Ottolenghi Simple

Excellent book! Looking forward to try so many recipes! One negative point regarding delivery: item was shipped in a plastic bag and book corners were damaged!

good for beginner cookers

A gem of a book. It keeps getting better!

I don’t normally write reviews but felt I had to in this case. I have purchased Otto Lemghi cookbooks before and the recipes taste fantastic but have lots of ingredients and require a ridiculous amount of chopping etc. Hence when I saw ‘Simple’ I thought ‘fanstistic! Great recipes without all the faff’. Unfortunately I was wrong. The recipes I have made so far require a lot of prep, e.g chopping 30-50g each of 3-4 different herbs which involves picking off the leaves from the stalks etc. Which unfortunately takes ages!So the recipes taste good but the simple title does not mean quick!

I have a couple of other Ottolenghi books but I’ve been really looking forward to this one for the promise of it being “Simple” and it is perfect! This is one of those rare cookbooks where you want to cook almost everything. We’ve already tried four recipes and all have been really delicious and we haven’t even had to buy anything special.

Normally when you see the name Ottolenghi, you’re thinking amazing... but complicated. His version here of SIMPLE cooking is an acronym: Short on time, 10 Ingredients or less, Make ahead, Pantry, Lazy, Easier that you think and each is colour-coded.The recipes have beautiful photos to show you what you’re aiming for (I find if I don’t have a picture to go with a recipe, I have no incentive to make it) and the recipes are pretty straight-forward, as the title would suggest.As someone who is gluten intolerant there are a number of recipes that have to be adapted but actually there’s still a lot here I can eat, which is nice - new ways of doing raw and cooked vegeatables are always welcome (for example the Hot Charred Cherry Tomatoes with Cold Yoghurt) and I absolutely love the Bridget Jones’s pan-fried salmon. I had to ignore a whole chapter on noodles and pasta and also largely steered clear of the deserts.I still gave this book 5 stars because of its simplicity and wonderful culinary ideas and after all, it doesn’t set out to be a GF cookbook.

Brilliant quality and substantial book. Lots of recipe ideas that I can adapt for my own family preferences. I would criticise the price of some ingredients...'Rose Harissa' as an example. Not everyone can afford this as just one ingredient in a recipe. Some substitution required but also good for introducing these new ingredients that we can try when we can. A really good book.

As a long time fan of Ottolenghi, replicating many outstanding recipes from his books, TV shows and from his Guardian publications. I've always received many compliments and recommended his cookbooks to many a keen chef. I often use his books for gifting to young couples moving on to the next chapter of their lives together.I have tried a few recipes from this book. I am by no means a novice I have found the recipes I've tried as too heavily fusion, such as the Mustardy Cauliflower Cheese, page 92. A cross on Aloo Gobi (which he fails to mention or worse even, accept ) and with the epitome of comfort food- in my opinion - Cauliflower Cheese.I stuck to the recipe to the tee. I feel one cannot review a recipe conclusively unless this is done.The dish was a massive fail, to say the least.The flavours just didn't mingle, the use of curry powder, chillies and cumin, even whole black mustard seed is just plain wrong. Cheddar cheese is not Indian, nor is a parsley and breadcrumbs gratin. It was so off the mark, that I had to look again at the cover to ensure I had grabbed an Ottolenghi book. I felt as though the recipe drying team had tried to hard to replicate two opposing dishes into one amalgamation.The friend I cooked for, a novice cook, who is more of a taster. Which I think helps as he can skip the delicate nuance of ingredients and judge dishes for what they are. Remarked that he thought it seems like Ottolenghi was trying to fill the pages to sell the book on his brand name.I agree with this entirely. Sorry Ottolenghi. On the plus, I'm not giving up on this book entirely, I'm almost certain there's a hidden gem in there. Somewhere.