GWG food editor, Emily Jenkinson shares her go-to sites for great recipes.
These days, culinary inspiration comes less from my heaving shelf of cook books than it does from the web, where recipes catering to all manner of tastes can be tracked down at the touch of the button. I’m less about a Google search and more about specific sites that I know can be relied upon to provide original recipes that work. From vegetarian to country cooking and everything in between, these are the sites I couldn’t live without. Bookmark them and enjoy.
RECIPE AGGREGATORS
You really eat with your eyes on this blog aggregator, which provides links to some of the best online recipes, gleaned from bloggers across the world. Let the amazing food photography guide you to new culinary concoctions or enter a search term based upon your key ingredient to find a wealth of recipe ideas. It’s unlikely that your efforts will look as good as those shown in the photos, but – whatever you end up cooking - it’s sure to taste good.
Chock-full with thousands of professional recipes collated from chefs, magazines and food writers, Epicurious offers ideas for every conceivable culinary occasion. If the choice is too overwhelming, narrow it down by browsing recipes tried and tested by others, or search by season, ingredient, country or type of meal (lunch/ appetiser etc) to find something suitable. And don’t miss the accompanying free app, offering on-the-hoof mobile access to recipes as you go about your day.
Running for nearly ten years now, 101 Cookbooks offers a tempting array of recipes that focus on wholefoods and healthy ingredients. Set up by Californian photographer and author, Heidi Swanson, the blog divides recipes into a variety of categories covering everything from vegetarian, low-grain and vegan to gluten-free, low-carb and high-protein as well as less virtuous recipes for baked goods, chocolate and desserts. You can also browse by ingredient and season. Oh, and all posts come with fabulous photography taken by Heidi.
Aran Goyoaga, a pastry chef from the Spanish Basque country now living in America, started following a gluten-free diet following her diagnosis of auto-immune conditions Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and Meniere’s Disease and since then has been symptom free. As such, all recipes featured on this blog are gluten-free and are none the poorer for it. Browse the full range, ranging from cakes and cookies to tarts, doughs, savouries and soufflés, enjoying Aran’s magnificent photography as you go.
With chefs and cooks including Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall, Felicity Cloake, Nigel Slater, Angela Hartnett, Dan Lepard and Yottam Ottolenghi all contributing regularly to The Guardian’s food section, this is a great place to come for recipes full-stop. But it’s the vegetarian section that really steals the show, offering users opportunity to browse vegetarian food by type and enjoy access to meat and fish-free recipes from some of Britain’s best-loved culinary wizards.
The home of vegetarianism, India and its spice-infused vegetable-based cuisine is a source of much inspiration for India-born vegetarian food blogger Sala Kannan. Step this way to enjoy highly detailed and easy-to-follow veggie and vegan recipes with a strong eastern influence. Ranging from baba ganoush and sweet potato samosas to spicy quinoa and yoghurt set with caramelised sugar, Veggie Belly proves that vegetarian cooking is anything but dull.
For country cooking and a focus on seasonal, British ingredients, Country Life is an excellent source of recipes. Contributors include Thomasina Myers, Mark Hix, Tom Aikens and many other high-calibre chefs with recipes including those for roast partridge, squid and cuttlefish, Seville orange marmalade and one of the best rhubarb burnt creams I’ve ever tasted. If you’re a country cook at heart and keen to make use of Britain’s best seasonal produce, this is the place to come.
A delightful blog written by Gloria Nicol, Laundry Etc encourages readers to make the most of seasonal herbs, fruit and vegetables via an excellent array of country recipes. With sections on canning, baking, foraging and many other activities associated with the traditional country cook, this site is an inspiration and the place to come for ideas and advice on making apricot curd, home-made butter, pickled asparagus and hundreds of other rural treats - a truly wonderful resource.
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