Books are the gift that keep on giving.
Cookbooks, we think, even more so.
If you have a real foodie on your list, or just fancy upping your cooking game yourself in 2019, we think you cannot go wrong with this amazing crop of new cookbooks.
These are bound to tempt you into trying something new in the kitchen (whether it is eating more plant-based, perfecting your Sunday roast or assembling the perfect no-bake cheesecake):
1. The Jewelled Table
The Middle East has such a rich, intricate, and wonderful heritage of hospitality and food, and this beautiful book (which is stunning enough to sit out on your coffee table) proves just that. Bethany Kehdy’s ‘soul cooking’ includes vibrant and colourful dishes, from candied beetroot maqluba (fragrant rice) with smoked mackerel and orange blossom, to baby aubergines stuffed with garlic, walnut and pomegranate. The perfect way to impress at your next dinner party.
€30, Brown Thomas
2. Just A French Guy Cooking
French Guy Cooking is a YouTube sensation with half a million subscribers. A Frenchman living in Paris, Alex loves to demystify cooking by experimenting with food and cooking methods to take the fear factor out of the kitchen. He wants to make cooking fun and accessible, and he charms his viewers with his geeky approach to food.
In this, his debut cookbook, he shares 90 of his absolute favourite recipes, some of which feature step-by-step photography from amazingly tasty toast and pizza ideas all the way to some classic but super-simple French dishes.
£10.50, Amazon.co.uk
3. Vegan-ish
Whether you are already a committed vegan or just curious about this increasingly popular diet which has so many health and environmental benefits, allow Holly White to take you on a mouth-watering journey through her own slow conversion to a plant-based diet. Vegan-ish includes over 100 of the delicious, everyday recipes she has created, as well as practical advice on when and how to change your diet, food swaps, eating out and shopping economically for plant-based foods.
€19.99, Bookstation.ie
4. The Nordic Baking Book
Nordic culture is renowned for its love of baking and baked goods: hot coffee is paired with cinnamon buns spiced with cardamom, and cold winter nights are made cozier with the warmth of the oven. And now you can get your hands on all these yummy recipes in this gorgeous new book.
€41.93, Easons
5. Roast Revolution
The pictures alone are enough to make you mouth water. Revolutionise your roasts with this sumptuous selection of contemporary roast dinner recipes, with ideas for meat, fish and inspired veggie centrepieces plus rib-sticking desserts and thirst-quenching cocktails.
£10.58, Amazon.co.uk
6. Cravings: Hungry for More
So popular was her first cookbook that Chrissy Teigen’s fans immediately requested a book #2.
After two years of parenthood, falling in love with different flavours, and relearning the healing power of comfort food, Cravings: Hungry for More is like Chrissy’s new edible diary: recipes for quick-snap meals; recipes for lighter, brighter healthier-ish living; and recipes that, well, are gonna put you to bed, holding your belly.
£11.23, Amazon.co.uk
7. What’s Gaby Cooking
We have been obsessed with her Instagram account and her delicious, California-living inspired recipes for ages, and now that Gaby Dalkin has made a cookbook out of it, well let’s just say it’s topping our wish-list.
£23.48, Amazon
8. Carbs
The book we’ve all been waiting for – celebrating the most beloved food group of all: Carbs.
And anyway, global medical guidelines now say carbohydrates should make up 50% of our daily food intake, and that skipping them could lead to long-term health issues.
Whether you’ve always been a die-hard carb lover, or you’d like to learn to love them again, this book has the recipes you need. There are rice bowls, pizzas, pastas, tacos, toasties, muffins, loaves, and oh-so-many ways with the glorious potato, king of the carbs (including all the chip hacks you can shake your salt at). It’s time to put carbs back on the table.
£10.04, Amazon
9. Deliciously Ella – The Plant-Based Cookbook
If you ever wanted to try to eat more plant-based, this is the one cookbook you absolutely need to have in your kithchen. Ella’s simple vegan recipes cover everything from colourful salads to veggie burgers and falafel, creamy dips and sides, hearty one-pot curries and stews, speedy breakfasts, weekend brunches, muffins, cakes and brownies, and are the recipes that Mills’ thousands of customers have been asking for since the deli first launched in 2015.
£7.99, Amazon
10 Pleesecakes
These 60 AWESOME no-bake cheesecake recipes are about to change your life (and possibly your waistline too!). The best bit? The inventive toppings and out-of-this-world flavour combinations will have you drooling with anticipation, and they couldn’t be easier to make. In other words; the perfect Christmas present for someone with a serious sweet-tooth.
£8.99, Amazon
