Cookbooks are a massive part of a foodie's life and in the space of a month or two I've acquired a lot. From having one or two little ones I'd poached off my mum, I've got around six or seven now (which isn't enough by far!) ranging from completely vegetarian with Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty More (that I was inspired to by after doing a University group project on him) to completely carnivore with The Meat Cookbook by various chefs. The Meat Cookbook is one that comes up regularly on this blog because it's divine and super helpful with it's step by step guides for preparing and cooking meat perfectly, but out of all the books I've picked up lately, it took all of one recipe for Jamie Oliver's Comfort Food to capture my hungry heart.
Before even opening the book it looks cosy and welcoming and wonderfully designed (I'm a publishing student, please forgive the next few sentences of gushing over book design!). I love a good cloth bound book and a minimalist design (Nigel Slaters Eat is great for this too) so this ticks every box for me from just the outside alone. I spent at least five minutes just running my hands over it's cover when I got it for Christmas, and who can't smile at Jamie Oliver's cheeky face looking out at you from the mini jacket!
But I digress.
The inside of the book is where the magic really happens (designed beautifully yet again - I can't stress enough how homely this book is!) with recipes categorised not into the standard, and relatively boring, lunch, dinner, or chicken and beef, but into Nostalgia, Good Mood Food, Pick Me Ups, Ritual, Guilty Pleasures and Sweet Indulgence. They perfectly describe my food moods, at least! Want something indulgent? You know to flick to guilty pleasures. And for special occasions, flick to Good Mood Food. What could be better than a cookbook that directs easily with just the chapter titles!? Nothing, I tell you!
But I digress, yet again. Onto the recipes.
Some day I will boast that I've cooked every recipe in this hefty thing, but even without having tried them all, I'm confident they will all be glorious. They range from small side dishes like The Perfect Chips to the big dinner plate filler Beef Wellington to juicy, tempting cocktails.The few recipes I have tried already (including Big British Meatballs and the Insanity Burger) have been so great tasting and so simple to make. The instructions are easy to follow and most important of all, to me: the ingredients are normal. So many cookbooks try to be too fussy and too decadent with ingredients no amateur has ever heard of (or if we have, we don't know how to cook them!), but Jamie Oliver is one of my favourite chefs for using herbs and spices and cuts of meat that you can get in your local supermarket without having to Google it first. He makes recipes for the home cook, not the chef in the restaurant kitchen, and this book is perfect for any amateur.
As well as simple recipes and great, easy ingredients, Oliver provides a bit of history and backstory to his recipes, really letting you know where it's come from, why it's in the book and who he looks to for inspiration (see his Ghanian Ground Stew recipe made with Idris Elba). I love cooking from different cultures and getting a little bit of food history at the same time, so the little snippets above recipes are a nice addition, and he sometimes offers handy tips for substituting ingredients which are often helpful!
Last, but not least, I love the Nutrition section at the back of this book. For someone like me who wants to eat until they explode, but also wants a healthy diet (isn't that a paradox..), it's so, so handy to be able to flick to the back of a cookbook and see the breakdown of calories, fat, sugar etc. to help me pick out a recipe for the day.
Oliver has created a wonderful cookbook here (maybe his best ever!?), full of satisfying recipes, interesting titbits and all the best and easiest ingredients you could want. I highly, highly, highly recommend you get a copy ASAP and get cooking!
Do you have a favourite, go-to cookbook?
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