Neil’s cookbook of the week: Ginger Pig Meat Book by Tim Wilson and Fran Warde

This week I bring you a lovely book, 'Ginger Pig Meat Book', and it is just great. There is so much information here, the book reminds me of River Cottage, and Tim Wilson and Fran Warde have done an incredible job putting this together.

This book is packed full of ideas, recipes and instructions on how to bone out various animals. It is very good indeed and I would recommend any keen cook to have this book on their shelf. The recipes are great and there are some very tasty ones which I will cook and eat.

The best part about this is how informative it is. The reason we surely buy a book is to learn something. I struggle to put this down as, on page after page, there is something I am soaking up. Recipes from classic roast partridge, mutton shepherd’s pie, olive stuffed chicken leg and boiled collar of ham with parsley sauce, one of my very favourites.

I will always remember the sausage roll I ate from these guys at Borough Market when I used to demonstrate there a few years back. I would buy quite a few items from them and their display was always superb. Every town needs a Ginger Pig.

I also love how this book tells you what’s happening down on the farm each month. This is truly a very good book indeed. I picked it up for £1 from a car boot sale, fools didn’t know what they had. The bread sauce recipe looks lovely to be fair too.

Neil’s cookbook of the week: Cookery for Northern Wives by Margaret B Stout

There are so many books to choose as a ‘best of’, but this one always seems to be up there. 'Cookery For Northern Wives' by Margaret B. Stout is special to me for many reasons. Firstly, I was given a copy by Neil Henderson on Shetland, many moons ago. He had invited me to those incredible islands to cook their astonishing produce at the Shetland Food Festival. He was a huge supporter of Slow Food and this book is so much more than just a recipe book. It is about the culture of the islands, the people of Shetland, the language, the dialect.

I have to admit it, a little, or a large part of me, fell in love with Shetland when I was there. The other reason is the food is just so good, the ingredients they have to hand are incredible. There is a network of small artisans all working together to make good food for people either living or visiting the island, with such a protective feeling of their culture, which I support.

So much so, one year at Terra Madre, a global meeting of food communities in Turin, we took a load of Shetland black cabbage, black potatoes and Native Shetland lamb, mutton and North Ronaldsay mutton out for everyone to taste.

Then my copy was lent to a dear friend and marvellous cook, who you will all know, I won’t name her, she still has my copy, so I bought another copy and smiled when I did. I love that all books have not just a story inside them, but also how you came to own it.

The recipes here are brilliant, and you should get a copy and read the recipes out in a Shetland accent. Stap, for example, is 2 haddocks, 2 haddock livers, pepper and salt, basically cook the livers and chop them up and add to the cooked fish. Now another recipe is for Prog, it reads ‘This dish is similar to Stap’. It is all brilliantly written and put together with no real care for what the ‘hoity toity’ think.

Please buy this book and enjoy every single word. I hope it has the same effect on you as it did me, as you make your Blaand or Eggaloorie.

Neil’s cookbook of the week: Cauliflower by Christopher Trotter

I absolutely adore cauliflower. When my dad came back from working in India, he used to make a cauliflower dish. It was so flavoursome; cumin, heady with black mustard seeds and turmeric, goes so well with our old curds of cauliflower. 'Cauliflower' by Christopher Trotter is a fabulous wee cookery book, packed full of delicious, simple, easy-to-follow recipes. This is not a massive book; it is quite small, 40 to 50 recipes perhaps, but it is blooming marvellous.

I was a good friend of Christopher and sadly he passed away recently. He was such a champion of good, local and Scottish produce. He wasn’t into the chef TV thing too much but cared immensely about the food we eat and what we feed our children.

He and I cooked together in various places off and on, and we shared one thing together. It is called care. He cared so much about what we eat and his ability to write a whole book about a vegetable that usually sits in the bottom of the fridge and ends up in some cheese sauce is astonishing. A hugely important man who cooked food I like to eat. His books, of which he wrote a few, are all excellent, and the photography is just right. You will use this book if you find it. Bravo Mr Trotter, you will always be remembered and an inspiration to many.

Neil’s cookbook of the week: The Miller Howe Cookbook by John Tovey

I have long been fascinated by this book. I can’t quite recall when I first stumbled upon John Tovey and The Miller Howe Cookbook, but it has been a place I have admired for many years. It was well respected and almost shrouded in mystery for some reason. Since opening its doors on the banks of Lake Windermere in 1971, it has always had a name for quality, professionalism, and good things.

I am sure it is now a private home, but mid- to late-1980s onwards, this was on the list of places that I sent my CV and cover letter to work at. It was opulent and elegant, had stunning views across the lake to the hills of the Lake District. And the food, well, this was why folk went. John Tovey was a well-known cook, if self-taught, but knew what he was doing. What came out of the kitchen was revolutionary in a backwater like The Lakes. This was London food served in a country house and was frequented by stars and journalists.

On a visit to the lakes a few years ago, I drove past it, and it felt good to see that the brass plaque was still there. This book is good, with lots of basic recipes to follow, but some more elaborate dishes to try too. It is a blast from my past, and such fun to flick through. No tweezers in sight, no 4-page recipes to try to follow, just simple and elegant cooking. I would devour the baby poussin in dark ale or the Barnsley chop, and the fillet of beef cooked in consommé, a dish I recall making years ago. Some of you may have this book, if you do, get it off the bookshelf and go through it again. I bet something will jump out at you.

