Cookbooks Worth Waiting for in 2021

I know I posted a list of cookbooks a couple of weeks or so ago, but as a cookbook lover (or obsessive depending on your opinion), I felt it would be remiss of me to leave it too long into 2021 to discuss the cookbook releases we are waiting for this year. 

If we’ve learnt anything from last year, it’s good to have small things to look forward to. Books, with their physical assuredness and dependability can lift us into moments of joy and can continue to do so each time we open them.

And the prospect of new titles being released from my favourite cookbook authors and by some I don’t know so well, have definitely been added to my list of things to look forward to. In fact, they make up most of that list if I’m honest!

Here are the top five books I feel will be worth waiting for this year (a.ka. My cookbook wishlist for 2021!):

1. In Good Company by Sophie Hansen - I doubt I am alone in being excited about Sophie’s next book! I know many of us love her last cookbook ‘A Basket by the Door’, and I have a feeling we will all like this next one just as much! I also heard Sophie talk about the next book she is working on after ‘In Good Company’, which I hope she shares more about soon!

2. Chasing Smoke by Sarit Packer & Itamar Srulovich of Honey & Co - The restaurant Honey & Co was on my London restaurants to visit list (honestly, I know there is no point in this list anymore!), however a new book from Sarit and Itamar is the next best thing to visiting their restaurants. Check out this Instagram Story Highlight from Honey & Co which explains what this new book is about, it is certainly on my wish list now. 

3. Ripe Figs by Yasmin Khan - I love Yasmin’s books, and I was really excited to hear she had been working on another. Yasmin’s books focus on one country/geographic region and not only does she seek out all the amazing recipes, but all the amazing stories behind the food and the people who make it. This third book is set in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus and I just know the recipes will be delicious.

4. Jew-ish by Jake Cohen - This book is described as “an innovative take on classic Jewish recipes that was created with the modern millennial in mind.” By the sounds of it, this book is right up my alley. If you don’t follow Jake on Instagram, go check him out, it will give you a pretty good idea about this book and his cooking style.

5. Simply Julia by Julia Turshen - If you have any of Julia’s previous books, you will know this one is worth waiting for. Julia’s books always have such a comforting feel to them and she really guides you through each recipe with such care. The subtitle of this book is ‘110 Recipes for Healthy Comfort Food’ and while I wouldn’t usually buy books that claim to contain ‘healthy’ recipes, I think I will be in good hands with Julia.

Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024.

Off The Shelf - 'Now & Again' by Julia Turshen

Bought at: it was a Christmas gift in 2018. 

Recipes Made: Garlic and Anchovy Butter Toasts p.31, Arugula Salad with Lemon, Pine Nutes and Pecorino p.35, Celebration Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Dates p.54 and Baked Saffron Rice p.55. 

I made the Garlic and Anchovy Butter Toasts in a whim recently, and they were divine. I ended up using a whole tin of anchovies, as I couldn’t bare to waste them (and my family and I love them! A lot!). I would make this again in a heartbeat, and will anytime I want to have a super tasty bread based side dish. Though having said that, I could definitely eat this as a main. Most definitely!

For Christmas lunch last year, we were looking for a nice simple yet tasty salad to go with out main meal of ham, hot smoked salmon and a baked rice dish (the Ottolenghi one I have made from ‘Simple’ many times). I was looking through some of my cookbooks, came across Julia’s Arugula (Rocket!) Salad with Lemon, Pine Nuts and Pecorino. It was just the simple yet tasty salad we were looking for. We have made it a few times since, and often use grana padano instead of pecorino as that is a cheese we always have at home. 

Arugula Salad with Lemon, Pine Nuts and Pecorino

Julia’s Celebration Chicken is a riff of a recipe, Chicken Marbella, that many cookbook authors seem to take inspiration from. I adore Ottolenghi’s version of this (see my Off the Shelf post on ‘Simple’), so I knew I had to give this version a go. I liked Julia’s version, however it did lack that intense moorish tastiness that Ottolenghi’s version has. I always find recipes that ask for water, instead of something more tasty like wine or chicken stock, are always a little underwhelming. I now see a red flag when I read recipes that ask for water in this way, as I always find them lacking in flavour. Despite this, I did make Julia’s Celebration Chicken as the recipe says, with water, and when I make it again I will definitely be adding 1/4 cup of white wine or chicken stock instead. 

