Not sure what to serve your guests around your Christmas table this year, what kinds of canapés to make or which drinks to prepare for New Year’s Eve? Or maybe you aren’t sure which gift to buy your favourite foodie (or yourself!). We consulted Penguin Random House to help us take the guesswork out of your festive season preparations with their latest list of outstanding new cookbooks.
1. SUMMER FOOD BY CHEF TJAART WALRAVEN
Serve up some of chef Tjaart’s delightful dishes on those long, hot and balmy summer days. Everything from Grilled Aubergine Salad With Yellow Capsicum Dressing, to his Ultimate Summer Fruit Terrine, your summer table needs Summer Food.
2. DELISH SISTERS: TASTY FOOD MADE WITH LOVE BY KATE LUND & REBECCA LUND
The Delish Sisters are your girls if you’re looking to prepare tasty food made with love, and they give you options for every type of occasion: a sultry summer brunch or a celebratory feast featuring a moreish Berry, Litchi And Ginger Crumble, or a Quinoa And Chia Arancini. Or how about a seaside lunch with some Green Goddess Fennel or Fresh Coconut Salad. A hearty home-style feast that starts with Roast Butternut, Spinach, Sage and Feta Quinoa Risotto, and ends with Vanilla Mascarpone Cheesecake will also go down a treat!
3. CAPE MEDITERRANEAN BY ILSE VAN DER MERVE
If you love long festive season tables that start with breads and spreads, going into smaller bites or tapas, and then onto generous salads and vegetable dishes served alongside beautiful roasts or freshly-grilled seafood, then Ilse van der Merve has you covered. With ideas and tips on how to entertain family and friends around the lunch and dinner table, her true celebration of local, seasonal produce will shed a modern light on a few familiar Mediterranean classics in her exquisite cookbook Cape Mediterranean.
4. SHARE BY ERRIEDA DU TOIT
If traditional South African recipes are what you’re after, or if you prefer the classics, then Errieda Du Toit has just the collection for you. Share features a wide selection of recipes as generous, gracious and welcoming as the home cooks who shared them in the 150 community cookbooks that inspired this book. Is the festive season ever complete with nostalgic and forget-me-not recipes, such as Lettie’s Seven-layer Salad, a Snoek Roly-poly or traditional Fruitcake?
Penguin Random House definitely has something for everyone, so make your way to your nearest bookstore and take your pick of these sumptuous cookbooks before they all sell out.
