your family eats. Your additives will be some whole grains, some raisins, some nuts.

Richard was born in Brittany so it’s no surprise that he also includes Croissants and my very favourite, Brioche. It’s not as difficult as you might imagine to present warm, fragrant, sweet breads for Sunday breakfast. All the information is in this book to enable you to impress the in-laws with your skill, and I promise that shop-bought croissants will never cross your threshold ever again.

Most of us eat bread every day. It’s a healthy part of our diet if we make good choices. There are lots of different flours to try that will help to improve digestion and manage problems like wheat intolerance. You take care to buy the best fruit, vegetables, meat and fish because it’s important to give your family good food. Baking your own bread is another way (and an easy, fun way) of ensuring flavourful and nutritious meals...and the kids will never ask for white sliced again.

Leaves from our Tuscan Kitchen

This is already a classic and a much-sought-after volume by them in the know. It is indeed utterly charming, not only visually but in content. It is a cookbook but also a family history.

This collection of recipes was first published in 1899 but they couldn’t be further removed from Mrs. Beaton. Janet Ross (1842-1927) collected the recipes of Giuseppe Volpi who was her cook for over 30 years. Michael Waterfield, Janet’s great-great nephew adapted her original, but now more than thirty years later he has revised and updated that edition.

Leaves from our Tuscan Kitchen was the forerunner of modern recipe books. It was the first to present vegetables as serious food rather than just as the frilly bits around the meat. It also considers vegetables that were not common in British greengrocers at the turn of the century, and so Leaves from a Tuscan Kitchen can truly be said to be a book before its time.

It isn’t a big volume stuffed with gorgeous pictures but it has a gloriously simple, clear layout, easy to follow recipes and it’s a book to read and enjoy. The list of ingredients and method are incorporated into a journey through the recipe, in a way that is both descriptive and clear.

If you buy seasonal vegetables then you will appreciate Janet Ross’ enthusiasm for fresh produce. Each vegetable has its own chapter, with additional chapters devoted to mixed vegetables, mixed salads, rice, pasta and soups as well as white truffles, which might not be on your regular shopping list for the local Tescburyrose supermarket.

The recipes seem so fresh and modern that it’s hard to believe that they are more than a century old. We have access to lovely vegetables and a greater variety than our great-grandmothers would have dreamt of. Fried Fennel with Tomatoes and Garlic with a Crisp Topping is one of my favourites from this book but there are so many that are simple, quick and surprising. Giuseppe Volpi had colourful and healthy produce to hand and he evidently made good use of it.

Rose Gray of the River Cafe said of this book, “When I moved to Tuscany in the early eighties and started to cook with vegetables from my garden, wild leaves and locally grown produce, Leaves from Our Tuscan Kitchen was my inspiration.”  Read it and you’ll find the same inspiration.

Jams and Chutneys

Well, the name says it all, Jams and Chutneys – Preserving the Harvest, and Thane Prince has penned this book choc-a-bloc with ideas, recipes and technical know-how. Follow the advice and by the end of the year your shelves will be bending under the weight of bottled goods.

Thane grew up in the countryside when homemade preserves were, if not the norm, at least more common than they are these days. It’s not a difficult process to make a delicious jam or chutney and all the rules and recipes are here to ensure success.

If you are a beginner then have a good read of the Techniques chapter before you do anything. It’s all logical and the advice is sound. How demanding can it be? People have been doing this for generations with less classy equipment than you will have to hand. You need to pay attention to temperatures and sterilization but then you can get on and make some truly delectable preserves.

Thane has recipes for all the usual jams such as Blackberry, Raspberry, Apricot, etc. but there are some additional items. Berry Vinegar and Tarragon Vinegar, amongst others, are easy to make, cheap to make and would be great gifts for any food lover. That’s the joy of this kind of process. It’s as much about sharing as preserving.

Just reading this book will give you ideas for using your own produce or buying from the market when the fruit season is in full swing. If you are a jam eater you will love the flexibility of making your own. Thane’s recipes are lovely but you will be able to adapt those to your taste once you have mastered the basics.

Some of my favourites from this book are Cinnamon Apple Jelly, clear and jewel-like; Pink Pickled Ginger that looks just like the shop-bought sort but for a fraction of the price; Mango Chutney that is surprisingly easy to make; and Pears in White Wine with Lemongrass. How smart would that be!

It’s so easy to produce something sweet and comforting or spicy and zesty from inexpensive ingredients. There will be no food colourings, no E numbers and no strange chemicals. You will notice the difference in flavour and so will your family.

