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Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook Hardcover – October 13, 2020


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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of Plenty teams up with Ottolenghi Test Kitchen’s Ixta Belfrage to reveal how flavor is created and amplified through 100+ super-delicious, plant-based recipes.

IACP AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The New York Times Book Review • NPR • The Washington PostThe Guardian The Atlanta Journal-Constitution National GeographicTown & Country Epicurious

“Bold, innovative recipes . . . make this book truly thrilling.”—
The New York Times

Level up your vegetables. In this groundbreaking cookbook, Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage offer a next-level approach to vegetables that breaks down the fundamentals of cooking into three key elements: process, pairing, and produce. For process, Yotam and Ixta show how easy techniques such as charring and infusing can change the way you think about cooking. Discover how to unlock new depths of flavor by pairing vegetables with sweetness, fat, acidity, or chile heat, and learn to identify the produce that has the innate ability to make dishes shine.

With main courses, sides, desserts, and a whole pantry of “flavor bombs” (homemade condiments), there’s something for any meal, any night of the week, including surefire hits such as Stuffed Eggplant in Curry and Coconut Dal, Spicy Mushroom Lasagne, and Romano Pepper Schnitzels. Chock-full of low-effort, high-impact dishes that pack a punch and standout meals for the relaxed cook,
Ottolenghi Flavor is a revolutionary approach to vegetable cooking.

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
8,604 global ratings

Customers say

Customers say the recipes are packed with flavor and not overly complicated. They appreciate the nice photos and compelling content. Readers describe the book as a wonderful addition to Ottolenghi's recipe book, with individual components that can be utilized for a variety of other dishes. Opinions differ on the writing style, with some finding it expertly written and others saying it's impractical.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

66 customers mention "Flavor"62 positive4 negative

Customers find the recipes in the book packed with flavor. They also say the book has been transformative for their cooking, and the ingredients are used to enhance, draw out, and accentuate the flavor.

"...These ingredients have been used to enhance, draw out and accentuate, they are umami rich, many of them are aged, and all have complex layers of..." Read more

"...or difficult-to-source ingredients, however, the flavor combinations are unique and interesting and not things I would come up with on my own...." Read more

"...An amazing mix of flavors and textures. I will definitely make these recipes again as I continue to try many others...." Read more

"Some of the recipes seem pretty practical, and the others seem nice if you have a whole day to cook one thing" Read more

20 customers mention "Recipe complexity"15 positive5 negative

Customers find the recipes in the book full of flavor and yet not overly complicated. They also appreciate the speedy prep and the division of the recipes into process, pairing, and produce.

"...that have a cooking time of 30 mins or less, and the prep for all of those recipes is speedy, with some ingredients being prepped during the cooking..." Read more

"...This eliminates a lot of confusion for someone less experienced by not relying on subjective criteria..." Read more

"...All the recipes are explained clearly and can be completed by a cook of any level of experience...." Read more

"There is no useful table of contents so it is not possible to browse a list of recipes. Really terrible decision by the editors. Minus two stars...." Read more

14 customers mention "Photos"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the photos in the book nice, and say they've been used to enhance, draw out, and accentuate the umami rich flavors.

"...These ingredients have been used to enhance, draw out and accentuate, they are umami rich, many of them are aged, and all have complex layers of..." Read more

"...like that it will lay flat and I love that there are photos for pretty much every finished dish, sometimes with photos of intermediate steps, as well..." Read more

"Very interesting recipes with excellent photography that makes you want to try them." Read more

"This is a very nice, high quality book with lovely photos and excellent recipes." Read more

11 customers mention "Content"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the content compelling, inspiring, and entertaining. They also say it develops their palate and makes everyday meals more entertaining.

"...combinations to help you develop your palate and make everyday meals way more entertaining, very typical Ottolenghi...." Read more

"...Have a look at the Contents photo. And the food…. WhoaMyGod! it’s inspired and delicious...." Read more

"...This book Flavor includes beautiful photos and LOTS of inspiration. I highly recommend it!!" Read more

"Beautiful book with really good information to help understand how flavors can be mixed and enhanced...." Read more

6 customers mention "Book addition"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book addition a wonderful addition to their Ottolenghi recipe book. They appreciate the innovative combinations and individual components that can be utilized for a variety of other dishes.

