Cookbook authors pick their favourite food books

Then there's Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé. It campaigns for plant-based eating, largely in the American context, and is divided into book one and book two. The recipes in book two are vegetarian, not necessarily vegan. My copy is the fiftieth edition, published in 2021. There are recipes contributed by her friends and chefs from all over the world. Both these books have no pictures, and are written in a straightforward manner with clear and short recipes.

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Palestine on a Plate by Joudi Kalla has been added to my recent reading list. I made a Palestinian friend here in Barcelona when I moved last year with my family. Many months ago, I volunteered to cook with her for a crowd-sourced, small Palestinian film festival called Palestine Cinema Days Festival in Barcelona. We recreated a bunch of recipes from this book. My friend gave me a few spices, like za'atar, sumac, and dried mint, that she had brought back from Jordan, where her family lives. We made fatayer, little square-shaped, puff pastry-style open pies stuffed with minced meat and topped with pomegranate and parsley. At this point in my life, and where we are in world history, it's an important book. At home, I made a simple yoghurt dip with those spices she gave me. I roasted sweet potatoes and paired them with the dip, which had thick yoghurt, a bit of za'atar, sumac, and dried mint, topped with olive oil. It's not complicated, but the spices are just so great that it turned out to be immensely satisfying.

One of my old favourites is Crazy Water and Pickled Lemons by British food writer Diana Henry. When I picked it up years ago, I had no introduction to Mediterranean or Middle Eastern food. Before I had tried herbs like rosemary and thyme, I had read about them in that book. For me, her writing is sensorial, evocative, and filled with gorgeous descriptions that make you travel.

Another book I bought before I started cooking was the classic Rasachandrika. It's a book that has accompanied me everywhere. I find it very charming because of the brevity and range of recipes. I have cooked a lot from it, and formed great personal relationships because of the book as well; so it’s quite special to me.

Shivesh Bhatia
Author of five books on desserts, including the newest release Chocolate: 100 Irresistible Desserts

My Sweet Kitchen by Swedish food stylist Linda Lomelino was one of the first few books I purchased. Lomelino made really elaborate cakes for special occasions, which gave me the confidence to create those tall cakes back in the day. Her other book that I cherish is called Lomelino's Pies. For a long time, my knowledge on this subject was limited to apple pie. The book is based on different kinds of pies and crumbles, and helped me broaden my horizons as a baker. I was intimidated by pies for a long time, but I found the inspiration to just try new recipes and play around with different flavours thanks to this book. I love cookbooks because they unlock an entirely new world.

Closer to home, I am fascinated by the cookbooks authored by Pooja Dhingra. As an Indian writer, she understands the context and uses ingredients that are familiar to me. She has a knack for breaking down recipes and making them accessible for readers. For example, in her book Can't Believe It's Eggless!, there’s an entire section on pantry essentials with explanations and names of brands that are readily available here. This kind of information empowers the reader.

For my newest book on desserts with chocolates, I referred to a book simply titled Chocolate by the bean-to-bar cocoa expert Dom Ramsay. He deep dives into the science and history of chocolate, as well as breaks down technical terms, which helped me. It has beautiful illustrations and is filled with different recipes that use chocolate.

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