Maybe you’re new to veganism and looking to change up your meal planning. Or you’re a cannabis enthusiast hoping to bake more than brownies. This spring, such authors as Emani Corcran and Chris Sayegh can help you accomplish these goals. And, for home cooks looking to find the healing power of food, writers Jack Hazan and Jerry Mai take you on a journey to explore your food memories.
No matter what direction your spring cooking goes, here are our spring cookbook picks.
‘Yogurt & Whey: Recipes from an Iranian Immigrant Life’
Homa Dashtaki, W. W. Norton & Company, $37.20, bookshop.org
The day Homa Dashtaki was born marked the beginning of the 1979 Iranian revolution. When Dashtaki and her family moved to the United States, yogurt was a source of comfort — not only eating it but also making it from scratch. It brought her family together to create their empire of handmade, hand-strained jars. Now, the founder of The White Moustache Yogurt Co. debuts "Yogurt and Whey: Recipes from an Iranian Immigrant Life." Find yogurt-centric recipes accompanied by illustrations and learn the joys of lemon-whey meringue pie, ghormeh sabzi, whey ceviche, and pineapple margaritas.
‘Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit’
Abra Berens, Chronicle Books, $32.55, bookshop.org
Bright and colorful, Abra Berens’s third cookbook teaches you how to elevate roasted pork, cornbread, soups and other main dishes with fruit. In a can-do attitude that emulates Beren’s roots, "Pulp" is organized by fruit to help you broaden your repertoire of techniques with ingredients already in your pantry. The book features more than 215 recipes, plus more than 100 photos. Pick up the cookbook and enjoy “a beautiful ride through the fields, orchards, and kitchens of the Midwest,” Tim Mazurek writes in the foreword.
‘Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed’
Abi Balingit, Harvest Publications, $37.20, bookshop.org
Abi Balingit spent the pandemic selling pasalubong (souvenir) boxes of treats made in her tiny New York kitchen. She’d sell out within hours and donate the proceeds to organizations she supported. Now, Balingit invites everyone from the curious baker to the advanced to venture into the world of Filipino delights. From halo-halo baked Alaska to adobo chocolate chip cookies, Balingit’s cookbook debut celebrates the Filipino American experience with 75 recipes and personal essays in this vibrant, playful deep dive.
‘Blk + Vegan’
Emani Corcran, Page Street Publishing, $22.31, bookshop.org
Emani Corcran grew up letting her wild curiosity for flavors run amok. But her relationship with food changed as her family dealt with sickness and loss. Inspired by the 2007 documentary "What the Health," Corcran dedicated her life to veganism. Her food blog Blk and Vegan shared her journey exploring the cuisine that culminated into this food diary of more than 160 pages with recipes including vegan ribs, spicy silken tofu, and herb-infused “feta.”
‘Mind Over Batter’
Jack Hazan, Chronicle Books, $32.55, bookshop.org
Jack Hazan is a licensed psychotherapist, and his new book helps you sort through different parts of your story with some baking therapy. Bake through feelings of anxiety and frustration with such recipes as Five-Star Meringue Birthday Cake and cheesecake with a pomegranate twist. Break down what’s going on in your head using "Mind Over Batter."
‘Indian Flavor Every Day’
Maya Kaimal, Clarkson Potter Publishers, $26.04, bookshop.org
Maya Kaimal loves to cook traditional Indian dishes with inventive twists, from smearing tandoori marinade on cauliflower steaks to adding garam masala in the pastry crust of a chocolate tart. The 240-page cookbook is filled with recipes that reflect her cooking style. Get a feel for tarka techniques and masala mixing to embark on your own adventures in the kitchen.
‘Sugar High: 50 Recipes for Cannabis Desserts’
Chris Sayegh, Simon Element, $21.38, bookshop.org
At the University of California-Santa Cruz, Chris Sayegh dove head first into studying and understanding cannabis. It led him through years of research and recipe testing that culminated in "Sugar High." The cookbook offers a history lesson on cannabis in North America, dosage calculation, infusions, and recipes for nostalgic treats such as cherry sherbet and apple pie. Whether you’re venturing into the world of weed for the first time or you’re looking to improve your cannabis cooking game, dive into this love letter to cannabis and desserts.
‘Ikoyi: A Journey through Bold Heat with Recipes’
Jeremy Chan, Phaidon Press, $60.40, bookshop.org
In London, the Michelin-starred restaurant Ikoyi is run by childhood friends chef Jeremy Chan and Iré Hassan-Odukale. The two opened the restaurant in 2017 offering menus that harmonize heat and umami, focusing on the bold flavors of sub-Saharan Africa. Learn about the cooking, philosophy and story of Ikoyi in Chan’s bright orange cookbook. Flip through 82 micro-seasonal recipes including smoked jollof rice and crab custard, photographs of steamed fonio brioche and other plated dishes, and written narratives by Chan as you experiment with global spices and produce native to the British landscape and sea.
‘Vietnam: Morning to Midnight’
Jerry Mai, Smith Street Books, $27.85, bookshop.org
Enter Jerry Mai’s family dining room and witness her food memories unravel as you create your own with "Vietnam: Morning to Midnight." The cookbook shares Mai’s long love affair with Vietnamese food that began when she visited the country of her birth in 1992. Inside, you’ll find dishes Mai grew up eating, including her mother’s signature hủ tiêu nam vang.
