The Frugal Cook

Fiona Beckett unearths the lost art of thrift through a wealth of fantastic recipes. At a time when we throw away about a third of all the food we buy, this book is for all who wish to avoid spending too much and want to cut out waste. The Frugal Cook is full of wonderful ideas for making the most of everything that you buy. Discover what to shop for, where to source, how to pinch and how to save, when to buy and when to leave, what to store, how to stretch and what to set aside. Here are more than 150 frugal recipes and a thorough glossary of how to get the most out of ingredients and their leftovers. It features six fantastically frugal sections: Budget breakfasts and brunches; Light lunches and snacks; Easy midweek suppers; Big weekend cook-ups; The frugal host; A–Z of ingredients and leftovers. The Frugal Cook is a kitchen manual that no home can afford to be without: it will help you change the way you think about food for the better.

Fiona Beckett is an award-winning author and journalist who has written for most of the national press and is currently the contributing editor to the wine magazine Decanter. She is the author of 17 books, including three Beyond Baked Beans student cookbooks, Sausage & Mash and Meat & Two Veg (all Absolute Press).

Reviews

‘Perfectly timed for the credit crunch, Beckett cooks with inexpensive cuts of meat, buys fruit and veg seasonally when it’s cheaper, and turns leftovers into irresistible new dishes.’
The Independent

‘Definitely a good investment.’
The Daily Mail

‘…my choice for reading and cooking is The Frugal Cook. Beckett is a whiz at using leftovers and humble ingredients.’
The Times

Pepper

A book dedicated exclusively to the world’s most valued and fascinating spice. Why is it that pepper and certain foods go together so perfectly? (Think steak au poivre, black pepper crisps, cream cheese and black pepper, or even strawberries and black pepper.) Christine McFadden’s evocative collection of recipes from around the world are geared to modern lifestyles and informal eating, inspiring the imagination with unusual ways of using pepper – in cakes and desserts for example – reminding us of pepper’s traditional use in pickles and preserves, in sauces and soups, curries and stews. A vivid first-hand description of the pepper gardens and spice markets of Kerala and a fascinating account of pepper’s role in shaping history, provide a colourful backdrop to the serious business of cooking with and tasting pepper.

Author of many cookery books and five times nominated for World Food Media Awards Christine McFadden is a well-established food writer with a deep interest in the many aspects of food and its provenance. She has a passion for spices and seasonings and the way in which they transform the character of a dish; she also has a particular interest in the historical impact ingredients such as these have on culture, politics and economics. She is also the author of The Farm Shop Cookbook.

Reviews

‘A fascinating look at one of the kitchen’s keystone spices. An essential kitchen reference point for many years to come.’
Caterer and Hotelkeeper

‘This is one of those food books that deserves a place on your bedside table while you read it – but will find its permanent home on your kitchen shelves’
Blackmore Vale Magazine

‘Tempting recipes with a twist.’
The Lady Magazine

‘A lovely book full of good advice and delicious recipes.’
Nikki Duffy, The Guardian

The Gastropub Classics Cookbook

New to Paperback! Britain’s very own version of the French bistro or the Spanish tapas bar, the gastropub has at last come of age. Confident and influential the gastropub movement has grown into a vibrant and essential part of all that is good about British food and cooking in the 21st century. Trish Hilferty, the award-winning cookery writer and award-winning chef of The Fox Dining Room in London, has written a book that pulls together all the classic dishes that combine to make up the definitive recipe list for lovers of gastropub cooking. These are recipes taken from Trish’s own stunning menus, drawing on influences from Britain, Europe and the antipodes – in addition Trish has included a number of additional great classic dishes from leading fellow gastropub chefs. Written in her inimitably clear and precise nononsense style, with striking photography by Jason Lowe, this is a book to turn to time and time again – wonderful dishes packed full of gutsy and bold flavours, the epitome of all that is so good about the gastropub repertoire.

