Six new cookbook releases for summer 2021

Whether you’re after recipes for simple suppers or complex dishes infused with smoky flavours from the grill, these six soon-to-be-released cookbooks should be on your radar.

By Ross Clarke & Joel Porter
Published 6 Apr 2021, 08:00 BST, Updated 15 Jun 2021, 14:30 BST
From the plant-based Nigerian recipes of Zoe Alakija to a much-anticipated new release from the founders of ...

From the plant-based Nigerian recipes of Zoe Alakija to a much-anticipated new release from the founders of the Honey & Co restaurants, these are six new cookbooks to look out for this year.

Photograph by National Geographic Traveller Food

1. Australia: The Cookbook, by Ross Dobson

This encyclopaedic tome, by food writer Ross Dobson, spans 50,000 years of Australian cuisine and culture in chapters covering everything from eggs and dairy to jams and condiments, with plenty of meat, fish and veggie dishes in between. Be it bush tucker inspired by Aboriginal Australians, or the melange of cooking styles from the various cultures that now call the country ‘home’, you’ll find everything from eggs ‘benny’ and barbecued prawns to curried chops and bugs with aioli. Published 15 April (£35, Phaidon).

2. Makan: Recipes from the Heart of Singapore, by Elizabeth Haigh

A love letter to the Singaporean tradition of recipes being handed down through the generations, Makan is full of Elizabeth Haigh’s family favourites. Formerly of Michelin-starred Pidgin, and now owner of London’s Mei Mei restaurant, Haigh has included dishes ranging from the simple (asparagus, wok-fried egg, coconut and sambal) to the rich and time-consuming (beef rendang). Published 13 May (£26, Bloomsbury).

Read more: Our editors' favourite global cookbooks

3. Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant, by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich

The fourth cookbook from the founders of Honey & Co is based on dishes from the grill and the stories shared around it. Travelling around the Levant region of Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece and their native Israel, the couple explore how smoke can add flavour to everything from fruit to fish, lamb to bread. Choose from dishes including whole burnt aubergine with charred egg yolk, tahini and chilli sauce and Greek-style grilled squid laced with a lemon, thyme and chilli marinade. Published 13 May (£26, Pavilion).

4. Afro Vegan, by Zoe Alakija

In her first cookbook, art director and food stylist Zoe Alakija combines the flavours of modern British cuisine and African cooking, particularly drawing on her Nigerian heritage. Among her plant-based recipes are dishes such as cheesy kokoro (a crunchy cornmeal snack) and nutty plantain brownies. Published 20 May (£25, Hoxton Mini Press).

5. Vietnamese, by Uyen Luu

In her second book, food photographer and stylist Uyen Luu aims to make cooking Vietnamese food simple. Using readily available ingredients and following the rule of ‘sweet, sour, salty, umami, bitter and hot’, 85 recipes are divided into chapters such as ‘things to eat with rice’ and ‘heavenly noodle soups’. Try the perfect-for-sharing sticky mustard and marmalade ribs, or the fresh and fragrant papaya salad with pork belly, prawns and pomelo. Published 27 May (£22, Hardie Grant).

6. Sunshine Kitchen: Delicious Creole recipes from the heart of the Caribbean, by Vanessa Bolosier

Inspired by the food of her childhood, Guadeloupe-born Vanessa Bolosier offers a taste of Creole cuisine in her second cookbook. Among the dishes aimed at transporting home cooks to the French Caribbean are saltfish fritters, lobster fricassee and plantain gratin mont blanc coconut cake. Wash it all down with a glass of Bolosier's passion fruit rum punch. Published 10 June (£12.99, Pavilion).

Love food and travel? Taste the world at the National Geographic Traveller Food Festival, our immersive culinary event that takes place every summer. Find out more and book your tickets.

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