"...Additionally, individual components can be utilized for a variety of other dishes encouraging cooks to be more creative without relying on a recipe...." Read more

"true to form, this is a wonderful addition to my Ottolenghi recipe book collection. So many excellent recipes...." Read more

"...It is easier to use and source ingredients. "Flavor" has great stuff in it, too, as do all of his cookbooks. Made me think about new flavor pairings...." Read more

"...for people who are veg or just love super flavorful food and innovative combinations. Get it us out of a recipe rut." Read more

8 customers mention "Writing style"5 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book. Some find it beautiful and expertly written, while others say the descriptions are impractical and obscure. They also mention that there is no useful table of contents, making it difficult to browse a list of recipes.

"...So well written, this book was thought of to help you level up your vegetables...." Read more

"There is no useful table of contents so it is not possible to browse a list of recipes. Really terrible decision by the editors. Minus two stars...." Read more

"...cookbooks, "Flavor" is simply a masterpiece of imagination and professional writing...." Read more

"...Like the others, this volume is beautiful and expertly written...." Read more

6 customers mention "Vegetarian content"3 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the vegetarian content of the book. Some find the recipes quite healthy, while others say they use dairy without any plant-based alternatives. Some readers also mention that the ingredients are unconventional for the average person.

"...truly learn from and of course as a result enjoy some great and quite healthy meals." Read more

"...is a great cook, but, as I looked through recipes, the ingredients were a bit unconventional for the average person with ingredients like saffron..." Read more

"Excited about this chef and these amazing recipes. They are doable, healthy, creative." Read more

"...to see that there are recipes here that use dairy without any plant based alternatives. For example the kimchi and gruyere rice fritters...." Read more