Thane Prince is a well-respected author and columnist, and she has used all her expertise to produce this informative and attractive volume. It will give bottling beginners confidence, and practised preservers some new ideas.

Bamboo – A Journey with Chinese Food

Tarts and Pies

Culinary Jottings for Madras

“I should recommend anyone with a taste for Victorian gastronomic literature to snap him up...His recipes are so meticulous and clear, that the absolute beginner could follow them, yet at the same time he has much to teach the experienced cook.” That’s from the great Elizabeth David.

Culinary Jottings for Madras was written by WYVERN who was really Colonel Arthur Robert Kenney-Herbert. He had a military career in India from 1858 till his retirement in 1892 and this book is an icon of the time and the place.

He served as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General for part of his military service and that experience evidently gave him the confidence to attempt to transform the domestic kitchens of the Europeans in India.

It’s hard to imagine those times of huge dinner parties in sweltering heat with menus that were little changed from those of a country house in England in mid-winter. The British were for the most part unwilling to change their culinary habits and must have suffered for it.

The chapter headings well illustrate the order of things. Three chapters on Sauces, A Few Nice Pies, Our Curries, and that’s just in Part 1. Part 2 consists of Thirty Menus – Worked Out In Detail, all those menus being for four or six people. He continues with For a Little Home Dinner, comprising for example, soup, fish with a sauce, lamb, mash, aubergine, blancmange, cheese, dessert and coffee. A nice quiet night in!

WYVERN saves the best till last with a whole chapter devoted to Our Kitchens in India. He instructs on everything from the kitchen building to staff management. His description of the common state of kitchens indicates the reason why so many Europeans died young!

This is a recognised classic and I can understand why. It offers a look at a totally different era with attitudes that are long gone (thank goodness). WYVERN writes well in a style that is Victorian and charming. It isn’t a book whose recipes you are likely to follow, but you won’t buy this book to use the recipes. You’ll enjoy the experience of the Raj at its height and understand why it couldn’t last!

Korean Cuisine – An illustrated history

It is, as it says, an illustrated history and those pictures add much to understanding what Korean food is all about. It has been influenced by China and Japan and, in more recent times, the West. The cuisine remains, however, unique and is well worth investigating should you be lucky enough to cross the threshold of a Korean restaurant.

Table etiquette developed over thousands of years. Each diner would be presented with a small individual table with the dishes already in place. Men were often served before women, who would eat in another part of the house. This practice has largely given way to the Western custom of eating together at a regular-sized table.

Many Westerners are convinced that Korean food consists of nothing more than Kimch’i (fermented cabbage) and dog meat. It’s true that Kimch’i is very popular and just as much these days as ever, though it isn’t just fermented cabbage but vegetables in general that are considered Kimch’i. There are hundreds of varieties and this was originally the food of desperation. As much food as possible would have been preserved to stave off hunger during the hard winters.

Dog meat is still a ticklish issue but then we are looking at the subject through European eyes. Perhaps if cows were fluffy, friendly and kept our feet warm we would all be vegetarian!

Korean barbecued meats are famous for flavour and succulence, and the mixed vegetable and rice dishes are healthy and delicious... But a more recent development in Korean cuisine sounds a bit unlikely and involves tins of Spam and other processed meats. It’s said that these Military Camp Stews date from the time of the US presence, when the local population would use surplus military rations. It’s becoming a restaurant favourite these days!

Korean eating utensils sum up its place in Asian food culture. Koreans use both chop sticks and spoons. The spoons are not the same as the Western version, having a shallower bowl. The chop sticks are unusual in that they are traditionally metal rather than wood. They are shorter and flatter than Chinese and don’t have pointed ends like the Japanese chopsticks. This country has adapted and borrowed from outside and has evolved a varied and different cuisine.

Korean Cuisine by Michael J. Pettid is a comprehensive and fascinating look at a truly different food culture.

The Fifth Quarter

India Food and Cooking

Pat Chapman is famous among Anglo curry enthusiasts as a passionate Indian food lover and the man who started the Curry Club over 20 years ago. Its members now number 15000 so there is evidently support for Pat’s take on food of the subcontinent.

This is a hefty volume with the first 60-odd pages devoted to the history of India and the evolution of its food, tools and equipment, and basic preparation. He goes into great detail about the spices before we reach the recipes. His research is obviously thorough and adds a lot to the overall quality of the book.

There are a great many “Modern Chef’s Recipes”, with Spiced Stuffed Peppers being the offering from London chef Pital Gopal. Creamy Brown Lentils is a dish based on a recipe from London restaurateur Camilia Panjabi. Beef Tomatoes stuffed with gorgonzola is another chef recipe which is obviously a bit of a fusion dish.

