NOPI

YOTAM OTTOLENGHI & RAMAEL SCULLY, 2015, EBURY, $70

There’s not an Ottolenghi book I don’t love, but when you want to be just a bit fancy, you can’t go past Nopi. If your Christmas celebration is a refined affair, I recommend the chicken livers with red wine, smoky bacon and cherries. And when heirloom tomatoes are at their peak, try the salad with wasabi mascarpone and pinenuts. As the introduction says, this is a restaurant cookbook with a degree of complexity, but so well explained it is completely attainable for a home cook.