Born and brought up in Sydney in a family of food lovers, Trish Hilferty began her cooking career in the mid-1980s working in various hotel bistros. After travelling and working along Australia’s east coast, Trish moved to London. Here, she ‘switched sides’, learning the restaurant trade from the front of house at Braganza. Trish returned to cooking, eventually ending up at the Brackenbury with Adam Robinson. After time back home and further travelling, she returned to London to work at the Eagle, London’s first gastropub. After two and a half years there and another sojourn in Sydney, she set up the Fox Dining Room in 2001, which scooped the prestigious ‘Tio Pepe London Gastro Pub of the Year’ award in 2005. She has contributed to Big Flavours & Rough Edges, and Real Pub Food (Absolute Press). Her first book, Lobster & Chips (Absolute Press), won the Best Single Subject Food Book at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, 2005.

Momma Cherri’s Soul in a Bowl Cookbook

A first book from Charita Jones – a.k.a Momma Cherri – is a wonderfully colourful collection of soul food recipes. Soul Food is the food of the deep south of America, borne out of the deprivations of slavery, where a variety of ingredients and dishes, some unique and some shared with other parts of the world, come together to make up a stunning cuisine of spice and flavour. Momma Cherri has taken her version of Soul Food and transplanted it to Britain – fried chicken, ribs, jambalaya, gumbo, prawns, black-eye peas, sweet potatoes, mash, cornbread, key lime pie, pecan pie, pancakes and waffles. If you’re looking for a quick answer to what gives soul food its soul, it is simply to say that it is a cuisine born when you have far more love than money! With stunning photography by Peter Cassidy, this brilliantly original book showcases a great array of soul food classics, given a unique twist by Momma Cherri.

Born in Philadelphia in the 1950s, Charita’s early career was in music, and soul music in particular. She moved to England in the late 1970s, formed an all-girl group called The Street Angels and had a Top 30 hit. Her life was transformed overnight when her soul food restaurant was featured in Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares – he loved her, he loved her food, he loved her restaurant, but he hated the way she ran her business. Now a stunning success, her restaurant continues to thrive while her career as a celebrity TV chef goes on in leaps and bounds – she is a regular on both ITV’s Saturday Cooks and BBC’s Saturday Kitchen.

‘The Queen of Soul Food: a celebrity chef with a difference’
The Independent

‘This is just the book you’d expect from her: cheerful and full of bold flavours. […] economical cooking with nothing wasted and leftovers imaginatively transformed.’
BBC Good Food

‘Some cracking classic dishes which require no airs and graces.’
Antony Worral Thompson, Daily Express

The HP Sauce Cookbook

A saucy collection of 40 recipes, from the bestselling author who has ingeniously challenged our thinking regarding the limitations of some of our best-loved storecupbaord icons. He has found a world that goes way beyond the mere spreading onto toast, or squeezing into sandwiches – for Marmite, Colman’s Mustard, Worcestershire Sauce, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Lyle’s Golden Syrup… and now HP Sauce. So here are casseroles with clout, suprisingly rich gravies, a brown Bloody
Mary and meat marinading ideas galore – these are recipes we all want to cook, done in
surprisingly easy and tasty new ways. The book is beautifully packaged with fun fillings of history and lore and stunning archive imagery from over 100 years of the nation’s favourite brown sauce.

Paul Hartley is the author of The Marmite Cookbook, The Lea & Perrin’s Worcestershire Sauce Cookbook, The Colman’s Mustard Cookbook, The Heinz Tomato Ketchup Cookbook, and The Lyle’s Golden Syrup Cookbook . He is a gifted food writer and a talented chef. In a past life he has run European-style caf-bars in London and an award-winning country pub in deepest Somerset.

The Little Book of Backgammon Tips

Want to win at backgammon? Easy: just play with the odds. This guide shows how a simple understanding of the dice-throw can improve your every move. There’s advice on opening throws, how (and when) to block and run, hitting and being hit, bearing off, back games, using the doubling cube, and lots more. You’re odds-on to double and
redouble your success with this Little Book on board.

Chris Jones is an avid backgammon player.

