Eat Istanbul: A Journey to the Heart of Turkish Cuisine

Istanbul is a melting pot of cultures and Ottoman cuisine is likewise a mix of Turkish, Greek, Albanian, Mongolian and Bulgarian, to name just a few.  This is an enjoyable big glossy book full of pictures both of the recipes and of the markets of the city.

We are given a brief introduction to the areas and markets of Istanbul with delicious descriptions and pictures of the enjoyment and delight with which the people of Istanbul devour their food, from street vendors to restaurants.  Then there are then six recipe sections: Breakfast; Streetfood and snacks; Vegetables and pulses; Meat and poultry; Fish and seafood; and Desserts.  The last section is a glossary of ingredients, some of them are distinctly Ottoman and a picture and description gives enough information to understand the flavour each brings to a dish if they cannot be sourced.

As someone who is gluten intolerant I found this book really useful because it gives me access to favourite foods such as kofta kebabs and wraps that previously I would have been unable to consume and can now substitute, gluten free breads and wraps, quinoa for bulghar wheat, etc.

The Natural Cook: Eating the Seasons from Root to Fruit by Tom Hunt

An interesting book in which Hunt invites us to cook vegetables and fruit in season, divided into Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.  Each vegetable or fruit is introduced with notes on preparation, taste and season and instructions given for cooking it three ways, for instance, for asparagus instructions are given for preparing it raw, char-grilling it and blanching it.  Below each method comes further ideas for using the ingredient, it is then followed by an extant recipe, for instance, the blanched asparagus is used for a variation on Italian Risi e Bisi (rice and peas).  It's an approach that teaches you the possibilities of each vegetable and fru