I also made the Baked Saffron Rice to serve with the chicken, which is an adaptation of the Ottolenghi recipe I mentioned above. I really like baking rice this way, it cooks really evenly and is very stress free. I didn’t find this version nearly as tasty as Ottolenghi’s, but that would probably be because his recipe has a delicious green olive salsa that would make anything taste good. If I made this recipe again, I think I would cook the saffron with the rice, rather than adding the saffron infused water at the end before serving. The saffron was really lost on me in this recipe, and I think the flavour would be more obvious if it had time to cook in with the rice. 

Favourite Things About the Book: Similar to Julia’s first book ‘Small Victories’, ‘Now & Again’ contains Julia’s genuinely lovely writing, and very thoughtful recipes. This book is based on the premise that many aspects or leftover ingredients of the recipes can be used for something else, and Julia gives some great suggestions. I also really like how the book is organised. The book is divided by the seasons, then within that into menus such as, ‘Red-Checkered Tablecloth Late Saturday Lunch’, ‘Rosh Hashanah Dinner’ and ‘A Not-Kosher Jewish Christmas’.

Bookmarked Recipes (to make later!): Italian Flag Baked Pasta p.33-34, Applesauce Cake with Cream Cheese and Honey Frosting p.58-60, Striped Bass with Butter Verde p.142, Pistachio Mandelbrot Cookies p.148, Best Matzo Ball Soup p.166-167 and Hikers’ Cookies p.220.

Off the Shelf - 'Small Victories' by Julia Turshen

Bought at: Dymocks Broadway in Sydney. One of the many books I bought there over the time I worked nearby and desperately craved time away from the office and found solace in bookshops. 

Recipes Made: Parmesan Soup with Tiny Pasta & Peas (pp.64-66), Julia’s Caesar (p.83), Turkey & Ricotta Meatballs (pp.168-171) and Afternoon Cake (pp.229-230). 

Parmesan Soup with Tiny Pasta and Peas

The Parmesan Soup uses up parmesan rinds (which I now keep in the freezer we go through so much parmesan), and the flavour is amazing. And like Julia says in the recipe, your kitchen will smell like melted cheese whilst making this (yum). I have made this soup with both water, homemade chicken stock and bought stock, and while my preference is the subtler flavour of homemade stock, they all work well. I have made this quite a few times now, and I have learnt that I always need to make double as we enjoy it so much. 

Julia’s Caesar is an excellent and super tasty recipe for homemade Caesar salad dressing. I love a good Caesar dressing, but unfortunately I don’t think many (if any) of the supermarket varieties are that great. This homemade one is quick to put together and lasts a little while in the fridge. I find we always have the ingredients for it, however we do have a well stocked pantry. If you like anchovies in your Caesar then you will love this one, if not Julia gives a great vegetarian alternative using capers - both in my mind are really good and very flavourful. 

For the Meatballs, I have to admit I used Julia’s recipe as a guide. Turkey mince isn’t as easy to come by here, so I have used both chicken and pork on separate occasions. I also never used ricotta as we didn’t have any, so I just added some breadcrumbs (I will actually have to try the recipe as is at some point!). I loved that the meatballs were cooked in the oven rather than on the stove (it was so much easier!!), and the tomato sauce that is served with the meatballs made the dish a lovely warming Winter meal. 

Afternoon Cake

The Afternoon Cake is a great, and is inadvertently a diary free cake. You just need a couple of bowls and a whisk - no stand mixer required. The flavour of the cake is given by whatever citrus you have at hand. Julia’s recipe uses oranges, however I have used lemon, blood orange, bergamot and mandarin all with great success. This cake is one I turn to often, and can easily be doubled to feed more people. I have also often substituted the olive oil in the recipe for a flavourless oil like vegetable or sunflower to let the citrus flavours shine on their own. 

Afternoon Cake

Favourite Things About the Book: Being a food writer, Julia’s writing in this book is genuinely lovely to read and there is such a sense of cohesiveness about the whole book from start to finish. Each recipe comes with at least one ‘small victory’ about the ease of the recipe, a new skill learnt or a helpful tip to make the process of cooking seamless. Plus there are always extras at the end of each recipe on how to change it up and substitute ingredients. Julia is full of helpful advice, and her recipes have really become a staple in my kitchen. Her recipes are really the kinds of food I want to cook and eat, and I am very much looking forward to getting Julia’s newly released book ‘Now and Again’ (which focuses on utilising leftovers - she really knows what we need doesn’t she?!). 

Bookmarked Recipes (to make later!): Aunt Renee’s Chicken Soup (pp.74-77), Cauliflower with Anchovy Bread Crumbs (p.118) and Berry & Buttermilk Cobbler (pp.234-236).