Another great addition to the Ottolenghi line up!
5 out of 5 stars
Another great addition to the Ottolenghi line up!
For fans of Plenty and Plenty More, embrace Flavor, a book that Ottolenghi describes as Plenty Three.EDIT: I'm adding the following comment on cooking times a day after I posted my initial review. A reviewer below mentioned that in the whole book there are only 5 recipes that can be produced in under 30 mins. I disagree.Just in the first 12 recipes alone, there are 6 recipes that have a cooking time of 30 mins or less, and the prep for all of those recipes is speedy, with some ingredients being prepped during the cooking time. Yes, there are recipes that have multiple steps, and long cooking times, but this is not advertised as a recipe book specifically for those who need to get dinner on the table in 30 mins. There are plenty of other books out there that offer that. However, a quick scan shows a number of recipes that do meet that bill. For example, Noors Black Lime Tofu. The tofu is tossed in cornstarch and fried for 6 mins, while the tofu is frying throw the onions and garlic in a food processer. Fry that for 10 mins. Add the spices etc and cook for another minute. Add water, simmer for 6 mins. Add the tofu to the sauce and toss in the spinach, serve straight from the pan and dinner is done. The One Pan Orecchiette Puttanesca cooking time is just 14 mins if you boil the pasta while the sauce is reducing, then stir together.. Some of the more labor intensive recipes you might like to save for the weekend but there are weeknight healthy and delicious sounding recipes in this book.Flavor contains 100 recipes, which are almost all vegetarian sometimes vegan (45 recipes) that occasionally dabbles with fish sauce and parmesan, eggs and dairy. Yotam offers substitutions for various ingredients where possible such as light soy sauce for fish sauce.At the start of the book, Yotam lists the 20 ingredients that he considers essential to this book. He is not suggesting that you rush out and purchase them all right away (if you don’t already have them, you will likely want to stock most of them anyway, after trying these recipes) He describes these ingredients are being the essence of the book. These ingredients have been used to enhance, draw out and accentuate, they are umami rich, many of them are aged, and all have complex layers of flavor.These 20 ingredients are: Aleppo Chile (Gochugaru Korean hot pepper flakes are suggested as a substitute) Ancho chile, Anchovies packed in olive oil, black garlic, Persian dried black lime (he suggests that regular lime could be used, but to me, Persian lime has a scented, earthy tang that really is a different thing entirely from fresh lime) Cascabel Chiles (ancho as a substitute) Dried Whole Chipotle, Fish Sauce, Gochujang paste, Ground cardamom, Hibiscus flowers, jarred butter beans (canned are acceptable but jarred is preferred) Mango Pickle (not chutney) Masa Harina, Miso (preferably white not sweet white) red bell pepper flakes, rice vinegar, rose harissa (regular harissa can be substituted, I would like to add that culinary rose petals can also be crushed and added to harissa, and these can be found at World Market or online) Shaoxing Wine, Tamarind Paste.The book is divided into three main categories. Process, Pairing and Produce.Those categories are further divided intoProcess: Charring, Browning, Infusing, AgingPairing: Sweetness, Fat, Acidity, Chile HeatProduce: Mushrooms, Alliums, Nuts and Seeds, Sugar: Fruit and BoozeFinally we have Flavor Bombs which is a two page spread, showing all of the condiments that are in the book with the corresponding page number (see my photo) Butters, oils, salsas, mayonnaise, sauce, pickles, salts and spiced nuts.Each chapter begins with an essay on that subject which covers the subheadings. I love this, as I read cookbook like novels and here, each method and the equipment used, and a run down of some of the recipes and how they embody the method used, is described in detail with some cute, cartoon-like line drawings.Process for example, has 12 pages describing the processes and benefits to Charring, Browning, Infusing and Aging before we get to the recipes.Here are a selection of four recipes from each chapter (please see the corresponding photo)The Process ChapterCharring: Iceberg Wedges with Smoky Eggplant CreamBrowning: Hasselback Beets with Lime Leaf ButterInfusing: Chilled Avocado Soup with Crunchy Garlic OilAging: The Ultimate Roasting Pan RaguThe Pairing ChapterSweetness: Coconut and Tumeric Omelette FeastFat: Stuffed Eggplant in Curry and Coconut DalAcidity:Noors Black Lime TofuChile Heat:Saffron Tagliatelle with Ricotta and Crispy Chipotle ShallotsThe Produce ChapterMushrooms:Broccoli with Mushroom Ketchup and NoriAlliums:Olive Oil Flatbreads with Three Garlic ButterNuts and Seeds:Tofu Meatball KormaSugar: Fruit and Booze Tapioca Fritters with Orange Syrup and Star AniseI have listed a range of recipes from main courses to side dishes.In the process chapter for example Charring has 7 recipes, Browning has 11 recipes, Infusing has 8 recipes and Aging has 9 recipes. In that chapter every recipe has a corresponding full page sized photo or even a two page photo spread, sometimes multiple photos on a two page spread. Additionally, there are a number of photos of Yotam and Ixta cooking.This brings me to a bit of a gripe. I know that the majority of cooks like a photo of every recipe, and many people find it hard to get enthusiastic about a recipe with no photo, but this seems to be overkill at the expense of the amount of recipes in this book.Plenty had 120 recipes to 288 pagesPlenty More had 150 recipes to 352 pagesFlavor has a mere 100 recipes to 317 pages.Admittedly, the chapter essays take up some of this, but I never thought I would say this about a cookbook, but the photos are overkill. While I enjoy the photos of Yotam and Ixta cooking, these could have been reduced in size to half or even quarter page photos.The two page spreads of a single recipe, for example the Hasselback Beets, could have been reduced in size to a single page to make way for another recipe.Noors Black Lime Tofu has no less than three full pages of photos. A photo of the tofu in the pan with the paste, then a photo of the spinach being added to the pan, then a photo of the spinach being stirred in, then a photo of the spinach almost completely stirred in and almost wilted, and then a photo of the finished dish with spinach wilted satisfactorily.This type of photo series could have been kept for recipes that were a bit more complex, such as the home made Saffron Tagliatelle. That recipe has no photo at all and could really have used a series for people who have never made pasta before. Instead the two page spread has been used for the Saffron Tagliatelle dish with Ricotta and Crispy Chipotle Shallots. And in that instance the photo series shows the already made Tagliatelle on a tray, then it being cooked in water, then it in the pan with the parmesan being added, then its in the pan with the parmesan added now, and then a full sized photo of it in the pan with the crispy shallots on top.There always has to be a gripe, but for me this is a pretty big one. If I was the editor I would have said one photo only per recipe unless a difficult technique really needs to be shown and add more recipes in place of all the rest. The book is pretty, but beyond a photo of each finished dish, the rest of the photos are just eye candy and most of the extra photos of the type I described above, are not what I would consider helpful or even particularly interesting. Personally, I would prefer more recipes.Another area which I think had some room for expansion was the Flavor Bombs page. While it is helpful to show all the condiments etc on one page with the recipe page number listed, and in the intro to each recipe there are some ideas on how else to use one of the Flavor Bombs I think this could have been fleshed out a bit more.For example, if you have leftover Fenugreek Marinade from the Curry Crusted Rutabaga Steaks it is described as keeping for two weeks and can be used as a base for curries or for marinating vegetables or different meats. Perhaps this could have been expanded to say mix with yoghurt and serve with grilled chicken, or to marinate chicken before grilling (I don’t know if that would be good, just riffing here) but if I am going to make double or triple of a condiment I would love a handful of simple ideas sketched out, to start me off on the journey of what else I could do with these Flavor Bombs beyond a line or two on the recipe page. But perhaps that is just nit picking. There are some ideas, I just want more, more, more!Gripes aside, the recipes themselves sound great and I will be cooking through this book, as I have done with all of Ottolenghis other books.Fans of Ottolenghis will want this book, so I am preaching to the converted here but it is always nice to read an extensive review before purchase even if you pretty much know you are going to purchase a book.Newbies, this is a pretty vegetable book with some very interesting recipes. You can't go wrong with this book or Plenty or Plenty More if you want to expand your vegetable repertoire. Or Ottolenghis other books if you also want interesting recipes that include meat and fish.I am happy to have this book and I will post an update when I cook from it (I pre-ordered it and just received it today)If this review was helpful to you, please click the helpful button. It always gives me a huge kick to see that my reviews were helpful to other like minded cooks. You might also be interested in my other cookbook and ingredient reviews and my ideas lists of kitchen tools etcHappy cooking!
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2020
For fans of Plenty and Plenty More, embrace Flavor, a book that Ottolenghi describes as Plenty Three.

