There’s nothing better than snuggling up at home with a good book. That’s why Koala and Booktopia have partnered up to bring you reading recommendations from some of our favourite Aussie authors. So pour yourself a cuppa, put your feet up and get those pages turning!
Julia Busuttil Nishimura
Award-winning Melbourne-based food writer and Italian teacher Julia Busuttil Nishimura loves simple food that celebrates seasonal produce. It’s an ethos to be found in both of her beloved cookbooks, Ostro and A Year of Simple Family Food.
Here she shares with us some of her favourite cookbooks to help inspire your next dinner party menu!
La Vita e Dolce by Letitia Clark
Community by Hetty McKinnon
Always Add Lemon by Danielle Alvarez
Parwana by Durkhanai Ayubi, with recipes by Farida Ayubi
Falastin by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley
Summer Kitchens by Olia Hercules
Med: A Cookbook by Claudia Roden
Honey from a Weed by Patience Gray and Corinna Sargood (Illustrator)
Florentine by Emiko Davies
The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater
Land of Fish and Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop
The Art Of Simple Food by Alice Waters
River Cafe 30 by Ruth Rogers, Sian Wyn Owen, Joseph Trivelli and Rose Gray
Shop Julia’s choices here
Yoghurt Roast Chicken with Cucumber Salad
from A Year of Simple Family Food
Serves: 4–6
Ingredients
4 chicken marylands (about 1.3 kg in total)
250 g (1 cup) plain full-fat yoghurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 bunch of coriander, stalks finely chopped and leaves reserved pinch of sea salt
lemon cheeks, to serve
Cucumber Salad
4 Lebanese cucumbers, roughly chopped
1 small red onion, finely sliced
handful of mint and coriander leaves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1⁄2 lemon
sea salt
1 teaspoon sumac
Method
Place the chicken in a large non-reactive bowl along with the yoghurt, olive oil, garlic, spices, lemon zest, coriander stalks and salt. Using your hands, work the marinade into the chicken, ensuring everything is well mixed and the chicken is completely coated. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but ideally overnight.
Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Arrange the chicken pieces, skin-side up, in a single layer in a shallow roasting dish or tin, pouring any excess marinade on top. Allow the chicken to come back to room temperature, then roast for 40–45 minutes or until the chicken is nicely coloured and cooked through.
Meanwhile, for the salad, combine the cucumber, onion and herbs in a medium bowl. Drizzle over the olive oil and lemon juice and season to taste with salt. Sprinkle over the sumac.
Serve the yoghurt chicken with the cucumber salad and lemon cheeks.
The Best Books of 2020: Cookbooks 
RECIPE: Lamb and green bean stew by Julia Busuttil Nishimura
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