Cookery bookclub - May - Jerusalem by Ottolenghi and Kitchen Diaries I by Nigel Slater

[Curioustiger]

Come join the Mumsnet cookery bookclub! Each month we choose two cookery books - one popular, like Nigella / Jamie / Delia, so you probably already have it / can borrow it and one a bit more unusual. We cook a minimum of two recipes each - you choose the recipe, they just have to be ones you have never cooked before- which works out at four new recipes each month.Then we chat about them!

To see our April thread about Feast by Nigella and the Smitten Kitchen blog / cookbook, click here ... This thread is still live as we're quite taken with these books and are keeping on going!

For May, our books are:

• Jerusalem by Ottolenghi
• Kitchen Diaries

and we'll post on this thread.

For June our books will be

• Mexican Food Made Easy by Thomasina Miers
• Thirty Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver

We will always try to pick at least one book with recipes available on the Internet, and local libraries are great for cookbooks if you can order in advance, so don't be put off if your cookbook collection isn't threatening the foundations of your house extensive.

We have veggies, low carbers and 5:2ers on the thread so this is very diet compatible! Although I refuse to take any responsibility for cake-induced weight gain (even my own).

Hi everyone I've got the Chermoula aubergine in the oven for my lunch it smells lovely. Going to ave a look at the pork poulpetine as everyone seems to recommend it.

I'm jealous too Maniac. I keep dropping hints about The Pig so please let us know how it is.

You're more organised than me Pantah. I'm still waiting for the library to tell me Jerusalem has arrived!

Hi all :) Hope it's ok to jump in at this late stage?

I just posted on the 'who is with me' thread about my difficulty with getting hold of recipe books but thought I would give a quick review of the two dishes I have made out of Jerusalem.

I made mejadra last night. It was tasty and very easy to eat. It was the first time I've used brown lentils (shamefully) and I liked them. I did feel the cinnamon overpowered the dish somewhat, but then I am not a huge cinnamon fan - I would reduce the amount next time, or maybe even omit it. I ate the mejadra as a main meal and didn't serve it with anything but it probably would have made a good side dish.

The second thing I've just made/eaten is the shakshuka. I've made Hugh F-W's version before from his Everyday Veg book and this was just as lovely...in fact I think I preferred it. I didn't have harissa so added a chopped red chilli instead. I have a cold and it was as near to the perfect lunch as I could have hoped for :)

Having drooled and dribbled over KD for two days, I made my first recipe! The pumpkin & dahl soup on 1st Jan. I had a tin of pumpkin so i used that instead of boiling my own. It was delicious!

heard back from the frozen zest people - minimum order is 5KG! So that's not really going to work unless I can find say 10 other like-minded cooks in the Kent/East Sussex borders area who want to come in on an order with me?!

Where did you get the tinned pumpkin akarucker?

Sorry to go off topic but I need some help - I'm just putting the finishing touches to my own cookery book - it's about hiding veg in foods fussy kids will eat. Would anybody on here be interested in testing out a few recipes for me to see if I can be understood easily enough!

Hunn1e I would test some for you with my own kids. Funnilyenough I am doing something similar. I run my own business doing cooking classes for kids and am currently working on a book too! But it's not for fussy eaters. Who's your publisher?

First recipe tried. KD Tarragon chicken. Was lovely. Made it with boneless chicken thighs and single cream. Also didn't have tarragon vinegar - and ocado didn't have any - shock horror! - so used some white wine vinegar instead. I served it with rice and some steamed asparagus. It was v quick and easy after a long day with DTs! Will defo make it again when I'm in the mood for something herby.

Oh and my in lass live in B too!

Happy to test hunn1e though DD is only 14 weeks so it's just adults here. Jealous of all you West Country folk, my family's from Dorset and I grew up mostly in Bristol but I'm in London now. Bit horrified that DD is a londoner actually (no offence to londoners, just not my identity iyswim)

free I liked the look of the tarragon chicken but don't have tarragon vinegar either, nice to know its good with white wine vinegar. Will give it a go next week.
hunn1e I would love to help but both my DS's are far from fussy, except DS1 abhors mushrooms, and far too grown up now or think they are

Hunn1e I think I got the puréed pumpkin from Waitrose. But, it was around Xmas time, when they get all their American holiday stuff in. They may have it year round though. It's great, as it's just pumpkin, nothing added.

Hunn1e I'll test drive the recipes, no probs with DS1 but DS2 is a nightmare with vegetables at the moment

What is your book about ELR?

Pantah I made the fishcakes. I think they need more dill and more of a kick generally. Maybe more mustard?

DH and DS1 said they're really nice though so maybe its just me.

Free, I am doing the tarragon and vermouth chicken tonight. I figured wine vinegar was fine and am serving it with brown rice and green beans.

To follow will be the pistachio and lemon cake on the next page! The smells as it was cooking were amazing, I have high hopes

Lamb shawarma was very tasty! We had it with pita bread and the barley and feta cheese salad (which was also very flavoursome). I am officially a fan of Jerusalem!
Hunn1e, I would also be happy to try your recipes. DD1 is 3 and not particularly fussy but I can certainly feedback on the clarity of the instructions (DD is 2 months so perhaps a good future taster!).

Thank you for all the offers - I'll pm you all so as not to crowd this space. I'm not worried about the fussy eaters so much (test driven it all to death there) it's more about whether when someone else follows my instructions they make sense and the end result works. Had issues with a dodgy thermostat on my oven so feed back on whether you feel the temperature instructions are right would be super useful too!

Vermouth and tarragon chicken was great, as was the cake. April in KD for those interested.

Hi hunn1e I'll happily test for you as we'll. perhaps not the point but if you could send me recipes with no mushrooms or aubergines I would be grateful (not because my dd is fussy but because I am!)

As well.

Not as we'll.

I might just stop posting now until I've woken up!

I picked up the correct Kitchen Diaries from the library yesterday but the librarian told me that I was 5th on the list for Jerusalem .

Maniac, hope you have a lovely time at the Pig. My FIL treated the family to a meal there a couple of years ago and it was very nice. But to be picky I did prefer it when it was Whitley Ridge. We used to live in Lymington but have now moved eastwards within Hampshire.

Had the sea bass from Jerusalem and it was lovely. Even my husband who is not keen on fish said he would happily eat it again. Also made ( well assembled as no cooking involved) the feta and artichoke salad from KD. I usually love artichokes but I wasn't overly fond of the salad, prefer the artichokes alone as they were too oily in this recipe I found.

Off the plan, but I mde chicken with mushrooms in cider from HFW Eveyday last night for some friends and everyone loved it, it's very easy and was really nice.

Not sure what to have tonight, something from KD, so will go back through this thread for inspiration.

Puffle, thanks for the HFW recipe recommendation. I was given that book for Christmas and haven't made anything from it yet. I have marked the page!