From modern Italian to a tour of the Islamic world, easy Ottolenghi to classic Nigella: Observer Food Monthly’s reads of the year
1 The Modern Italian Cook
Joe Trivelli
He is the modest but magical cook who is rightly proud to have spent the past 17 years at the River Cafe under the shadow of Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers. Not for him the one-name fame of fellow alumni Jamie and Hugh, but RC head chef Joe Trivelli’s slow-cooked debut could just change all that. For the kitchen shelf not the coffee table. This one is a keeper.
Buy it for the perfect tomato pizza
Seven Dials, £25. To order a copy for £22, go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £15, online orders only. Phone orders min. p&p of £1.99.
2 Strudel, Noodles & Dumplings
Anja Dunk
Gemütlich is the new hygge, another old world of comfort. Anja Dunk was mostly brought up in Wales and learned about food and flavours from her German mother’s cooking saturated in cardamom, caraway, cinnamon, dill. Oddly familiar yet foreign, with recipes shot through with a compelling mix of nostalgia and new, this is an assured modern voice from an accomplished cook.
Buy it for great-grandmother Hedel’s caraway roast pork
Fourth Estate, £26. To order a copy for £19.49, go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846.