EDIT: I'm adding the following comment on cooking times a day after I posted my initial review. A reviewer below mentioned that in the whole book there are only 5 recipes that can be produced in under 30 mins. I disagree.
Just in the first 12 recipes alone, there are 6 recipes that have a cooking time of 30 mins or less, and the prep for all of those recipes is speedy, with some ingredients being prepped during the cooking time. Yes, there are recipes that have multiple steps, and long cooking times, but this is not advertised as a recipe book specifically for those who need to get dinner on the table in 30 mins. There are plenty of other books out there that offer that. However, a quick scan shows a number of recipes that do meet that bill. For example, Noors Black Lime Tofu. The tofu is tossed in cornstarch and fried for 6 mins, while the tofu is frying throw the onions and garlic in a food processer. Fry that for 10 mins. Add the spices etc and cook for another minute. Add water, simmer for 6 mins. Add the tofu to the sauce and toss in the spinach, serve straight from the pan and dinner is done. The One Pan Orecchiette Puttanesca cooking time is just 14 mins if you boil the pasta while the sauce is reducing, then stir together.. Some of the more labor intensive recipes you might like to save for the weekend but there are weeknight healthy and delicious sounding recipes in this book.

Flavor contains 100 recipes, which are almost all vegetarian sometimes vegan (45 recipes) that occasionally dabbles with fish sauce and parmesan, eggs and dairy. Yotam offers substitutions for various ingredients where possible such as light soy sauce for fish sauce.

At the start of the book, Yotam lists the 20 ingredients that he considers essential to this book. He is not suggesting that you rush out and purchase them all right away (if you don’t already have them, you will likely want to stock most of them anyway, after trying these recipes) He describes these ingredients are being the essence of the book. These ingredients have been used to enhance, draw out and accentuate, they are umami rich, many of them are aged, and all have complex layers of flavor.
These 20 ingredients are: Aleppo Chile (Gochugaru Korean hot pepper flakes are suggested as a substitute) Ancho chile, Anchovies packed in olive oil, black garlic, Persian dried black lime (he suggests that regular lime could be used, but to me, Persian lime has a scented, earthy tang that really is a different thing entirely from fresh lime) Cascabel Chiles (ancho as a substitute) Dried Whole Chipotle, Fish Sauce, Gochujang paste, Ground cardamom, Hibiscus flowers, jarred butter beans (canned are acceptable but jarred is preferred) Mango Pickle (not chutney) Masa Harina, Miso (preferably white not sweet white) red bell pepper flakes, rice vinegar, rose harissa (regular harissa can be substituted, I would like to add that culinary rose petals can also be crushed and added to harissa, and these can be found at World Market or online) Shaoxing Wine, Tamarind Paste.