Most of the recipes are said to be authentic and Pat give the region from where these originate. They are a delicious bunch and cover everything from starters through meats and vegetables to drinks. There is even an interesting item about the famous Bombay Duck, which I haven’t seen for years. It’s not a duck at all but rather an eel-shaped fish that is filleted and dried and used as a condiment.

My favourite recipe would have to be the Raan, Aromatic Roast Lamb. This is succulent leg of lamb, and the meat just falls from the bone. It’s savoury and delicious and easy to make. You can marinate the lamb for up to 60 hours (be warned, your fridge will smell of spice for all those 60 hours) and then just roast for 3 hours. It’s an ideal Sunday meal for a crowd.

Kulfi, Indian ice cream, makes a welcome end to any spicy meal and you don’t need to invest in an ice cream maker. Pat lists several varieties all using the basic recipe but with the additions of either chocolate, pistachio, mango or almonds. Yum!

The Chutney and Pickle chapter has Pat’s wife’s Sweet and Hot Tomato Chutney. It’s a clear chutney that looks attractive and bright. The traditional Lime Pickle would be the one for me and you can also use the same recipe to create a lemon pickle.

India Food and Cooking would be a good choice for anyone wanting to know a lot more about Indian food and history. There is plenty of reading, marvellous pictures and recipes to make your mouth water.

Nobody Does It Better

Dough

This chap Richard Bertinet has really got something here. It’s a totally different approach to bread-making and it’s explained and illustrated in his book Dough.

I am ashamed to say that I didn’t know much about Richard’s work before reading this book but now I am an enthusiastic convert of this man from Brittany. I make bread about twice a week so this will be a hands-on adventure.

How can Richard’s method of bread-making be so very different from others? Have a look at the DVD (each copy of the book comes with one) and you will see. I would say that the DVD is an essential part of understanding and enjoying the process. I will go further and say that if I had used Richard’s recipe for basic dough but my usual method of kneading, I would have been shocked and I probably would have complained about a printing error!

It’s all about...well, the dough! It’s far softer that regular dough and gives the impression of being just one step away from sauce! Watch the DVD and you will see Richard transform this unpromising semi-liquid into the silkiest, airiest dough you would ever have seen. You will be as amazed as I was and will want to have a go right away.

Dough starts with Richard’s basic bread recipes and takes us down different avenues. By the time you have finished reading the book and practised a bit you will be able to make 50 varieties of scrumptious, professional-looking bread.

Richard offers examples of dozens of the usual bread suspects but also some spectacular additions which will become as popular as Delia’s Sticky Toffee Pudding, quicker than you can say Mon Dieu!  Puff balls are light hollow spheres just waiting to be filled with some kind of extraordinary salad. What a presentation! Or how about a soup bowl made from bread, or an Apricot and Oat loaf made from Richard’s brown bread dough. Who could resist a home-made doughnut from the sweet dough chapter? Any of us who are transported by those delicious Mediterranean breads will love Richard’s olive dough and the colourful and sun-filled breads made from it.

The photography by Jean Cazals is marvellous. Not only does he show the finished breads to perfection but also the illustrations of the step-by-step method are helpful and easy to follow. This large format book and its DVD is a real winner.

A Passion for Cheese

A Passion for Cheese is another classy book by Paul Gayler. The visual delight is supplied by, once again, Gus Filgate and his camera. The book offers us more than 130 ways to cook with cheese but it also enlightens us about cheese making, choosing and storing cheese and what wine might work best. I guess Paul must know what he is talking about as he is a member of the Guild de Fromages.

There are so many more lovely cheeses now available and this volume helps you choose something a bit different. Traditional Cheddar is a wonderful cheese but there are others that deserve a try.

It’s a large format book with clear and easy to follow recipes. Although there are vegetarian recipes aplenty, A Passion for Cheese isn’t a vegetarian cookbook. There are a surprising number of fish as well as meat dishes that use cheese as a key ingredient. Saffron-grilled Cod Fillet with a mash rich in cheese sounds divine served, as Paul suggests, with some French beans...and perhaps a glass of a chilled white?

There is a basic cheese sauce and some alternatives, and then a selection of cheese butters. These are easy to prepare and will last a good long while in the freezer. It’s a real cheat’s way of elevating a quick grilled steak or fish. Roquefort and Green Peppercorn Butter would be my choice for a steak with green salad. Ricotta, Lemon Thyme and Garlic Butter would be a flavourful finish to some simple roast chicken.

A Passion for Cheese has some simple salads that are mad