I'm bored with my cookbooks. Can someone recommend some please?

[Twinklemegan]

I currently have cookbooks by Delia Smith, Mrs Beeton, Linda McCartney and a few other random ones. I can't get inspired by the recipes at all. I'm after something, preferably by someone I've heard of, which delivers good value but interesting recipes using fairly easy to find ingredients. Although I'm not averse to trying something a bit more luxurious very occasionally.

My main foods of choice are generally casserole-type things and Italian. I'm particularly after interesting veggie recipes (cheaper), recipes using cheap but nice cuts of meat, or recipes that make meat go a long way. Oh and nice fish recipes too. Hell, in fact anything that can help me broaden my repertoire and cook more like the some of the people on Masterchef.

Has anyone got any suggestions please?

Another vote for Nigel Slater - his recipes are reliably great. I have his Kitchen Diaries - it's a very inspiring book.

Nigel Slater is FAB, I agree. I also like Ursula Ferrigno (veggie fantastic).
I also strongly recommend subscribing to BBC's Good Food. Forget about Easy Cook Magazine, it is just recycling GF.

I have loads of cookbooks are the ones I use the most are Nigel Slater, Nigella, Jamie Oliver, Delia, Bill Granger and Moro.

nigel's great but a lot of it seems v rich, he loves his double cream. i really like bill granger for more everyday eating. that's the perfect description of him hedomia, a healthy NS

Nigel Slater is very good. We had his hot thai stir fry last night and it was yummy. I prefer him to Jamie etc as he is not so poncy about food - and doesn't use ridiculous amounts of expensive ingredients so he is great for normal weekday dinners. this one

I have got a gary rhodes great fast food book and thats good too - another good one for normal weekday cooking. this one

another huge vote for the first avoca cookbook. i lurve it! aside from it i seem to get on well with recipes in supermarket magazines...

A vote for Rachel Allen here too. Her chocolate ameretti cake is divine

I love Nigella, Rachel Allen, Jamie, Tana Ramsey, and more recently Jo Pratt. My mum bought me a Barefoot Contessa book for Xmas but I left in the UK as we didn't have enough room in our suitcases

LittleLapin recommended The French Laundry cookery book which my brother bought me but again I had to leave i in the UK!!!

I have asked for Nigella Express for my birthday.

I like Nigella's "Feast" for inspiration, rather than specific recipes.

I have a couple of Nigel Slater's but find him even more of a carnivore than Nigella and don't really use his recipes, though I like to read him.

Madhur Jafery's "World Vegetarian" is brilliant, as are the World Food Cafe books if you like spicy food and want veggie recipes.

Nigel all the way.
The man is wonderful.

My favourite cookery books at the moment are

Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook

Tamasin Day-Lewis' Kitchen Bible (utterly brilliant and covers a wide range of types of cooking)

Nigel Slater Kitchen Diaries

I also have all of Nigella's books which I cook from a LOT - all except her latest "Express" offering which I am not going ot bother buying as it looks like a load of recycled (and inferior) versions of recipes appearing in her other books....

Thanks again for all the suggestions everyone. I think I might be reduced to trawling the second hand shops though, looking at the price of most of them.

makemineaG&T are you me?

I would go for Jamie's Dinners (Mr Oliver of course)-full of things you really would cook

Vegetarian and fancy - Cafe Paradiso books - bloody marvellous. Stephanie Alexander - Cook's companion is a real compendium, and as it's Australian has recipes for bugs, yabbies and wallaby... Claudia Roden is brilliant.

I bought 'Jamie at home' today, and I'm afraid I am a little disappointed.

I think if you've got an organic allotment just outside your cottage back door you are laughing, but I'm not sure the recipes would have the same zing with Chervil bought from Lidl.

Seconding LL for the Leith's bible, if you want to splash out on just one, but I actually think the Cook's Companion I mentioned before pips it. Nigel Slater's "Appetite" is my favourite of his, for broadening repertoire and getting more adventurous.