Cookbook reviews

Peppered Steak with Whisky Sauce
Peppered Steak with Whisky Sauce

Peppered Steak with Whisky Sauce excerpted from Comfort in One: Simple, joyful one pot meals – The Sunday Times Bestseller by Hari Beavis. Photography by Dan Jones.

Comfort in One: Simple, joyful one pot meals - The Sunday Times Bestseller by Hari Beavis

‘Gen Z’s new favourite chef’
The Times

Dive into a world of easy comfort food with the latest cookbook from Sunday Times bestselling author Hari Beavis.

Renowned for her down-to-earth approach and irresistible flavours, Hari brings you a collection of heart-warming meals that require just one pan, pot, tray or tin.

Each dish comes with handy alternative ingredient suggestions, allowing you to adapt to what’s already in your store cupboard and tailor your meals to any craving or dietary preference. From speedy suppers to slow-cooked comfort classics, you’ll find inspiration for every mood and occasion. 

Recipes include:

  • Green Goddess Winter Pie – a nourishing, flaky-crusted delight 
  • Rosé Wine Prawn Pasta – effortless elegance in one pan 
  • Chorizo and Manchego Red Pepper Traybake – bold flavours with zero fuss 
  • Slow Cooker Birria Tacos – tender, melt-in-the-mouth goodness 
  • Garlic Butter, Lemon Chicken Orzo – creamy and comforting in a single pot 
  • Pumpkin Risotto with Bacon and Walnut Crunch – seasonal indulgence at its best 
  • Creamy Salmon Salad with Dill and Chive Dressing – a light yet satisfying bowl 
  • Mozzarella, Peach and Prosciutto Salad – sweet, salty perfection 
  • Lemon, Olive Oil and Thyme Cake – tangy and aromatic, all in one tin 

With 90 soul-soothing recipes that champion simplicity and flavour, this cookbook invites you to relax, dig in, and discover how easy it is to whip up truly comforting meals. Let Hari Beavis guide you to your new favourite dish – one pot at a time.  (more…)

Caramelized Pumpkin Pie with Honey-Orange Whipped Cream
Caramelized Pumpkin Pie with Honey-Orange Whipped Cream

Caramelized Pumpkin Pie with Honey-Orange Whipped Cream excerpted from Milk Street Shorts: Recipes That Pack a Punch by Christopher Kimball. Photography by Joe Murphy.

Transform your home cooking with the smartest, simplest, most powerful recipes from the James Beard Award-winning team at Milk Street.

In the kitchen, brevity is brilliant. Short recipes are the ones cooks remember best—not only because they’re simple to make and easy to repeat, but because they are boiled down to their elemental beauty and charm.

In Milk Street Shorts, Christopher Kimball and his team of cooks and editors have developed a repertoire of nearly 150 genius recipes that are casual, improvisational, and fun. These recipes are not just short—they’re bolder, better cooking because they’re short. Their essential cleverness gives them power that does not require long ingredient lists or all-day cooking.

And every recipe packs a punch—throw-it-together meals like “Nothing Soup,”Chili Crisp Peanut Noodles, and Five-Ingredient Pork and Kimchi Stew, snacks and side dishes like Sunflower Hummus, Crispy Spiced Chickpeas, and Salt and Vinegar Smashed Potatoes, and smart ways to use your oven, like Reverse-Sear Pork Loin, Skillet Lasagna, and Two-Hour Turkey. Recipes are organized by simplicity—Short, Shorter, and Shortest—with chapters including skillet suppers, sheet-pan tray bakes, and weeknight desserts like Clementine Blender Cake.

Milk Street Shorts: Recipes That Pack a Punch by Christopher Kimball is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Indigo.ca.

Caramelized Pumpkin Pie

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Beetroot, Celeriac, Potato & Thyme Gratin
Beetroot, Celeriac, Potato & Thyme Gratin

Beetroot, Celeriac, Potato & Thyme Gratin excerpted from The Farm Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes from Field, Coast and Garden by Abby Allen. Photography copyright © Matt Austin 2025.

 

The Farm Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes from Field, Coast and Garden by Abby Allen.A second book from the highly regarded ethical food brand Pipers Farm from Devon, organized seasonally and including 80 carefully crafted recipes for meat, fish and vegetables that celebrate honest food made with local, sustainable ingredients.

Taking inspiration from the farm, the field, the hedgerow and the coast, Pipers Farm offers seasonal, sustainable, carefully crafted, wholesome and uncomplicated recipes that celebrate simple, honest ingredients.

Chapters are organized by season and include from broad bean, pea and sheep’s cheese toasts to New England-style lobster rolls.

