Ottolenghi Recipe Book - what's the big deal?

[TangBloodyFastic]

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

They’re rather over-hyped if you ask me. The good food website is free and has thousands of great recipes, I would also recommend the Tesco website - even if you don’t shop there, as they have great simple recipes.

The lamb shwarma recipe in Jerusalem is exceptionally good, and if you have an airfryer it takes much less time, which is important now that electricity is so expensive.

Another vote for Diana Henry: I like Food from Plenty, which celebrates the cheap, seasonal and leftover, and A Bird in the Hand, which is 365 chicken recipes.

Persiana Everyday is good too.

I'm a huge fan of Ottolenghi and use the books a lot. I do have a full time job and busy family life so of course have to choose recipes wisely but there are plenty that can be weekday meals if you're a confident and organised cook. I don't find the ingredients particularly difficult to get hold of, even in my Midlands ex mining town Asda sells preserved lemons!

If you want that style but a little simpler then Sabrina Gayhour books would be a good start. The main thing I've found is that even if I'm not following a recipe I tend Ottolenghify my food - sumac and Za'atar are every day ingredients now.

I look forward to your review. I'm just trying to find an alternative to the paneer that isn't tofu (ed is dairy allergic and yd has an issue with soya) and all vegan alts use cashew nuts, which from past exp, do not work for me. Or at least, I do not have a powerful enough blender.

I wonder if it was the same recipe!

Reporting back @longtompot and @Daydre4mer.

It was a resounding success.
I thought I had some ginger, but didn't so I made it without. I'm not a spinach fan so I used blanched cabbage leaves, and I have never seen hot mango pickle so I used aubergine pickle.

I will definitely make it again, but will make sure I have some ginger in stock. I don't really care for curry leaves so I will leave them out next time.

You sound like me! I have recently discovered a great series of recipes called "Dump and Bake". Google it — they are available free online.

I'm very late to the party, but just want to say thank you for linking to the Sardine Curry, @Hillarious ! Made it last night and it was really good and not overly complicated at all - love it!

I had a voucher from work so have ordered simple. Will report back