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Ottolenghi Recipe Book - what's the big deal?

109 replies

TangBloodyFastic · 24/01/2023 19:25

Posting for traffic

I'll start by saying I am no chef!!!

I am competent in the kitchen, I enjoy cooking for me and my family and will always make something from scratch if we have visitors coming. I am probably middle of the road with regards to being adventurous with the recipes I use. I don't attempt much far east (Japanese/Thai/Chinese) cuisine but will have a good go at an Indian curry.

So, to get to the point, I have just signed up to the eat your books website, which is great, and was browsing other recipe books and came across some books by Yotam Ottolenghi - which is the 3 most popular books owned by other members of the website

I'm intrigued but I also don't like wasting money. There's clearly a reason why they are so popular????

Can anyone who has any of these books, Plenty, Jerusalem and Simple, tell me why I should buy one of these books? What's so brilliant about them? Are the recipes "wow" or are they just easy? Are people buying them because others have?

I'm not a vegetarian and tend to always have meat with a meal but am not opposed to any meal if it's really good - meat or not!

I have two under two so I don't want 5000 Ingredients for a mediocre meal but put in the effort for a recipe which is really good!!

Sorry, rather long winded Blush

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Carishina · 24/01/2023 20:11

There are lots of Ottolenghi recipes available for free on both the Ottolenghi and the Guardian websites. Perhaps have a look and see if you fancy any of them before you commit to buying a book? Some of the recipes are fairly straightforward but he does have a reputation for including some hard to get ingredients and some recipes can be very involved. I really enjoy his recipes and find they are very tasty.

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TangBloodyFastic · 24/01/2023 21:04

Ah thank you, I didn't realise he wrote recipes for the guardian - I'll take a look
Are they similar to ones in his books?

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vincettenoir · 24/01/2023 21:28

Tbh they’re probably not for you right now.

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Carishina · 24/01/2023 21:28

The easiest thing to do is go to ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes - lots of recipes there and it says which book they are from. Enjoy!

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TangBloodyFastic · 25/01/2023 06:35

vincettenoir · 24/01/2023 21:28

Tbh they’re probably not for you right now.

Why do you say that? Are they very time consuming? Not child friendly?

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Thecatisboss · 25/01/2023 06:45

We have Simple and there are some lovely recipes in it, particular favourites are roast aubergine with bulghar wheat and lemon yoghurt, and chickpeas with pasta. My MIL has the book and likes it too.

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CrabbyCat · 25/01/2023 06:47

I'm a keen cook and have Simple and got Jerusalem out the library. I didn't get on with either enough to use as a staple. The main reason was that the flavours in the recipes I tried, whilst to my taste, were too strong / unusual for the young DC. From memory, even the ones in Simple which is supposed to be easier also had very long lists of ingredients some of which were difficult to find / expensive. Friends who cook separately for the adults rave about Jersualem though.

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Daydre4mer · 25/01/2023 06:50

ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/stuffed-aubergine-in-curry-and-coconut-dal-flavour-pg-152

this recipe is amazing. It maybe too time consuming for you? With different cooking requirements, a bit of faffing. But the flavours are spot on.

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TellMeWhere · 25/01/2023 06:50

Check his Instagram for an idea of the food. It always looks delicious to vegetarian me. Possibly a bit of a faff. I might buy a book.

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Thecatisboss · 25/01/2023 06:53

Lots of his recipes are online the aubergine and bulghur wheat is on the Guardian website.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/food/2018/aug/18/yotam-ottolenghi-tomato-recipes

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Merlott · 25/01/2023 06:56

Haha.

They are not for me either, far too faffy and time consuming.

I'm still waiting for the bestselling family cookbook of "meatballs, carrots, pasta and a jar of sauce" .. maybe I should get on and write it myself 😅

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AnotherCountryMummy · 25/01/2023 06:59

Simple is not simple. And the rest are mindblowing 😂

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BarrelOfOtters · 25/01/2023 06:59

I like his salad ideas a lot. His recipes haven’t become everyday but I like the flavour and have taken a lot of them into everyday food. The long list of ingredients is true but no different to a curry in most cases.

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fishonabicycle · 25/01/2023 07:01

Or go look in your local library? They will often have one if these or can order it in for you? Or look in a book shop and flick through? Surely that's a better way of finding out?

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ChungusBoi · 25/01/2023 07:02

The recipes are delicious but they are usually more involved than what I’d normally cook. Recipes for weekends when there is more time.

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ShandaLear · 25/01/2023 07:04

Merlott · 25/01/2023 06:56

Haha.

They are not for me either, far too faffy and time consuming.

I'm still waiting for the bestselling family cookbook of "meatballs, carrots, pasta and a jar of sauce" .. maybe I should get on and write it myself 😅

And I would buy this book!

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HelenHywater · 25/01/2023 07:07

I don't think I've cooked an Ottolenghi recipe that wasn't delicious. Most of them are too time consuming for a weekday (unless you have lots of time to cook). My youngest dc is10 and my dc all do love the food, but I agree, probably not worth the effort for a toddler.

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DaisyWaldron · 25/01/2023 07:08

They don't sound like the sort if books you want right now. I love his recipes, but they are mostly for more special occasions as they tend to take up quite a lot of time and effort in the kitchen. There are some exceptions, though, and thus "fried" chicken is a regular meal in our household: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/mar/31/yotam-ottolenghis-chicken-recipes

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RampantIvy · 25/01/2023 07:11

Wow, that stuffed aubergine in curry sounds delicious. I know what I am cooking on Saturday now.

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MiddleParking · 25/01/2023 07:13

I like reading recipe books as much as I like cooking from them, and the Ottolenghi ones are good for that, but I never cook his food except his roast chicken recipe. It’s just all too faffy. Chicken amazing though!

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HaggisBurger · 25/01/2023 07:13

Merlott · 25/01/2023 06:56

Haha.

They are not for me either, far too faffy and time consuming.

I'm still waiting for the bestselling family cookbook of "meatballs, carrots, pasta and a jar of sauce" .. maybe I should get on and write it myself 😅

Genuinely the Mumsnet cook book isn’t far off that!

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underneaththeash · 25/01/2023 07:17

Definitely not for toddlers...I've got all three you've mentioned and I use them sparingly. I think the flavours and textures are often quite similar.

I'd recommend the books by Rachel Allen for home cooking.

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StonwEd · 25/01/2023 07:17

I love his recipes, not on a busy week day but that said I cooked a chicken last night and don't start work until ten so will adapt this recipe now (Slow-cooked chicken with a crisp corn crust) chuck most of those ingredients in the slow cooker with the chicken and get my husband to make the topping when he gets in 👌 I don't worry too much about having every single ingredient. I don't have rose harissa but I do have harissa so will use that.

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NeedToChangeName · 25/01/2023 07:22

You can borrow recipe books from tour local library

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EllaDisenchanted · 25/01/2023 07:25

@Merlott I actually have a recipe book that would fit that bill 😅I'm Jewish so it is a kosher recipe book, so maybe more niche to find. Called 'dinner done by between carpools. They also have a website with recipes.

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