It’s time for a recap of the cookbooks I hoped would be ‘worth waiting for’ in the second half of 2024.
We’ve had some great new releases this year, and this collection continues that theme. There is quite a different selection of books here, in that they are all pretty different and each would add something quite different to your cookbook collection. My only feeling after living with these books a little while, and maybe after some of the other releases this year too is, how many books from the same author do we really need? Do you ever wonder if there is a limit to how many useful/purposeful books someone can release, especially when their new releases are so regular?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below - did you add any of these cookbooks to your collection too?
Previous editions of Cookbooks Worth Waiting For can be found here, and if you would like these cookbook reviews plus those that feature exclusively in my newsletter, sign up to my weekly newsletter Friday Food Chat with Kath.
*Thanks to HardieGrant and Murdoch Books for gifting me copies of Sofra and Karkalla at Home respectively.
Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh (Ebury Press) - A new release from the Ottolenghi team is always worth waiting for! While Simple still remains my absolute favourite of all Ottolenghi’s cookbooks, Comfort has a great selection of recipes, and the influence of the other authors (Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley), give Comfort a point of difference from other more recent Ottolenghi releases. The influence of Helen’s Malaysian/Australian background is clear with much use of Asian flavours and ingredients, while still having a very ‘Ottolenghi’ feel. I am starting to feel I’m not sure how many more books I need from Yotam Ottolenghi, we have quite a collection now and while the introduction of co-authors has been a great way of diversifying the recipes published and giving each book a unique focus, I do feel (as with many authors who churn out books on a regular basis), there must be a point where we reach capacity in our collections for these authors. Out of Comfort, I am keen to try the Salmon Fishcakes with Chermoula Remoulade (p.80) and Verena’s Potato Salad (p.224).
Sofra by Karima Hazim Chatila and Sivine Tabbouch (Quadrille*) - Sofra feels like it is filled with love. It is a personal look at Karima and Sivine’s deep personal connection to Lebanon, specifically through food. Family stories and weaved through the book, and the way their family now comes together through food is shown as a staple of Lebanese food, culture and family. The chapters are divided into various ‘spreads’, so dishes you can make and serve together for a crowd. These recipes really do feed a crowd, and those of us who have smaller families or households may have to adapt (halve recipes), or feel contented in the knowledge that leftovers will continue to feed us for a few days more. Many of the recipes require some time and effort, and would great to make on the weekend when you might have more time to spend on making a meal. Karima and Sivine give tips on how to prepare things in advance and how to plan out making their menus in each chapter so you are in good hands.
As you might know by now if you read previous cookbook reviews of mine, I love books like this one that share personal stories and capture recipes that have been in families for a long time. Cookbooks such as Sofra not only provide us with a view of the authors connection to a place or time, in this case Lebanon, but give us an avenue to create our own through their recipes. The photography in this book is wonderful, and the table shots of the whole menus are stunning - which of course they are as the photographer is Luisa Brimble! Queen of the top down table scape shot! In terms of recipes I am keen to try the Muhammara (p.144), Ejjeh (courgette and herb fritters) (p.150) and the Maamoul (p.196-7).
Bake with Brooki by Brooke Bellamy (Penguin) - The hype around this baking book (and the Brisbane based bakery itself) is crazy, I think thanks mostly to social media. Bake with Brooki has basically sold out, and did so very quickly after it’s release. It’s a more substantially sized book than I was expecting, it definitely isn’t just a quickly put together piece of merchandise to capitalise on the social media hype around Brooki Bakehouse. If you are a fan of the bakery, or it’s owner Brooke, I think you’ll find the recipes you are looking for in Bake with Brooki. The chapters cover the famous Brooki cookies, brownies, cupcakes and whole cakes, cheesecakes and more. If you are a seasoned baker you might notice that many of these recipes look like iterations of the same thing with a different flavour profile, but if you just want the recipes from the bakery then the book definitely delivers that.
There is a definite American feel to this book, especially the photography (which I’m not super keen on, I prefer naturally lit photos which isn’t a big thing in American style cookbook shoots it seems), however Brooke’s major influence in baking, developing her famous cookie recipes and successful bakery has largely come from American bakeries and baked goods discovered on her travels. However, every recipe does have an image, so in terms of practicalities when actually making the recipes you should be able to clearly see what the recipe should look like in the end, which is of course a major purpose of food photography in cookbooks! As a Caramilk lover, I am keen to try the Caramilk Blondies (p.79) and I’d like to make the Biscoff Cookies (p.34) as well after having tried them from the bakery last year.
Karkalla At Home by Mindy Woods (Murdoch Books*) - Karkalla at Home brings native Australian ingredients and flavours to our kitchens by using them in recipes you might otherwise recognise. Mindy has given the reader everything they need to know about cooking with ingredients indigenous to Australia and our First Nations communities, from understanding the seasons via Indigenous cultural practices, to explaining everything we need to know about various Indigenous ingredients specifically, and even where to buy them from Indigenous owned/run businesses. The recipe section of the book is divided into meal/recipe types, and in the header of each recipe is a quick list of the specific Native ingredients needed for each recipe. I think this is a really helpful element for each recipe, as in some cases the Native ingredient may be the thing you need to seek out and buy before starting to recipe if you didn’t already have it.
I think the array of specialised ingredients could seem overwhelming to some, though I do think Mindy has gone to a lot of effort to make this element of the book extremely accessible - and to be honest if you aren’t interested in buying a few new ingredients and learning about Indigenous Australian food and culture, then you are probably missing the entire purpose of this cookbook. As author Mindy says in her introduction, “I believe that to truly understand a culture you must experience its food”, and I think Karkalla at Home will be a great addition to anyone’s cookbook collection who wish to do that. In terms of recipes, I am keen to try the Campfire Eggs with Native Dukkah (p.78), Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes with Macadamia Praline Butter (p.84-5) and the Prawn Skewers with Macadamia Satay (p.102).
