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Cookbook new releases: May

by Izzy Burton 29 April 2016

A look through some of the best new cookbooks due to be released in May, from a didactic guide to sourdough baking to easy and accessible Korean cooking.

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Izzy Burton

Izzy studied Classics at Glasgow University, and nearly gave up writing altogether after reading Terence, who observed that 'nothing has been said that has not been said before' over 2,000 years ago. She persevered, however, and started writing about food, combining a lifetime love of eating and tricolons.

Izzy Burton

Everyday Seafood by Nathan Outlaw

Those wired into the cookery publishing matrix will know that this actually came out in April, but – mea culpa – I mixed up the dates (I'm barely used to the fact that it's 2016, let alone nearly May). Normally I wouldn't own up to such stupidity, but Nathan Outlaw's third book is so good I couldn't leave it without a mention. With the chef's previous two cookbooks sharing fish preparation techniques and impressive dinner party dishes, Everyday Seafood can be seen as something of a prequel, bridging the gap between afishionado (sorry) and complete beginner. These dishes are a fantastic introduction to cooking fish at home and, with many of the recipes calling for fish fillets and pre-cleaned seafood, you're free to ask your fishmonger for a helping hand and graduate to wielding a filleting knife at your own pace. The great thing about this book (and, indeed, Nathan's cooking ) is that it gets you to look at fish in a different way. Fan of satay ? Swap chicken for equally meaty monkfish. Planning a barbecue? Ditch the supermarket burgers and throw a majestic jerk marinated lobster onto the grill instead.

Perfecting Sourdough by Jane Mason

There's no shortage of books about the art of sourdough baking, but Jane Mason's Perfecting Sourdough is the only one so far that, as a timid beginner, has instilled in me enough confidence to try. That's no slight on the other books, of course, but it's Perfecting Sourdough's hugely informative introductory pages that offer a wonderfully preemptive safety net for the baking beginner. The troubleshooting pages are a highlight, with misshapen loaves illustrating typical problems – cracked loaf, dense texture, gaping holes – and offering solutions. While it might be daunting preparing your own starter and baking a sourdough loaf from scratch for the first time, keep Jane's personal mantra at the back of your mind: 'everything is good toasted, even if it's ugly.'

Monkfish satay

by Nathan Outlaw

Starter for ten: Jane Mason on the art of sourdough baking

by Izzy Burton

Korean Food Made Simple by Judy Joo

Korean food is enjoying something of a boom at the moment, and for good reason: sultry ferments, fiery chilli pastes, broths, stews, piles of chewy noodles and mounds of rice – what more could you want from a meal? There are plenty of classic Korean dishes in Judy Joo's first book (exquisitely shot by Jean Cazals) for real enthusiasts, including Cabbage kimchi, Jjambong noodle soup and a vibrant Beef bibimbap, although her playful 'Koreanizing' of Western favourites (think Korean pulled pork quesadillas, Fish and chips with Korean kimchi mayo and a Kimchi-laced Bloody Mary) is another big draw. Barbecue fans are also well catered for, and the meat – oh, the meat – is something else; you might find the picture of Roasted pork belly lettuce wraps haunting your dreams for days to come.

Bibimbap – mixed rice bowl with beef

by Judy Joo

Essential Korean store cupboard ingredients

by Tom Wildman

Sirocco by Sabrina Ghayour

A pull quote on the colourful front cover of Sirocco describes Sabrina Ghayour as 'the golden girl of Persian cookery', aptly summing up her position in the contemporary foodie zeitgeist. Her recipes reflect her own life as an Iranian brought up in England, with Middle Eastern flavours and techniques beautifully blended into traditional British dishes – adding cardamom to chocolate cake, or swapping pork sausages for the harissa-spiced merguez variety to make sausage rolls with a kick. Fans of her previous book, Persiana, will not be disappointed, and those who are new to Sabrina's style will no doubt be rushing out to complete the set.