Neil’s cookbook of the week: Norteña by Karla Zazueta

My first love is the food I cook at Cafe, with its rich heritage, but I have an interest in other cuisines. My book this week is ‘Norteña’ by Karla Zazueta, authentic family recipes from the north of Mexico. This is a great book to dip into, very simple to follow and with all the familiar classics and much more. It is a hotchpotch of flavours, yet simple in many dishes. The classic asada tacos are steak with onion, avocado, pinto beans and coriander, all everyday items but put together well. The fish taco dish looks incredible, and the simple use of ingredients again is wonderful to see. Spicy salsa, cooling iceberg lettuce, crispy cod, all enveloped in a corn tortilla. You will learn so much from this book and read of a different world. This will make you reconsider chile con carne night at home. Give this a chance and remember, this should be fun.

Neil’s cookbook of the week: Tried Favourites by Mrs E.W. Kirk

I have a corker for you this week. It is an oldie and a goodie from 1929: 'Tried Favourites Cookery Book with Household Hints and Other Useful Information' by Mrs E.W. Kirk. It is a fabulous book, there are so many different recipes and tips. This is an Edinburgh book so very familiar to me and I love its history. I find the adverts fascinating. All of these will have been there to pay for the publication, with OXO advertised as the mighty atom, and Bovril, Ovaltine and Bisto the big names of the day. The first page of the book is an advert for Lunans Indian Curry Powder, made up for you at the chemist of all places, with a simple recipe recommended by gentlemen resident in India for over 30 years.

I am becoming fascinated with the paper cuttings found in old recipe books. Some are odd, some are for Christmas cake, some cuttings from newspapers and many are frugal recipes like mock this and meatless that, I guess from the wartime era. It is fascinating reading the names of old puddings here. Crystal Palace Pudding, a kind of gloopy milk thickened with cornflour and decorated with cherries, or Swiss Jumble which seems to be an odd mix of flour, lard, sugar, baking powder and sweet milk. I am going to try this. Snowdon Pudding looks like a rice pudding and Rothesay Pudding is like a Queen of Puddings. My top one so far is Hygienic Pudding, made with coconut and chestnut flour, walnuts and hazelnuts, not sure what makes it hygienic. But the one I have just come across which speaks for itself is Half Pay Pudding. Times must have been hard. What a beautiful book, put together so well and a real slice of Edinburgh food history.

Neil’s cookbook of the week: Zao Fan: Breakfast of China by Michael Zee

‘Zao Fan: Breakfast of China’ is a fascinating book to flick through and to try something different. I adore this type of food, which is deeply cultural. I like food with stories and tradition. The flavours are wonderful, with some very unusual ingredients peppered through the recipes in this unusual book. Every page I turn shows another dish I want to eat.

It focuses on breakfast, but let’s be honest, most of us skip it. I used to be a red Marlboro and strong coffee kind of guy; now I have a pint of water and a banana before coffee, after a dog walk. The flavours are astonishing, with tastes that make you want to eat again and again. Cooking Chinese breakfast at home is a joy, and this book is authentic and well worth the read.

Neil’s cookbook of the week: Easy 10 by Amy Sheppard

This week I bring you something slightly different. It is actually not my book, but Mrs Chef’s. She is feeling rather left out now she is retired from the farmers' market.

'Easy 10: 10 Everyday Ingredients, 100 Fuss-Free Dinner Recipes' is a good book written by Amy Sheppard. As it says on the cover, things are easy to follow and cook. I am surprised by how many great dishes are in here. Yes, it is home cooking, but funky and cool, like me. Really good family food, with some pot dishes made in advance.

Simple dishes like Spanish chicken and rice are very good, the potato, camembert and bacon bake is delicious, as is the sausage, leek and pasta soup. All very straightforward and easy-to-follow methods, with some use of leftovers and tips and swaps.

All together, a good book. Mrs Chef uses it and cooks from it once in a while. I like that, and I promise I do not get in the way or make suggestions. The baked cheesy meatballs recipe is worth buying the book for.

Neil’s cookbook of the week: River Cafe Cook Book Easy by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers

'River Cafe Cook Book Easy' is a fun book to flick through and get ideas from. Written by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, it is full of deliciously simple dishes to cook and be inspired by. After the success of their first book, they did well to continue with the same vibe and remain so cool and timeless. If you have never eaten at The River Cafe, I urge you to book a table. Yes, it is expensive, but the quality of food, wine, and service will stay with you forever. It may even change you as a person. It did me.

There are far too many great dishes here to mention, but a few I will. The pea and spring onion pasta is just bloody brilliant and so easy, as are roasted sardines with cherry tomatoes and olives. Another I must mention is the guinea fowl with fennel, I adore the combination. This is fabulous, no-fuss cooking, well laid out, easy, few ingredients. Go and buy this book, and do use it. You will thank me.

Neil’s cookbook of the week: Dinner by Meera Sodha

This week I am going veggie and vegan with a fascinating book focusing on some very tasty dishes. I have stocked up my cupboards with lentils, spices, rice and all sorts of things, and various ingredients will be cooked from the book to try to understand more about the flavours of vegetarian food. Many meat eaters are eating veg dishes two to three times a week, and this is no bad thing. We should all be eating less meat, but better quality.

Here in 'Dinner' by Meera Sodha there are 120 dishes. It is a good book, and I am intrigued by it. It is split into categories of ingredients such as vegetable types or pulses. A little jar of kimchi or some juicy tomatoes are no bad thing to have to hand. Flavour can be built using tasty ingredients — sweet potatoes, caramelised onions, cheese, eggs, sesame — all used well and cleverly can turn an average meal into a delicious dinner.