These 7 Cookbooks Come Highly Recommended From the Bed Threads Book Club
Are you a member of Reads. by Bed Threads? You’ll find our book club on Facebook, where bookworms (and Bed Threads fans like you) share their reading lists, recommendations and book-related queries. If you’ve ever wanted to be part of a Facebook group that is all about sharing the literary love, this is the group for you.
Recently, a member posted asking for help expanding her horizons in the kitchen and we were overwhelmed with responses. There were some seriously good cookbooks being shared in the comment section of the post, ones that spanned the gamut of simple and easy-to-make recipes to more complicated and extravagant menus from cuisines from all over the world. We knew that the recommendations were too good not to share, so we decided to write up some of the most talked-about books here for you.
Happy cooking, everybody!
Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
We love all the Ottolenghi cookbooks equally, but we might love this one a little bit more equally than the others. Plenty is one of the most beloved titles from Israeli-born, London-based chef Yotam Ottolenghi, who has made a name for himself around the world for his colourful and modern dishes packed with flavour and life. The thing that sets Plenty apart is the way it approaches cooking vegetables and otherwise vegetarian dishes. If you’ve been wanting to add more greens to your daily meals, Ottolenghi will help you do it.
Jamie Oliver’s 5 Ingredients
In the other corner from Ottolenghi is Jamie Oliver. Where Ottolenghi’s recipes have (lovingly) been criticised for the length of their ingredients sections – though Ottolenghi has always maintained that many of his favourite ingredients, like harissa paste and preserved lemons, can be bought once and used across a number of recipes – this book prides itself on meals made from just five ingredients. Oliver really sticks to the challenge he has set himself and the results speak for themselves: fast, delicious food made from five or fewer components. This book will change the way you think about cooking.
Tokyo Cult Recipes
Ever wanted to cook more Japanese food at home but haven’t felt confident enough doing so? If your answer is yes, this cookbook, with its mission of demystifying and making accessible Japanese cuisine for everyone, needs to find a place in your bookshelf. There are recipes here for all the staples of Japanese food: sushi, soba noodles, bento boxes, miso and more, as well as Japanese cakes and desserts. But the best thing about it is how author Maori Murota digs into explaining the ingredients and techniques that you need to master in order to make delicious Japanese food at home.
Marion
Masterchef fans will remember Marion Grasby from season two, where the journalist was a firm fan favourite. Though she didn’t win the series, Grasby went on to have a successful career in food, publishing this eponymous cookbook in 2011. The recipes are a testament to Australia’s multicultural cuisine, drawing on Grasby’s Thai heritage as well as her years living across Australia and in Papua New Guinea. You’ll love cooking from this book but you’ll also enjoy reading the stories that Grasby writes to accompany each recipe, as well as her photographs of travel through Australia and Thailand.
The Secret Kitchen
We’ve never seen a cookbook quite like this one. Written by a naturopath, the recipes are modelled around seasons and moon cycles and accompanied by film photography by author Jana Brunclikova. Part food diary and part work of art, the book also features poetry and essays celebrating food as nourishment, sustenance and comfort.
The 15 Minute Vegan
Vegan food can feel intimidating but this cookbook wants to change that. Author Katy Beskow has come up with 100 recipes that are simple, fast and very tasty, using ingredients that are easy to find in supermarkets and green grocers. The end result is a celebration of vegan food and an introduction to a new way of cooking. Trust us, when Beskow says 15 minute vegan, she really means it.
Anna Jones: The Modern Cook’s Year
You might know Anna Jones from her vegetarian column in the Guardian. (Her recipes are part of the weekly food print and online magazine edited by Yotam Ottolenghi.) This book, her second, is a collection of everything that Jones does best. Using fruit and vegetables in new and exciting ways, Jones draws on the seasons to curate recipes that are fresh and tasty all year round. From hearty stews to zingy salads and syrupy cakes, studded with citrus fruit, these are recipes that will become instant classics in your home.
Lead image from Jamie Oliver's 5 Ingredients
Looking for more recipes? This is what the Bed Threads team have been cooking lately.
