Saasha Celestial-One

Obviously, I am very conscious of waste and I hate throwing things away, which I no longer do, what with having OLIO at my fingertips! What I love about Hugh’s resourceful book is that he manages to inspire you to take a look at the odds and sods in your kitchen and inject a new lease of culinary delight into them with ease and simplicity. Some old potatoes in your fridge and flour in your cupboard? Voila - you’ve got gnocchi!

This is a really beautifully written book. Tamar Adler transcends the conventional recipe formula, opting for a more natural and intuitive approach that has more soul than technical ability. There are no step-by-step instructions or long ingredients lists, instead, poetic and personal reflections on food, dotted with recipes of sustaining meals that champion frugality and cherish leftovers.

I have been a vegetarian from birth, so this classic has been plucked off my shelf and used plenty of times. Many of my favourite veggie comfort dishes have sprung to life from the pages of this book, particularly the Spinach Lasagne recipe. It is also full of charming illustrations which make leafing through it all that little bit more pleasurable.

From one veggie Anna to the next. While Thomas paved the way for pioneering vegetarian cooking back in the day, Anna Jones is grabbing the baton and running with it into the modern age. Her book is crammed with plant-based, sustainably conscious recipes that will excite and inspire any vegan or vegetarian. Her recipes are also easy and accessible to execute, which is what I look for with my busy schedule.

I read somewhere that nearly every household in the UK has a Jamie Oliver cookbook! Well, this one adorns my shelf. Much like Hugh’s conscious, waste-reducing ethos, Jamie favours thrift and savvy frugality, with no compromise on flavour or imagination. I have a 3 year old at home, so the fact that these are simple, quick and tasty recipes that use-up my leftovers, is just perfect.

Jack Monroe’s economical and unpretentious approach to cooking is refreshing and inspiring. There’s no pricey, extravagant ingredients here, just simple and honest food. Jack encourages the reader to raid their store cupboard and pair those uninspiring tins, such as chickpeas or kidney beans, with fresh, seasonal ingredients, creating nutritious, low-budget meals for the family.

Ottolenghi is the master and this is one of my all time favourites. This is a vegetarian book, with an Israeli/ Middle Eastern influence, that will sway the most hardened carnivore. Ottolenghi works his magic with vegetables, grains and spices and he consistently delivers combinations that are interesting, bold and innovative.

I absolutely adore Tom Hunt’s root-to-fruit approach to food. His philosophy is all about eating seasonally and sustainably, while curbing your food waste footprint in the process. Seasonal veg is the hero, and his inventive recipes show you how to make the most of a versatile vegetable, with no scraps remaining. For example, beetroot can be made into a hummus, roasted and put in a salad or candied in a chocolate pot.

In his words, “Salad is the main course now” and I’m in agreement! I’m a big fan of salads and I eat them by the bucket load. I purchased this book fairly recently and I was amazed first by the striking photography, and then by the imagination and vibrancy of the recipes. The book is split into 8 sections, from simple salads to meat and poultry - the latter will appease my meat-eating husband who sometimes gets fed up with my veggie making ways!

I had to include a Nigel Slater title on my list because they’re simply beautiful things to behold. Slater’s evocative prose and easy-to-follow recipes are a joy to read, and his words are elevated by the eye-catching photography. I like the fact that Slater encourages creativity and appreciates simplicity in his uniquely warm way, and in this book, the vegetable is the star, which aligns well with my vegetarianism.