The book is divided into three main categories. Process, Pairing and Produce.

Those categories are further divided into
Process: Charring, Browning, Infusing, Aging
Pairing: Sweetness, Fat, Acidity, Chile Heat
Produce: Mushrooms, Alliums, Nuts and Seeds, Sugar: Fruit and Booze

Finally we have Flavor Bombs which is a two page spread, showing all of the condiments that are in the book with the corresponding page number (see my photo) Butters, oils, salsas, mayonnaise, sauce, pickles, salts and spiced nuts.

Each chapter begins with an essay on that subject which covers the subheadings. I love this, as I read cookbook like novels and here, each method and the equipment used, and a run down of some of the recipes and how they embody the method used, is described in detail with some cute, cartoon-like line drawings.

Process for example, has 12 pages describing the processes and benefits to Charring, Browning, Infusing and Aging before we get to the recipes.

Here are a selection of four recipes from each chapter (please see the corresponding photo)

The Process Chapter
Charring: Iceberg Wedges with Smoky Eggplant Cream
Browning: Hasselback Beets with Lime Leaf Butter
Infusing: Chilled Avocado Soup with Crunchy Garlic Oil
Aging: The Ultimate Roasting Pan Ragu

The Pairing Chapter
Sweetness: Coconut and Tumeric Omelette Feast
Fat: Stuffed Eggplant in Curry and Coconut Dal
Acidity:Noors Black Lime Tofu
Chile Heat:Saffron Tagliatelle with Ricotta and Crispy Chipotle Shallots

The Produce Chapter
Mushrooms:Broccoli with Mushroom Ketchup and Nori
Alliums:Olive Oil Flatbreads with Three Garlic Butter
Nuts and Seeds:Tofu Meatball Korma
Sugar: Fruit and Booze Tapioca Fritters with Orange Syrup and Star Anise

I have listed a range of recipes from main courses to side dishes.
In the process chapter for example Charring has 7 recipes, Browning has 11 recipes, Infusing has 8 recipes and Aging has 9 recipes. In that chapter every recipe has a corresponding full page sized photo or even a two page photo spread, sometimes multiple photos on a two page spread. Additionally, there are a number of photos of Yotam and Ixta cooking.

This brings me to a bit of a gripe. I know that the majority of cooks like a photo of every recipe, and many people find it hard to get enthusiastic about a recipe with no photo, but this seems to be overkill at the expense of the amount of recipes in this book.
Plenty had 120 recipes to 288 pages
Plenty More had 150 recipes to 352 pages
Flavor has a mere 100 recipes to 317 pages.

Admittedly, the chapter essays take up some of this, but I never thought I would say this about a cookbook, but the photos are overkill. While I enjoy the photos of Yotam and Ixta cooking, these could have been reduced in size to half or even quarter page photos.
The two page spreads of a single recipe, for example the Hasselback Beets, could have been reduced in size to a single page to make way for another recipe.
Noors Black Lime Tofu has no less than three full pages of photos. A photo of the tofu in the pan with the paste, then a photo of the spinach being added to the pan, then a photo of the spinach being stirred in, then a photo of the spinach almost completely stirred in and almost wilted, and then a photo of the finished dish with spinach wilted satisfactorily.
This type of photo series could have been kept for recipes that were a bit more complex, such as the home made Saffron Tagliatelle. That recipe has no photo at all and could really have used a series for people who have never made pasta before. Instead the two page spread has been used for the Saffron Tagliatelle dish with Ricotta and Crispy Chipotle Shallots. And in that instance the photo series shows the already made Tagliatelle on a tray, then it being cooked in water, then it in the pan with the parmesan being added, then its in the pan with the parmesan added now, and then a full sized photo of it in the pan with the crispy shallots on top.

There always has to be a gripe, but for me this is a pretty big one. If I was the editor I would have said one photo only per recipe unless a difficult technique really needs to be shown and add more recipes in place of all the rest. The book is pretty, but beyond a photo of each finished dish, the rest of the photos are just eye candy and most of the extra photos of the type I described above, are not what I would consider helpful or even particularly interesting. Personally, I would prefer more recipes.

