The Really Helpful Cookbook by Ruth Watson

  • Butternut and chickpea soup with basil rouille

    from The Really Helpful Cookbook The Really Helpful Cookbook by Ruth Watson

    • Categories: Sauces for fish; Soups; Cooking ahead; Winter; French; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: shallots; chillies; butternut squash; ground cinnamon; ground cumin; ground coriander; tinned chickpeas; vegetable bouillon powder; basil; mustard powder; groundnut oil; canned tomatoes
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Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Seized cod with white bean and parsley purée

    • Hellyloves2cook on March 27, 2013

      This is such an easy and tasty combination. I have lost count how many times I have used this recipe. Sometimes I use tuna steaks.

  • Baked plums on panettone

    • No1Alicat on May 24, 2026

      A really lovely Sunday brunch! I’ll add some cinnamon next time

  • Casarecce with porcini and pinto beans

    • veronicafrance on December 11, 2015

      This is a book I almost certainly would never have used if it weren't for EYB. And in fact I can hardly say I cooked this dish, I made so many substitutions. But it definitely has potential. No fennel bulbs, so I just added some fennel seeds to the onions. Cheap sliced ham in a packet from the supermarket. I started with dried pinto beans and overcooked them in the pressure cooker. Cream is banned at present, so I used 0% fromage blanc. After two glasses of wine, I didn't measure anything, just threw it together till it looked right to my eyes. And it was still delicious. With good ham, fennel, and yes, maybe a bit of cream (though the fromage blanc, added at the last minute, worked amazingly well), it would be superb, a nice variation on my pasta e fagioli standby.

  • Grilled lobster with Café de Paris butter

    • veronicafrance on May 29, 2014

      I only had frozen cooked lobster, and this butter really lifted it beyond the ordinary. It didn't "puff up" as described in the recipe, but maybe it was because my lobster was recently thawed and very cold. I can see the leftover butter going very well on grilled mussels as a tapa (the classic use is on steak, which would also be good).

  • Red pepper, garlic and saffron risotto

  • French bean, tuna and shallot salad

    • chezsandj on April 02, 2019

      Quicker than a Niçoise. I served on a bed of lettuce for extra salad. And the dressing is really good! (There's enough to go over some accompanying new potatotes)

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  • ISBN 10 0091885388
  • ISBN 13 9780091885380
  • Published Jun 06 2002
  • Format Paperback
  • Page Count 288
  • Language English
  • Edition New edition
  • Countries United Kingdom
  • Publisher Ebury
  • Imprint Ebury Press

Publishers Text

How often do you come across a really good cookbook, one that you want to recommend to all your friends? The truthful answer is, not very often. The Really Helpful Cookbook is destined to be one of those books, a genuine classic that you pick up again and again. Written by Ruth Watson, one of Britain's best-loved food writers, it contains recipes that are the very best in modern, stylish home cooking, along with priceless information on everything from the best brand of sugar to use for baking, to advice on whether it is really necessary to skin tomatoes. With over 150 recipes, the book is divided into Winter and Summer, and dishes range from Cod with Garlic Saffron Mash to Plums on Panettone. When time pressures dictate, cheating - with style - is fine in Ruth's book and there are many ideas for clever shortcuts. Ruth writes with passion and humour, always placing her recipes and advice in the context of our daily lives, making this a book that is as enjoyable to read as it is to cook from.

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