Simplest ever cookbook please?

[Squirrel81]

Hi there, trying to get my sister into cooking but she managed to burn spaghetti the other week. I want to get her a recipe book for her birthday, she’s not got a lot of money so I need one that doesn’t have weird or pricey ingredients. Any suggestions?

Would prefer to stay away from one with ‘student’ in the title…

IMO Nigella Express is a step up from the studenty type books, but is clear and simple. Everything I've done from there seems to work ok.

I have some Sainsburys ones that were about £5 each and don't use anything fancy, or stuff you'll use a teaspoon of and never finish the rest of the jar.
How on earth did she burn spaghetti though?? I'm not sure even the most basic cook book will include "don't let all the water boil out of the pan".

Delia's Complete How to Cook : Both a Guide for Beginners and a Tried and Tested Recipe Collection for Life

Delia is one of my favourite cooks - easy to follow and no faffing. I have over thirty recipe books from different cooks and hers are always the ones I turn to when I'm in need of inspiration: solid, classic recipes with very clear instructions and a nice 'tone' to her words.

Google the title - there are second hand copies available very cheaply. (I LOVE a second hand cookbook!)

Recipe tin eats.

How to cook without a Book - for its 101 on how to actually cook anything
any of the rukmini iyer ‘roasting tin’ books
the Leon books are the most straightforward recipe-wise too

I like Jamie Oliver's ministry of food....lots of pics and step by step help

@ThisReplyHasBeenDeleted
I also love / have an addiction to second hand cookbooks. Our lovely post lady’s patience nearly ran out after a particularly heavy WOB spree …

I was going to say this too.

Another vote for Delia. I've got books by many others, including Nigella, but Delia's are the one I use most. Her Christmas book is fantastic, but I'd recommend starting with her basic 'How to Cook' book

Tbe Delia Smith how to cook trilogy is ideal as its not only recipes but information about food and prep. I bought them second hand for about £3 +pp each second hand from Amazon for my friend and thay have been in weekly use for ages now!

Another vote for Ministry of Food. James May's Oh Cook is great for beginners too.

@Squirrel81

how about Jamies 5 ingredients (also available on kindle)

has an accompanying Ch4 series

I recommend the NOM series. The original one was for students and assumes no prior knowledge. It gives information about how to tell food is off and storage too.

Is it the same as Jamie olivers 5 ingredients recipes?

Was also going to suggest this.

I like Tana Ramsay’s cookbook. Otherwise, I still frequently refer to my Good Housekeeping one for basic recipes and methods.

My mum cannot cook and no amount of cook books will ever change that. She doesn’t have any innate ability to cook. She is the only person know like this. I conversely love cooking.

How did she burn spaghetti when it’s boiling in water?

Jamie naked chef are good, Rachel Allen food for friends, delia how to cook, Nigel’s express, Mary berry ultimate (bright pink) is fab!!
I think the Jamie 5 ingredients one is a good place to start.

While Jamie and Delia are good, personally I dont think they are right for real beginners. They tend to use ingredients that can be scary for real beginners who arent familiar. I am teaching my tween to cook and she didnt like Jaimie 5 ingredients, it scared her! (she burnt the garlic and it put her off, she also thought a clove was a bulb of garlic :D) But she LOVES jack Monroe cooking on a bootstrap series. They are really simple, uses ingredients she understand and they usually turn out really well. She made the tuna fishcakes completely off her own back the other night!

Me too!

I know Jamie can be an acquired taste but his Ministry of Food is excellent for novices. 15 Minute Meals is also very good.

I think Delia and Nigella are excellent and perfect as a step up from Jamie.

Mary Berry or Rachel Allen's cookbooks. Their style of explanation is simple and accessible for beginners.

I find that Jamie Oliver recipes use a lot of expensive ingredients that beginner cooks then don't know how to cook with when not following the recipe, and many of them end up wasted and thrown into the bin.

Another vote for Jamie Oliver ministry of food book.

My sister's cooking is the nuts - seriously delicious. She swears it all started with this book years ago.

Delia. Simple phrasing, clear instructions, recipes work. Start with the How to Cook trilogy and add the Complete Cookery Course and Christmas, Summer and Winter books.

my absolute go to books.

My First Meals by Grace Mortimer is aimed at meals for young children but honestly they are just good family recipes that are really, really easy!

And I wouldn't buy before you've tried - get a selection of books from your local library first - it's often about 'clicking' with a style of recipe as much as the recipe itself.

Ime people who say that they cant cook, simply wont follow the recipe correctly.

Had an ex like this. Claimed he wanted to learn to cook but wouldnt follow the recipe and then wondered why it didnt work. For example he wouldnt set a timer for something in the oven and then when it burned cos he forgot about it, it proved he "couldnt" cook. He was the same with anything that required following instructions, he knew best......

However I also think Delia is good.

I would also recommend Readers Digest Cooking Year (something like that). Amazing year round recipes using seasonal produc but also hundreds of recipes that use basic techniques such as making a roux, pasry etc. It also has information on meat cuts, vegetable types best methods of cooking, all sorts. I would recommend it to anyone. We are on our third copy as they got used so much that one of the kids would inevitably nick it take to uni!

Agree with first post, it doesn't get much easier than Nigella Express. Also, What's for Dinner by Sara Rossi.