Another area which I think had some room for expansion was the Flavor Bombs page. While it is helpful to show all the condiments etc on one page with the recipe page number listed, and in the intro to each recipe there are some ideas on how else to use one of the Flavor Bombs I think this could have been fleshed out a bit more.
For example, if you have leftover Fenugreek Marinade from the Curry Crusted Rutabaga Steaks it is described as keeping for two weeks and can be used as a base for curries or for marinating vegetables or different meats. Perhaps this could have been expanded to say mix with yoghurt and serve with grilled chicken, or to marinate chicken before grilling (I don’t know if that would be good, just riffing here) but if I am going to make double or triple of a condiment I would love a handful of simple ideas sketched out, to start me off on the journey of what else I could do with these Flavor Bombs beyond a line or two on the recipe page. But perhaps that is just nit picking. There are some ideas, I just want more, more, more!

Gripes aside, the recipes themselves sound great and I will be cooking through this book, as I have done with all of Ottolenghis other books.
Fans of Ottolenghis will want this book, so I am preaching to the converted here but it is always nice to read an extensive review before purchase even if you pretty much know you are going to purchase a book.
Newbies, this is a pretty vegetable book with some very interesting recipes. You can't go wrong with this book or Plenty or Plenty More if you want to expand your vegetable repertoire. Or Ottolenghis other books if you also want interesting recipes that include meat and fish.
I am happy to have this book and I will post an update when I cook from it (I pre-ordered it and just received it today)

If this review was helpful to you, please click the helpful button. It always gives me a huge kick to see that my reviews were helpful to other like minded cooks. You might also be interested in my other cookbook and ingredient reviews and my ideas lists of kitchen tools etc
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5.0 out of 5 stars Another great addition to the Ottolenghi line up!
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2020
For fans of Plenty and Plenty More, embrace Flavor, a book that Ottolenghi describes as Plenty Three.

EDIT: I'm adding the following comment on cooking times a day after I posted my initial review. A reviewer below mentioned that in the whole book there are only 5 recipes that can be produced in under 30 mins. I disagree.
Just in the first 12 recipes alone, there are 6 recipes that have a cooking time of 30 mins or less, and the prep for all of those recipes is speedy, with some ingredients being prepped during the cooking time. Yes, there are recipes that have multiple steps, and long cooking times, but this is not advertised as a recipe book specifically for those who need to get dinner on the table in 30 mins. There are plenty of other books out there that offer that. However, a quick scan shows a number of recipes that do meet that bill. For example, Noors Black Lime Tofu. The tofu is tossed in cornstarch and fried for 6 mins, while the tofu is frying throw the onions and garlic in a food processer. Fry that for 10 mins. Add the spices etc and cook for another minute. Add water, simmer for 6 mins. Add the tofu to the sauce and toss in the spinach, serve straight from the pan and dinner is done. The One Pan Orecchiette Puttanesca cooking time is just 14 mins if you boil the pasta while the sauce is reducing, then stir together.. Some of the more labor intensive recipes you might like to save for the weekend but there are weeknight healthy and delicious sounding recipes in this book.

Flavor contains 100 recipes, which are almost all vegetarian sometimes vegan (45 recipes) that occasionally dabbles with fish sauce and parmesan, eggs and dairy. Yotam offers substitutions for various ingredients where possible such as light soy sauce for fish sauce.

At the start of the book, Yotam lists the 20 ingredients that he considers essential to this book. He is not suggesting that you rush out and purchase them all right away (if you don’t already have them, you will likely want to stock most of them anyway, after trying these recipes) He describes these ingredients are being the essence of the book. These ingredients have been used to enhance, draw out and accentuate, they are umami rich, many of them are aged, and all have complex layers of flavor.
These 20 ingredients are: Aleppo Chile (Gochugaru Korean hot pepper flakes are suggested as a substitute) Ancho chile, Anchovies packed in olive oil, black garlic, Persian dried black lime (he suggests that regular lime could be used, but to me, Persian lime has a scented, earthy tang that really is a different thing entirely from fresh lime) Cascabel Chiles (ancho as a substitute) Dried Whole Chipotle, Fish Sauce, Gochujang paste, Ground cardamom, Hibiscus flowers, jarred butter beans (canned are acceptable but jarred is preferred) Mango Pickle (not chutney) Masa Harina, Miso (preferably white not sweet white) red bell pepper flakes, rice vinegar, rose harissa (regular harissa can be substituted, I would like to add that culinary rose petals can also be crushed and added to harissa, and these can be found at World Market or online) Shaoxing Wine, Tamarind Paste.

