Books for cooks to get their teeth into

FOOD FILE:This is the pick of the best from this year's bumper crop of cookery books ,writes MARIE-CLAIRE DIGBY

Plenty

Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury, £20)

A vegetarian recipe book written by a carnivore, and it is so good that you will be halfway through it before you notice the absence of meat. As well as running his chain of hip London-based café/delis, Yotam Ottolenghi also writes The New Vegetarian column in the Guardian– in which he once famously recommended serving a salad with some barbecued lamb chops on the side. He is also co-author, with his business partner Sami Tamimi, of Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. This one is a natural progression, packed with gutsy, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern-inspired dishes that don't need animal proteins to be visually appealing, appetising and satisfying. Signature dish: Caramelised garlic tart

Food for Family and Friends

Sarah Raven (Bloomsbury, £30)

Cooking generously is a recurrent theme in this year’s best books – making good use of what we have around us to create feasts to share with family and friends. Sarah Raven’s joyous, colourful collection of seasonal recipes arranged around her garden’s bounty, is a beauty. The book has some of the best food photography of the year from Jonathan Buckley, and a fresh, zingy design palette to complement Raven’s ideas. As well as solid family favourites, some recipes have a highly creative twist, like this meringue dessert. Signature dish: Basil, raspberry and hazelnut meringues

Elizabeth David’s Table: Her Very Best Everyday Recipes

Compiled by Jill Norman

(Michael Joseph, £30)

Elizabeth David’s recipes brought the vibrant cooking of the Mediterranean to dreary, grey 1950s Britain. Food that tasted of the sun was her trademark and she described it so eloquently that exotica such as olive oil, artichokes, aubergines and garlic, became part of the British culinary lexicon. Until now, her recipes were never accompanied by colour photographs, but to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the publication of her first book, David Loftus has photographed a wonderful selection of her recipes chosen by her editor, Jill Norman. This handsome book will introduce a new generation of cooks, who wouldn’t think of picking up a cookery book unless it was lavishly illustrated, to the genius of David. Signature dish: Grilled red mullet with aioli and sauce rouille

My Kitchen: Real Food from Near and Far

Stevie Parle (Quadrille, £14.99)

Stevie Parle is a precocious and prodigious talent. At just 16 he was learning the ropes at the Ballymaloe Cookery School and now, at 24, he runs his own restaurant, The Dock Kitchen, in London’s Portobello Docks, and has just been voted Young Chef of the Year by the Observer Food Monthly. His cooking style is seasonal, multi-cultural, boundary-pushing and exciting. It’s like a breath of fresh air – and he writes beautifully. Signature dish: Clams with coconut and curry leaves

365 Good Reasons to Sit Down and Eat

Stéphane Reynaud (Murdoch Books, £30)

Another quirky collection of recipes from the author of Ripailles, Rôtis and Pork Sons and there is a recipe for every day of the year starting with detox soup for January 1st. This literary equivalent of a knuckle-duster is peppered with amusing anecdotes from the fictional Vachecrot family, including the charming tale of how reluctant cook Marie puts some custard pots into her oven, protected by a cooling water bath, so that she can spend more time in her own bath. Husband Léon, arriving home hungry and eager to taste the sweet-smelling custards, yells: “I’m hungry, get out of the bain, Marie!” Great fun, and lots of good recipes, too. Signature dish: Caramel fondant cakes

Itsa Cookbook

Domini Kemp (Gill Macmillan €19.99)

This one is destined to end up splattered, dog-eared, bent and battered; in other words, much used. It’s one you will refer to a lot and never need to put down because the list of ingredients is too long, or the method too tiresome.

There is nothing too fanciful here, just quick, easy, dependable recipes for healthy suppers that will be on the table in double-quick time, though there are a few adventurous dishes for when you want to go all out to impress. Signature dish: Salt’n’Peppa Chook

Mexican Food Made Simple

Thomasina Miers (Hodder Stoughton, £20)

It’s not so easy to get authentic Mexican food in Ireland, so there’s a ready market for former Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers’s guide to making your own. Reading it will make you want to head straight into the kitchen and knock up a batch of spicy tacos, refried beans and guacamole. It is easy to follow and there is an extensive guide to retailers and online suppliers of the more unusual ingredients included. Signature dish: Chorizo, potato and thyme quesadillas

Entertaining at Home

Rachel Allen (Collins, £25)

This is a great book to have by your side if you are planning a social event. Small celebrations, dinner parties, larger gatherings and buffet parties each get their own chapters, with recipes to scale, and mix and match menu suggestions. The production values are high. It’s one of the most beautifully shot books of the year, with photographs by Kate Whitaker, who deserves huge credit for her contribution. Signature dish: Salted caramel chocolate tart

Thai Street Food

David Thompson (Conran Octopus, £40)

This lavish, large-scale publication from the undisputed world expert in Thai cuisine is part recipe collection and part photo-essay, by Earl Carter. Australian-born, London- and Bangkok-based chef David Thompson takes to the streets of his adopted home in the morning, at noon and at night to describe what people are eating. Then he translates what he sees into recipes. Signature dish: Thai cupcakes