Expand Your Cooking Repertoire With Unique Cookbooks From 2024

I started writing this round up with the theme of Best Cookbooks of 2024, but as I pondered which ones should make this list, I was drawn to cookbooks in my stack that had recipes that expanded my culinary horizons along with great narratives along the way. I gravitated towards a new theme, cookbooks that are love letters to the cultures they are writing about, with unique recipes that will be sure to expand your repertoire. Here’s a few gems you should read and cook through. —Cassandra Anderton, Good Life Vancouver

AfriCali: Recipes from My Jikoni (A Cookbook) – Kiano Moju 

This collection of recipes from a combination of Kenyan, Nigerian and California cuisines celebrates the unique style of food that Kiano Moju grew up around with in California with influences her parents homelands in Kenya and Nigeria. Take a culinary journey with these recipes dedicate to efficiency, while never skimping on flavour. Beautiful photos of her travels to Africa pepper the pages and the food photography will inspire you to try everything from her Lentil Nuggets to Kijani Seafood Pilau and Berbere Braised Short Ribs. Don’t miss the Coastal Mimosa and pay special attention to the back pages with flavour bombs such as Peri Per Butter and Masala and Curry Powders.

Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store – Paola Velez

Paola Velez grew up in the Bronx and she frequented the local bodega (corner store), with shelves full of treats from near and far. This cookbook is celebration of her Dominican heritage and a homage to ingredients available at corner stores everywhere. Paola was formally trained as a chef and self-taught in pastry, so she understands the expert guidance necessary to nail these colourful recipes that you’ll want to share with friends and family. The Coquito Cheesecake is full of coconut, rum and vanilla flavours, Plantain Sticky Buns are for those who live for cinnamon and caramel, and she shares the recipe that made her Instagram blow up, Thick’ems, giant cookies that are both crunchy and gooey. Make sure you read through the Pantry section, Notes About Equipment and Ingredients.

Italian Snacking – Anna Francese Gass

Italians know a few things about entertaining and even their snacks and street foods are elevated. In this cookbook Anna Francese Gass introduces the spuntini (snacking) culture with recipes from an assortment of Italy’s provinces. Start by reading through the section on “The Food of the Regions” and immerse yourself in Italian culture, before diving into the section on Midmorning Snacks including a mushroom and an apple strudel. Ready for Afternoon Treats? Try the Focaccia Genovese and vary it with your own toppings. Onto aperitivi (evening appetizers) as no one needs to go hungry before dinner, go for the Caponata, a stewed eggplant spread. Finally, there’s a section on street food, with different versions of Arancini from Calabria, Rome and Sicily, Pizza, Calzones and more. This book will be sure to entice you to venture to Italy and eat your way through every region. For now, at least we have the recipes to try at home.

Mediterra: Recipes from the islands and shores of the Mediterranean – Ben Tish

Ben Tish created a selection of recipes from Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and North Africa in this cookbook that transports you to the Mediterranean. These recipes are not muddled fusion, the book is distinctly divided into Northern, Eastern and Southern Shores and a section on Islands. In the north recipes include Empanadillas with roasted eggplant and sheep cheese, and Squid Stuffed with Sobrassada, and in the east you might want to try the Zahter-Flavoured Slow-Cooked Lamb. Venturing south to Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco the Honey and Harissa Chicken Wings will be a hit, and the island section has an Orzo, Red Prawns, Garlic and Chillies recipe that has jus the right amount of spice.

Madame Vo: Vietnamese Home Cooking from the New York Restaurant – Jimmy Ly & Yen Vo

The husband-and-wife team of Jimmy Ly & Yen Vo, own Madame Vo, a Vietnamese restaurant in the East Village of New York that features southern Vietnamese flavours. This book will teach you how to cook Vietnamese food with a modern touch and has stories of the journey of their parents, Vietnamese refugees, to the US and romantic tales of how they met. Over eighty recipes from the restaurant are featured with easy-to-follow instructions. The section on The Vietnamese Kitchen and Pantry might inspire you to do some shopping, before you learn how to make “The Perfect Pho”, their signature Caramelized Pork Belly with Pineapple, Papaya Salad and Madame Wings, spicy chicken wings with fish sauce. The book also includes a Madame Vo Mini-Guide to Saigon should you wish to travel to this flavourful country.

Our South: Black Food Through My Lens – Ashleigh Shanti

This book ventures far past cornbread, and fried chicken, and the type of Southern Black cooking many thinks of, in a journey through five regions. Author Asheliegh Shanti was raised in Appalachia, and her mother and aunts instilled a love of food in her that lead her to culinary school and eventually to Top Chef and a James Beard Award Rising Star Chef nomination. The story begins with the mountainous Backcountry through recipes such as Peppery Turnip Soup with Dandelion Pesto and Brown Butter Apple Pork Chops then over to the coastal Lowcountry fills your plate with Smoky Ham BBQ Oysters and Blackened Flounder Chowder. In the Midlands there’s a bounty of produce and recipes like Carrot Salad with Honeyed Peanuts and Chicken Thighs with Stewed Plums take full advantage of cooking with fruits and vegetables. Lowlands showcases the diversity of food cultures in the region and the Homeland chapter concentrates on more modern dishes that Shanti cooks now. I’ve never wanted to cook like a southerner more than after reading through this book.

Souk to Table – Vibrant Middle Eastern Dishes for Everyday Meals – Amina Al-Saigh

An approachable cookbook from Toronto food blogger Amina Al-Saigh (@hungrypaprikas) who gathers recipes from around the Middle East and presents them in easy, quick and delicious steps. Al-Saigh is originally from Iraq but her food, and the beautiful photography that comes with the instructions, covers dips, condiments, salads, stews, desserts and drinks from Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and Morocco. There are tips on stocking a Middle Eastern kitchen with ingredients you don’t have to travel the world to find. Try the Crumbled Falafel Salad, a Skeikh El Mahshi (stuffed eggplant boats), Apricot Chicken, or Moroccan Almond Cookies.