Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things by Noor Murad & Yotam Ottolenghi

Do you know that little skip in your step you get when you smell jasmine in full bloom? It happens towards the end of September and coincides with another great gift: a new Ottolenghi cookbook! I know it’s impossible to consider right now, but I promise by mid-month you will be making harissa butter and spreading it over everything. You will be bottling jars of tamarind dressing and stocking up on chickpeas. Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi have created a ‘next-level’ type of cookbook. Consider your basic weeknight meal – perhaps it’s steak night – and then turn to this book for inspiration that will take this simple dish to new levels of delight. This book is not called Extra Good Things for nothing: there’s more bang for your buck, more punch and simply more delight.

Pasta Night by Deborah Kaloper

Many chefs consider making an omelette to be the test of how well you cook, but in my kitchen, it’s how you ‘do’ pasta. Deborah Kaloper’s recipe for spaghetti puttanescaimmediately convinced me of this cookbook’s authenticity. Why? Kaloper suggests crushing the tomatoes with your hands before adding them to the fried anchovies. This is an astute instruction, a simple step that can make all the difference. Filled with more than 60 recipes, Pasta Night is perfect for people who are ready to stop purchasing ready-made pastas and have dreams of spending the weekend throwing flour around and getting a little messy. It is, after all, a part of the journey for the perfect pasta meal.

From Scratch by Fiona Weir Walmsley

Fiona Weir Walmsley’s family have been making cheese for generations. Fiona, though, has gone the extra step and makes an enormous range of products to sell. Fame fromthese products has spread throughout the country. Finally, Fiona has yielded to pressure and created a cookbook for all of us who dream of living her particular lifestyle, one where you produce your own jars of pickles and dips. Pick up this book because you want to be sure of every ingredient in your sauces and preserves, or because you want to take control of your own kitchen. From Scratch is filled with inspirational photos and good practical advice on how to make your pantry your own. It seems a sensible approach to life.

Salamati by Hamed Allahyari with Dani Valent

I imagine well-loved food writer Dani Valent first met Hamed Allahyari when she visited his café/ restaurant in Sunshine (it trades as Café Sunshine by day, SalamaTea by night). Hamed ran a restaurant in Iran, but a crisis of faith imperilled his life in a country where atheism is illegal. He arrived in Australia in 2012 as a refugee. After initial detention on Christmas Island, Hamed was granted asylum. You will find his story of resilience threaded throughout this heartwarming cookbook of accessible Persian cooking. Within these pages are recipes that have been adapted to suit our ingredients without sacrificing flavour. This is the book that you use to create a spread overflowing with dishes to be shared – a feast that serves as a gift to your family, your friends and your memories. This is the type of book you make room for on your shelf and in your heart.

One: Simple One-Pan Wonders by Jamie Oliver

This is not the cookbook for me, but it sure is for my daughter’s share house. You can gift this book to every person in their late teens and early twenties who simply wants to throw ingredients together and make a meal to be shared around a table. It is no-nonsense: one dish, small steps and a trustworthy result. While I realise this book is also being aimed at busy families, you really should make sure every share house you know has a copy.