Cookery bookclub - May - Jerusalem by Ottolenghi and Kitchen Diaries I by Nigel Slater

[Curioustiger]

Come join the Mumsnet cookery bookclub! Each month we choose two cookery books - one popular, like Nigella / Jamie / Delia, so you probably already have it / can borrow it and one a bit more unusual. We cook a minimum of two recipes each - you choose the recipe, they just have to be ones you have never cooked before- which works out at four new recipes each month.Then we chat about them!

To see our April thread about Feast by Nigella and the Smitten Kitchen blog / cookbook, click here ... This thread is still live as we're quite taken with these books and are keeping on going!

For May, our books are:

• Jerusalem by Ottolenghi
• Kitchen Diaries

and we'll post on this thread.

For June our books will be

• Mexican Food Made Easy by Thomasina Miers
• Thirty Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver

We will always try to pick at least one book with recipes available on the Internet, and local libraries are great for cookbooks if you can order in advance, so don't be put off if your cookbook collection isn't threatening the foundations of your house extensive.

We have veggies, low carbers and 5:2ers on the thread so this is very diet compatible! Although I refuse to take any responsibility for cake-induced weight gain (even my own).

Tiger, can I put forward hfw veg for August? I love it, and it came up on the April thread quite a bit.

Hi I second the Hugh veg everyday it's fab.
Madhur Jaffrey's ultimate curry bible is good too.
Just been looking through the May books and like the idea of beef meatballs with broad beans and lemon and the semolina, marmalade and coconut cake from Jerusalem and pork lemon and potatoes and lemon ice cream from KD.

Elr- I think madhur jaffrey is julys choice. But good call

pregnant I think you are right I even recommended it for then!!

I was going to recommend HFW's Veg book too, it's super. My main issue would be finding recipes I've not tried yet!

I have both Kitchen Diaries and Jerusalem but made nothing from either so really looking forward to this month.

Honestly I really don't know what's wrong with me but yet again I have got my months muddled up. Sorry everyone. Here is a recap.

For May, our books are:

• Jerusalem by Ottolenghi AND TAMIMI who I have rudely failed to acknowledge so far (I bet he wishes they'd named their restaurant after him now, I would)
• Kitchen Diaries I by Nigel slater

For June our books will be

• Mexican Food Made Easy by Thomasina Miers
• Thirty Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver

So now we need to choose JULY. Not August. As we are only choosing books three months in advance (I think it's less fun if we plan too far ahead).

Madhur jaffrey was proposed for July, but not a specific book, I don't think (we can't do the vegetarian one as it was too hard to get hold of from libraries etc). In a sec I will come back with the list of other suggestions. Hugh f-w was definitely a massive favourite. Back soon..

Suggestions for July so far

• madhur jaffrey ultimate curry bible
• Hugh f-w veg
• pick a food mag and cook from that (sainsburys and good food mags suggested)
• rose Elliott
• Lorraine Pascale
• Paul Hollywood how to bake
• Tonia Buxton my Greek kitchen
• felicity cloake 'cook the perfect'
• river cafe cookbook or river cafe easy
• tessa kiros
• prashad / veggiestan

Looking at this list and reccs so far, how about mj ultimate curry bible and hugh f-w veg? Should be a healthy month so I am going to push for Lorraine Pascale in aug to even matters out

Those sound good tigerlily . I must get to the library for May's books.

The Fabulous Baker Brothers new book looks quite tasty, don't know if that's been mentioned yet. Their first book is very good and I'd like an excuse to get the second.

Those July books look good!

My Greek Kitchen is ideal for summer, seconding HFW Veg Everyday. I think my boss my have the Curry Bible, shall have to see if I can borrow it.

Hello hello everyone can I join in please? I have Jerusalem and have done only the hummus - which seems to have solved the "how to get hummus as yummy as the one from the shops" question on another thread. Will get KD as late birday present hopefully. Hooray!

Right then let's go with Hugh f-w veg every day and mj ultimate curry bible for July. I will add the baker boys books to the list and re-present it next month for your delectation! pantah I like the sound of that Greek book, I don't know much about Greek food really.

Ugh I hate that HFW one.

I like the idea of picking a food mag and doing something from that.

remus I think it's a good idea as well. But please everyone keep the suggestions coming for future months, don't feel we're full up!

I like the idea of picking a food mag too, and it's cheap on the purse strings

My library doesn't list either of the July books so I'll be googling or skipping that month. Not sure why my library is so rubbish as it doesn't list Jerusalem either

Science - I can PM you some HFW recipes, if you want. But I have been distinctly underwhelmed by them tbh.

Great choices for me, I have one of the books for each month so far

Just checking in and marking my place. Hopefully the library have those books. They have Jerusalem which shocked me!

I've done some hfw recipes in the past (from mags) but the only thing I have liked has been brownies. He doesn't fill me with inspiration (and I've heard he isn't a very nice man, which doesn't help).

Think I'm of the same mind as Remus...

How about the new Indian vegetarian cook book by Anjum Anand? I bought this book a few months ago and I love it. Some of the recipes are traditional Indian recipes but others are more fusion. Every recipes I've made, so far, has been lovely. I've also made a number of recipes from Jerusalem some of which have been great, but others have been quite disappointing. I'll do another post about Jerusalem when I've got more time!

Ooh I'd like to join as have somewhat lost my cooking mojo since having DD (now 20 weeks)- hopefully I can manage 2 recipes but who knows it might be too much! Will lurk either way for inspiration.

Only have KD at the moment, more of a cookbook to read from than cook from IMO - my supermarket shopping never quite measures up to his forays to farmers markets and Chinatown. That said I have made several delicious things from it. The vietnamese beef salad is amazing and was at one time on regular rotation in our house. I'd definitely recommend it.
And it's a bit wintery for may but the mustardy pork chop one is v nice if hugely unhealthy. Plus I always use the 'benchmark bolognaise' recipe for my spag Bol.

science when you say your library doesn't have them, does that also mean you can't request them from other libraries? My London library is pretty small but luckily I can draw from the stock of the whole borough. Just asking in case ... Anyway, I am more than happy to pm you and everyone else recipes when the time comes.