Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love

Store cupboard recipe book a great idea and with Ottolenghi touch without being overly complicated

Book arrived on time and was in excellent conditions.

Fantastic delicious tasting recipes using lots of vegetables and pulses.

This is a different take on a recipe book, very much approaching it from the perspective of what do I have in the larder, freezer, fridge etc. This is evidenced straight away by having a fold out leaf inside the front cover which shows you which ingredients appear in in recipes and relevant pages, this has been further split into common themes, like tins and jars, pulses and grains etc. This will be extremely useful when you find a rogue ingredient in the cupboard which needs using, rather than chucking! There is another fold out flap at the back detailing the veggie, vegan, child friendly and even meal suggestions, which will be very usefulI really liked the different chapters and have to say I want to try everything in the “who does the dishes” section, which is based around one pot cooking.As ever there are tips I never knew, and this time on hummus, which I thought I had the definitive take….not so, some really good tips on how to make and what should differ when making from tinned vs dried.Recipes I want to try ASAP:Creamy dreamy hummus (tempted to make both ways tinned vs dried to do a comparison)Confit tandoori chickpeasZatar salmon and tahiniFig and orange soda breadBeef short ribs with butter beans and figsI will edit this review when I have tried some of the recipesJust tried the sticky sweet and sour plums with sausages (one pot cooking only 2 steps) big success! The gravy/sauce is created in the bottom of the pan as it cooks. We had with rocket salad and pomegranate seeds delicious.The sweet spiced mushroom and rice pilaf is excellent, this has been requested again for dinner, which is always a good sign. We added brie to the serving of this, sliced on top and therefore slightly oozy from the heat…really nice

Another book full of interesting recipes from Yotam and his team plenty to tempt you with I have cooked a few already. The book is nicely presented and laid out. What I do have to say is that not many of the recipes will make a meal in itself. Four or five dishes would be great for a dinner made up of meze style dishes but alone a dish of smooshed carrots or baked courgettes doesn't really work. A quick way round this is to serve it with a fish fillet as well so use it as a fancy side dish. All in all if you are a Yotam Ottolenghi fan then this is worth getting.

If you are new to Ottolenghi 2 things:1. Where have you been2. You are in for a TREATEvery kitchen by law should have at least one Ottolenghi book, to read to cook to be inspired to be smug by your meals that will be admired and cause conversations.Enjoy you won't regret it.

I am an Ottolenghi fan and have all of his cookbooks,but starting from Flavour on to this new book I find he us starting to be a bit repetitive....which leads to what some of the reviewers described as "mush " or baby food .I quite agree that he should come up with more solid dishes that are not always about putting everything you have in the pantry in one pot ....anyway I will try some of the recipes but not all of them inspire me .

It’s not another Ottolenghi book, if that’s what you’re comparing it to. I love anything from the man himself, but this book comes with a whole new format, feel and tone and provides plenty of approachable recipes for us mere mortals. Have made the confit tandoori chickpeas a million times, and made the zahter salmon which is 30 minutes start to finish! Great diverse range of recipes, the dessert section especially looks beautiful although I’m not much of a sweet tooth. I want to try the gnocchi with sumac onions, coconut cream cake, magical chicken soup, sesame feta and the chermoula pie. A really smart format from the team making familiar foods with pantry ingredients and such a diverse selection of recipes, this’ll definitely be a book I’ll use time and time again.