Filled with common sense, timeless values around the food we grow and eat, each chapter also includes feature essays on key considerations around food and farming in the UK at present, from chalk streams to regenerative farming, how our chicken consumption can be more ethical, growing your own veg to food diversity, all of which will provide talking points for the publicity campaign around the book.

The Farm Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes from Field, Coast and Garden by Abby Allen is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Indigo.ca.   

Beetroot, Celeriac, Potato & Thyme Gratin

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Vietnamese-style Pork
Vietnamese-style Pork

Vietnamese-style Pork excerpted from Spinning Plates: Easy Dinners with Simple Substitutions for Busy Families by Anna Stanford. Photography copyright © Chris Terry 2025.

Spinning Plates: Easy Dinners with Simple Substitutions for Busy Families by Anna StanfordAnna Stanford’s recipes take the mystery out of everyday cooking and make life easier for busy families. Everything works, everything is approachable for any level of cook, and everything tastes wonderful. There is no trend chasing here, only honest and balanced food that feels good to make and even better to eat.

Each recipe comes with smart ideas for swapping ingredients, which means you can cook one meal that suits everyone at the table. A curry can shift from chicken to tofu to fish without missing a beat. Quick quiches come with five flavour ideas. Stir fries welcome whatever vegetables you have waiting in the fridge. With simple substitutions built right into the recipes, feeding a family becomes far more flexible.

Here is what you will find inside

Light Bites and Lunchtime Saviours
Spiced chickpea flatbreads, peanut noodles and simple midday favourites

Weekday Wonders
Chili two ways, Thai style fishcakes and dinners that fit into real life

Speedy Pasta
Creamy smoked salmon and asparagus spaghetti, mushroom parpadelle and quick comfort bowls (more…)

Apricot & Sultana Hot Cross Buns
Apricot & Sultana Hot Cross Buns

Apricot & Sultana Hot Cross Buns excerpted from Handfuls of Sunshine: Perfect bite-sized bakes by Tilly Pamment. Photography by Tilly Pamment.

Handfuls of Sunshine: Perfect bite-sized bakes by Tilly PammentDreamy recipes for baby cakes, slices, tarts and other small sweet morsels from the creator of the international bestselling Plain Cake Appreciation Society

Here is to the little luxuries that make life all the sweeter.

Tilly Pamment, author of The Plain Cake Appreciation Society, returns with a new collection of more than seventy irresistible recipes for bite sized bakes. These little treats are meant to be eaten warm from the oven with no plate required, shared around a table or tucked away for a rainy day. Every recipe is designed to bring a handful of sweet joy to any moment, and who could not use a little more of that.

What you will find inside

Homemade Sunbeams and Slices of Joy
Bars bright with lemon and passion fruit, squares of rich chocolate and marmalade, and sour cream brownies with a crackly top.

Baby Cakes and Buttery Bliss
Buttery and fruit studded, sticky and chocolate filled, these are tiny treats made for pure pleasure. (more…)

Warm and Spicy Shrimp, Mango, and Avocado Salad
Warm and Spicy Shrimp, Mango, and Avocado Salad

Warm and Spicy Shrimp, Mango, and Avocado Salad excerpted from Trust Your Gut: Anti-Inflammatory Recipes for Feeling Unstoppable by Jennifer Fisher. Photographs copyright © 2025 Quentin Bacon.

Trust Your Gut: Anti-Inflammatory Recipes for Feeling Unstoppable by Jennifer FisherFrom Jennifer Fisher, the cult-favourite jewelry designer and creator of Jennifer Fisher Kitchen, a must-have cookbook with 100 recipes designed to maximize your energy, stay clear-headed, and look hot at any age

Since being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease in high school and learning how to listen to her body as an adult, Jennifer Fisher has completely transformed her life through what she consumes. She now has more energy. Her body feels more efficient, and it’s easier to think—and move.

Through her journey, Fisher found that it wasn’t just eliminating one thing or following one diet, as she had tried so many times before, but practicing all of these things in tandem.

She has made it her mission to demystify how to live healthfully—it’s not by following a diet but instead discovering a holistic approach to changing your life through food. Fisher knows firsthand how daunting it is to live with chronic illness, and Trust Your Gut offers quick and easy recipes that are simple but always deliver on flavor.

The book is filled with recipes that include easy swaps to fit anybody’s dietary needs as well as ideas for how to eat out while still understanding what your body needs. Trust Your Gut is a cookbook designed for anyone wanting to eat healthily but not compromise on taste. (more…)

Red Fruit Clafoutis
Red Fruit ClafoutisSweet Treats with Bonne Maman: Cakes, Cookies, Crêpes and more by Ilona Chovancova

Red Fruit Clafoutis excerpted from Sweet Treats with Bonne Maman: Cakes, Cookies, Crêpes and more by Ilona Chovancova. Photography by Ilona Chovancova.