The book is divided into three main categories. Process, Pairing and Produce.

Those categories are further divided into
Process: Charring, Browning, Infusing, Aging
Pairing: Sweetness, Fat, Acidity, Chile Heat
Produce: Mushrooms, Alliums, Nuts and Seeds, Sugar: Fruit and Booze

Finally we have Flavor Bombs which is a two page spread, showing all of the condiments that are in the book with the corresponding page number (see my photo) Butters, oils, salsas, mayonnaise, sauce, pickles, salts and spiced nuts.

Each chapter begins with an essay on that subject which covers the subheadings. I love this, as I read cookbook like novels and here, each method and the equipment used, and a run down of some of the recipes and how they embody the method used, is described in detail with some cute, cartoon-like line drawings.

Process for example, has 12 pages describing the processes and benefits to Charring, Browning, Infusing and Aging before we get to the recipes.

Here are a selection of four recipes from each chapter (please see the corresponding photo)

The Process Chapter
Charring: Iceberg Wedges with Smoky Eggplant Cream
Browning: Hasselback Beets with Lime Leaf Butter
Infusing: Chilled Avocado Soup with Crunchy Garlic Oil
Aging: The Ultimate Roasting Pan Ragu

The Pairing Chapter
Sweetness: Coconut and Tumeric Omelette Feast
Fat: Stuffed Eggplant in Curry and Coconut Dal
Acidity:Noors Black Lime Tofu
Chile Heat:Saffron Tagliatelle with Ricotta and Crispy Chipotle Shallots

The Produce Chapter
Mushrooms:Broccoli with Mushroom Ketchup and Nori
Alliums:Olive Oil Flatbreads with Three Garlic Butter
Nuts and Seeds:Tofu Meatball Korma
Sugar: Fruit and Booze Tapioca Fritters with Orange Syrup and Star Anise

I have listed a range of recipes from main courses to side dishes.
In the process chapter for example Charring has 7 recipes, Browning has 11 recipes, Infusing has 8 recipes and Aging has 9 recipes. In that chapter every recipe has a corresponding full page sized photo or even a two page photo spread, sometimes multiple photos on a two page spread. Additionally, there are a number of photos of Yotam and Ixta cooking.

This brings me to a bit of a gripe. I know that the majority of cooks like a photo of every recipe, and many people find it hard to get enthusiastic about a recipe with no photo, but this seems to be overkill at the expense of the amount of recipes in this book.
Plenty had 120 recipes to 288 pages
Plenty More had 150 recipes to 352 pages
Flavor has a mere 100 recipes to 317 pages.

Admittedly, the chapter essays take up some of this, but I never thought I would say this about a cookbook, but the photos are overkill. While I enjoy the photos of Yotam and Ixta cooking, these could have been reduced in size to half or even quarter page photos.
The two page spreads of a single recipe, for example the Hasselback Beets, could have been reduced in size to a single page to make way for another recipe.
Noors Black Lime Tofu has no less than three full pages of photos. A photo of the tofu in the pan with the paste, then a photo of the spinach being added to the pan, then a photo of the spinach being stirred in, then a photo of the spinach almost completely stirred in and almost wilted, and then a photo of the finished dish with spinach wilted satisfactorily.
This type of photo series could have been kept for recipes that were a bit more complex, such as the home made Saffron Tagliatelle. That recipe has no photo at all and could really have used a series for people who have never made pasta before. Instead the two page spread has been used for the Saffron Tagliatelle dish with Ricotta and Crispy Chipotle Shallots. And in that instance the photo series shows the already made Tagliatelle on a tray, then it being cooked in water, then it in the pan with the parmesan being added, then its in the pan with the parmesan added now, and then a full sized photo of it in the pan with the crispy shallots on top.

