What's your favourite cookery book? One you swear by.

[BustyDusty]

Just that.

I've got quite a few cook books, but want something new. There's too much choice so I could do with some suggestions.

One of my long-time favourites is Home Cook by Alastair Hendy. Also Roast Chicken And Other Stories by Simon Hopkinson. My friend gave me Indian by Shehzad Husain and Rafi Fernandex which is brilliant.

I enjoy cooking and make everything from scratch but I'm no 'chef'.

(eg I have never been able to master Thai curries - they're always too thin and watery, not rich and creamy..and end up with the wrong balance of spices.)

Any ideas?

[BlueAbacus]

I’m the same with curries, OP

Diana Henry - Simple
Jamie Oliver - 5 ingredients
Nigel Slater - Kitchen Diaries

Those are my most used currently. I can read Nigel and Nigella like books! Some great suggestions here for new ones to try.

[NaughtyNell]

Love cookery books, would happily go to bed and read one.

I like Nigella Lawrence
Rachel Allen
Jamie Oliver
Loads more. My mum has a really old Mrs Beeton cookery book which is interesting, lots of old fashioned recipes

I've just started 'No Meat May' and have ordered the Bosh cookery book, anyone know anything about it ? Looking at staying vegetarian

[Blyatiful]

Bosh is great. We live on the Bosh Bowl salads in the summer - they give you ideas and you customise as you get used to them and depending on what you have in the cupboard/fridge.

Nigella Bites seems to be the “forgotten” Nigella, but is great - lots of eclectic recipes.

I’ve got over 500 cookery books, including quite a lot of American ones. The Silver Palate Cookbook and New Basics are go-to books for me. I did like the roasting tin books, but they have become a bit “the meal of last resort” for us.

[LostToucan]

I have an old battered copy of Reader’s Digest Cookery Year which is great for all kinds of classic recipes, plus info on seasonality, basic techniques etc.

Also using the Fast 800 recipe books - tried quite a few of them and they have all proved to be easy and tasty.

[derxa]

@ShanghaiDiva

Delia, of course.

Yup

[PersonaNonGarter]

Simon Hopkinson is my favourite - Roast Chicken and Other Stories; or Week In Week Out

I also cook quite often from Mary Berry’s Feast. It’s quite an old fashioned style of food but it is all delicious and everyone loves it.

[BluebellsRock]

Gary Rhodes - keep it simple.
Flavour combinations so you can build your own recipes, the recipes are nothing too complex. There are really nice meals in there and it all works. Organized by category - meat, fish etc.

Yorkshire pudding recipe is a legend and the braised red cabbage (Christmas given alcohol content) is fantastic.

[Xiaoxiong]

Funny how cookbooks are so personal. I don't get on at all with Delia or Hugh F-W but everything I try of Diana Henry just works. Nigel Slater too, mostly (though his two Greenfeast books have some that are more...interesting.)

My most used on the basis of spine practically falling off are probably
Every Grain of Rice, Fuschia Dunlop
From the Oven to the Table, Diana Henry
How to Eat, Nigella
The Kitchen Diaries, Nigel
Jerusalem, Ottolenghi
Coast to Coast, Rick Stein (every recipe in here is just amazing, I usually wouldn't get a book based on a TV show but was given this one as a gift and it's truly a brilliant book in its own right!)

I have over 100 cookbooks and use Eat Your Books to "google" them. Super useful especially for those recipes with no pictures that always get overlooked. Now I use my cookbooks so much more!

[Shrunkenhead]

Pinch of Nom
Complete Delia Cookery Course (v dog-eared and over 28 years olds!)
A Girl Called Jack (some great budget recipes)

[GlumyGloomer]

Nadiya Hussain, Time to Eat
The recipes range from marvelously easy to more complicated than I can currently attempt (my handicap being a toddler hanging off me).
It's great for batch cooking and ideas to turn the same base into different meals, and is just a lot of fun really.

[NaughtyNell]

If anyone can recommend some good vegetarian cookery books that would be great thanks

[IntermittentParps]

NaughtyNell, The Green Roasting Tin (mentioned already by others) is excellent.
Leiths Vegetarian Bible; a little dated maybe, but some great things including my go-to root veg curry.
Meera Sodha's East.
Persiana, as I mention above. Not a veggie book but has some beautiful veggie dishes, some presented as sides or part of a feast but you could make them mains (I do).
Ottolenghi is generally good for veggie/vegan. I like Plenty particularly.
No one's said Anna Jones; she's good for veggie/vegan stuff. A Modern Way to Cook is the one of hers I use.

[Xiaoxiong]

I really like the Riverford veg books (I guess being a veg box company they are pretty hot on that stuff!!)

Claire Thompson has a lot of veggie main dishes in her cookbooks too, particularly the Home Cookery Year. Sometimes there is a bit of meat in as a flavouring but you can easily leave it out - I made a galette of shredded brussels sprouts and chestnuts from that last year and left out the sprinkling of bacon on top, put a bit of gruyere on instead - excellent.

[yumscrumfatbum]

I mostly look at recipes on the Good Food website and for this reason have given most of my cookery books to the charity shop. The exceptions are my ancient Margerite Patten, Nigellas books and I have all the Pinch of Nom books. They have taught me lots about seasoning without adding calories.

[memost]

@NaughtyNell

If anyone can recommend some good vegetarian cookery books that would be great thanks

For something special I love the Dennis Cotter books - especially the green one.

[NaughtyNell]

Thanks for recommendations will check those out. I have the Good Food app which I sometimes use. Thanks all x

[londontonyc]

@NaughtyNell

If anyone can recommend some good vegetarian cookery books that would be great thanks

I had a flick through my friends Moosewood cookbook the other day, I'm not vegetarian but would like to eat more meat-free meals, the recipes were stunning. I may treat myself.

[Ilovechocolatetoomuch]

Nosh for busy parents is so good. My kids like all of it.

[ouchmyfeet]

Love cookery books, like a PP I really couldn't choose just one. My most used favourites are:

Feast - Nigella. Great for big family meals.
Green roasting tin
Nigella express
Domestic goddess - for baking
Edmonds from NZ
Greens by Annie bell - fab for veggie food
The Mumsnet cookbook is surprisingly good too

[TheBugHouse]

I’ve spent ages looking at cookery books to make my repertoire more exciting and found nothing I like. I now go on bbc good food and menu plan a week at a time. We have had something different every night, I’ve really enjoyed doing this.,

[Spekoppar]

I love the Bosh cook books, especially the first (Orange) one. I went vegan at the start of the year and they have been a massive factor in how I’ve stuck to, and enjoyed, it.

[victopai]

Any of the hairy biker recipes are always amazing. The taste and ease are second to none

[Rina66]

Delish Complete Cookery Course - her stuffed tenderloin of pork, spaghetti puttenesca and minestrone soup have all her favourites for over 25 years.