Sweet Treats with Bonne Maman: Cakes, Cookies, Crêpes and more by Ilona Chovancova

Sweet Treats with Bonne Maman celebrates this iconic brand with a selection of delicious bakes to make and share!

Founded in 1971, Bonne Maman has become an instantly recognizable institution. With products available in 125 different countries, it remains a top-selling preserves brand across the World and has become synonymous with being a quality product, available to all.

This book brings together a selection of Bonne Maman’s most delicious treats, including bakes such as marble cake, banana bread, madeleines, cookies, linzer biscuits, shortbreads and double chocolate muffins…perfect for snacks and to share with family and friends!

Sweet Treats with Bonne Maman: Cakes, Cookies, Crêpes and more by Ilona Chovancova is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Indigo.ca.  

Red Fruit Clafoutis

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Camembert en Croûte with Lardons and Potatoes
Camembert en Croûte with Lardons and Potatoes

Camembert en Croûte with Lardons and Potatoes excerpted from The Fromagerie: Secrets and Recipes from a Swiss Cheesemaker by Claude Luisier. Photography © Sophie Dumont.

The Fromagerie: Secrets and Recipes from a Swiss Cheesemaker by Claude Luisier“Be curious, explore, but above all, take pleasure in the cheese.”
— Claude Luisier

Step into the world of expert cheese affineur Claude Luisier, who brings together more than fifty of the finest French and Swiss cheeses in this beautifully curated guide. Each page celebrates the art of cheese with tasting notes, production insights, and stories of the artisans who bring these treasures to life.

Journey from the snow-covered peaks of the Alps to the green pastures of Normandy and discover an irresistible selection of cheeses, from Raclette and Roquefort to Chaource and Comté.

Explore new ways to enjoy your favourites with recipes such as
• Spinach, Bleu d’Auvergne and Pine Nut Tartlets
• Croque Monsieur with Morbier and Truffled Ham
• Beetroot Carpaccio with Fresh Goat’s Cheese Cream
• Alpine Raclette Spring Rolls with Apricot Chutney
• Asparagus, Cured Ham and Arradoy Sheep’s Cheese Salad (more…)

Baguettes with Fermented Dough
Baguettes with Fermented Dough

Baguettes with Fermented Dough excerpted from Crust: From Sourdough, Spelt and Rye Bread to Ciabatta, Bagels and Brioche by Richard Bertinet. Photography by Jean Cazals.

Crust: From Sourdough, Spelt and Rye Bread to Ciabatta, Bagels and Brioche by Richard Bertinet

Helping you to master the mighty Sourdough and make your own ferments so that you can make bread anytime. This title looks at specialty breads, using a range of flours and flavours. It explores the Croissant and all its variations as well as covers other sweet breads such as Stollen and Brioche.

Richard Bertinet‘s revolutionary and simple approach to bread making gives you the confidence to create really exciting recipes at home.

He shows us how a good crust is one of the most significant things about all types of great bread. To start with, Richard concentrates on mastering your own ferments, working the dough and proving, which helps your technique, and then, in his following chapters, he shows you how to make a range of bread.

First is ‘Slow’ – mastering sourdough, baguette and other breads; then ‘Different’, which uses a range of flours and flavours to produce seeded, spelt, rye, ciabatta, chestnut, bagel, pretzels and more; and finally you can explore variations of ‘Sweet’ – making croissants, stollen, brioche and buns. With stunning step-by-step photography, simple advice and helpful techniques throughout, Crust will delight and inspire you to make healthier, tastier and better-looking bread! (more…)

Pot-Roast Chicken with Lentils, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme
Pot-Roast Chicken with Lentils, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme

Pot-Roast Chicken with Lentils, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme excerpted from Midlife Kitchen: Health-boosting recipes for midlife & beyond by Mimi Spencer and Sam Rice. Photography copyright © Issy Crocker 2017.

Midlife Kitchen: Health-boosting recipes for midlife & beyond by Mimi Spencer and Sam Rice

The Midlife Kitchen: Delicious Recipes for Perimenopause and Menopause

“No fads. No gimmicks. Just delicious, health boosting food.” — Daily Mail

As featured in The Times and The Daily Mail

This updated edition, revised by the authors and an expert nutritionist, reflects the latest research and guidance on nutrition for midlife health.

If you have reached a stage where health feels like more of a priority, the perimenopause and menopause years offer the perfect moment to reassess what you eat. Midlife is a time to take back control of your diet in the interests of long term health, happiness and vitality.

That is exactly what The Midlife Kitchen is about: celebrating beautiful, wholesome ingredients in the most satisfying ways to help you thrive through your forties, fifties and beyond. Mimi Spencer and Sam Rice share more than 150 recipes designed to restore, rejuvenate and revive, all with flavour at the forefront. (more…)