There always has to be a gripe, but for me this is a pretty big one. If I was the editor I would have said one photo only per recipe unless a difficult technique really needs to be shown and add more recipes in place of all the rest. The book is pretty, but beyond a photo of each finished dish, the rest of the photos are just eye candy and most of the extra photos of the type I described above, are not what I would consider helpful or even particularly interesting. Personally, I would prefer more recipes.

Another area which I think had some room for expansion was the Flavor Bombs page. While it is helpful to show all the condiments etc on one page with the recipe page number listed, and in the intro to each recipe there are some ideas on how else to use one of the Flavor Bombs I think this could have been fleshed out a bit more.
For example, if you have leftover Fenugreek Marinade from the Curry Crusted Rutabaga Steaks it is described as keeping for two weeks and can be used as a base for curries or for marinating vegetables or different meats. Perhaps this could have been expanded to say mix with yoghurt and serve with grilled chicken, or to marinate chicken before grilling (I don’t know if that would be good, just riffing here) but if I am going to make double or triple of a condiment I would love a handful of simple ideas sketched out, to start me off on the journey of what else I could do with these Flavor Bombs beyond a line or two on the recipe page. But perhaps that is just nit picking. There are some ideas, I just want more, more, more!

Gripes aside, the recipes themselves sound great and I will be cooking through this book, as I have done with all of Ottolenghis other books.
Fans of Ottolenghis will want this book, so I am preaching to the converted here but it is always nice to read an extensive review before purchase even if you pretty much know you are going to purchase a book.
Newbies, this is a pretty vegetable book with some very interesting recipes. You can't go wrong with this book or Plenty or Plenty More if you want to expand your vegetable repertoire. Or Ottolenghis other books if you also want interesting recipes that include meat and fish.
I am happy to have this book and I will post an update when I cook from it (I pre-ordered it and just received it today)

If this review was helpful to you, please click the helpful button. It always gives me a huge kick to see that my reviews were helpful to other like minded cooks. You might also be interested in my other cookbook and ingredient reviews and my ideas lists of kitchen tools etc
Happy cooking!
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Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2022
Every recipe I've made from this cookbook has impressed! They can be a bit involved (generally, a lot of produce prep or multiple components) but they aren't difficult by any means, and the payoff is always worthwhile. Additionally, individual components can be utilized for a variety of other dishes encouraging cooks to be more creative without relying on a recipe. I don't find that they require too many or difficult-to-source ingredients, however, the flavor combinations are unique and interesting and not things I would come up with on my own. I am vegan and most of the recipes in this cookbook are vegetarian or vegan. I don't have much experience cooking on the fly and I find the non-vegan recipes really easy to veganize on my own. As a relative novice and someone who is pretty overwhelmed by cooking more complex dishes, I have also found the recipes to be surprisingly foolproof. One thing I really appreciate is that specific times and temperatures are given for most components. This eliminates a lot of confusion for someone less experienced by not relying on subjective criteria (e.g., Ottolenghi will say to cook shallots for 7 minutes on high heat and then 6 minutes on medium-low instead of simply "carmelize" or "cook until browned and soft" - how brown? how soft? which heat setting? it matters but someone who has never carmelized shallots before has no frame of reference for the temperature or amount of time needed to achieve the desired result). As for the construction of the book itself, I have had no issues with my copy. I like that it will lay flat and I love that there are photos for pretty much every finished dish, sometimes with photos of intermediate steps, as well. I recently purchased about a dozen cookbooks as I'm trying to convenience eat less and incorporate more produce into my diet, and this is the only one with recipes that have stayed on my mind after cursorily flipping through them. Even after marking recipes I'm interested in, I usually need to flip through to decide on something but with this cookbook, I always know what I'm going to cook from it next because it just sits in my head until I do. I would highly recommend this to people looking to eat more produce and ENJOY it (I'm historically an EXTREMELY picky eater and it's gotten me to try and love so many new things!), as well as learn cooking skills and techniques that can be applied to more than just the recipe at hand.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2024
You’d think that produce cookery could go only so far. But if you just dive into the different food cultures of the world and you an transcend your abilities. That’s what this book does constantly & consistently!
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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for home & professional cooks.
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2024
You’d think that produce cookery could go only so far. But if you just dive into the different food cultures of the world and you an transcend your abilities. That’s what this book does constantly & consistently!
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