The Little Book of Bread Tips

All that you knead to know about the staff of life, from loaves to rolls, from brown to white. Learn the six steps to perfect bread, and the dos and don’ts of baking, cooling and storing. Discover bread recipes of the world, follow fresh ideas for stale bread, and try some sweet suggestions for bread-based puddings. Whether it’s wholemeal or something more refined you’re after, The Little Book of Bread Tips is the place to look.

Andrew Langley is the author of more than a hundred different food and drink books.

Fish, Indian Style

Fish, Indian Style is a book of simple and easy recipes, marrying fish with the spices and flavours of India. Kochhar applies a simple but distinctive touch to more than a hundred fish dishes. Tandoori-style salmon, Seared scallops with a lively mint dressing and Sea bass in coconut milk and ginger sauce are just a few of the uniquely-skewed dishes on show. All of Kochhar’s recipes showcase wonderful ways to present fish bursting with new and exciting flavours. This is a book for everyone to get excited about, packed with exotic but simple recipes from one of the most exciting Indian chefs working today. Stunning food photography from the one of the best in the business – David Loftus.

Atul Kochhar is one of the finest Indian chefs in the country, renowned for the vibrancy of his food and the subtlety of his spice mixes. He was one of the first two Indian chefs to be awarded a Michelin star and he has become the recognisable face of Indian cuisine on television. His innovative take on food has taken him through two whole series of the BBC’s Great British Menu and continue to win him an admiring public through regular TV appearances.

Reviews

‘Say goodbye to bland fish dishes.’
Sainsbury’s Magazine

‘Fast becoming the most well-known chef on TV.’
Hello!

‘Exquisite without being precious. Engaging and beautifully put together.This book does justice to all seafood lovers!’
Tandoori Magazine

‘An interesting repertoire of unusual fish recipes: a great source of inspiration. A well-written and easy to follow book.’
Charles Campion,The Independent

‘Lots to inspire if you want to move fish cuisine on a notch or two. Fusion cooking, if you want, but of the highest order.’
Caterer and Hotelkeeper

Fish & Chips

The revamped award-winning first book from Trish Hilferty: a splendidly elegaic and mouthwatering celebration of that perfect gastronomic marriage between fish and potato. This is comfort food of the highest order and a unique collection of comfort dishes – more than 100 recipes – that have travelled and translated across a vast range of countries and cultures. Trish Hilferty, previously chef of the award-winning Fox Dining Room gastropub in Shoreditch, writes with passion and authority about mouthwatering combinations of these two versatile and robust ingredients. Stunning photography throughout from Jason Lowe.

Born and brought up in Sydney in a family of food lovers, Trish Hilferty began her cooking career in the mid-1980s working in various hotel bistros. After travelling and working along Australia’s east coast, Trish moved to London. Here, she ‘switched sides’, learning the restaurant trade from the front of house at Braganza. Trish returned to cooking, eventually ending up at the Brackenbury with Adam Robinson. After time back home and further travelling, she returned to London to work at the Eagle, London’s first gastropub. After two and a half years there and another sojourn in Sydney, she set up the Fox Dining Room in 2001, which scooped the prestigious ‘Tio Pepe London Gastro Pub of the Year’ award in 2005. She is the author of the genre-defining Gastropub Classics and has contributed to Big Flavours & Rough Edges, and Real Pub Food (Absolute Press). Fish & Chips was previously published in hardback as Lobster & Chips.

The Little Book of Houseplant Tips

This book will help you to care for your cacti, be a friend to your ferns and pots more besides. It will help you assess the basics of sun, shade, temperature and humidity. Houseplant health, watering wisdom, how to pot perfectly and compose colourfully, plus simple suggestions for cutting, pruning and pest control. From azaeleas to zebra plants, the commonplace to the exotic, The Little Book of Houseplant Tips should help you tend to the every need of your leafy, flowery indoor friends.

William Fortt is a gardener of long standing and has been an author for more than 30 years, with many books to his name.