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).

I used to live in Tel Aviv and went to Jerusalem quite often. Will the book make me feel homesick for Israel?

karma I made some homemade flat bread:
500g bread flour
1tsp salt
1tsp sugar
1tbsp olive oil
1 sachet yeast
300ml warm water
Mix and knead for 5 mins, leave to rise then divide into 6/8 balls roll and and dry fry.
But shop bought pitta would do, I also served it with the green pepper and celery salad on the ottolenghi website.

So I've made my second recipe of the month tonight - this time one from KD, the lemon and basil linguine (2 May), although I used tagliatelle. It was amazing, I'm full of cold and the lemon and basil were strong enough flavours for me to actually taste them, and I could feel the citrussy vitamin C coursing through me and healing me. I will definitely be making that again

I was interested in reading the polarised views on Nigel, I love his books and think Appetite has probably influenced the way I cook more than any other cookery book I own. But I rarely cook from it, in a typical, following a recipe way. I've absorbed his tips for cooking and creating meals with what is available and apply the style of cooking in my kitchen mainly, as many of have said, for day to day meals. Blimey, I think might have just waffled as much as Nigel in this paragraph! Given this train of thought, I was going to try to do something new and different, but I've now changed my mind and will try some of his basic, everyday type of meals for my other recipe. Probably either the bolognaise or the brownies that you've all been raving about. Or possibly the pork and lemon polpettine, as we are meatball fans in this house. Can you taste the anchovies, or do they melt into the meatballs without a trace? DH is repulsed by them, so I'm wondering if he'd notice or if I'd get away with it!

I don't make notes in my recipe books much, but I do have a kitchen notebook that I use to meal plan each week and write up/glue in/ refer to recipes when I've tried a new one and any notes about them. It really helps when I'm in a cooking rut to check back to this month last year and remind myself of a recipe that we enjoyed and then didn't try again.

I've got the free sample of Eat my books, thanks for that tip - it looks great and I'm fairly sure I'll be paying for full service, as I often choose what to eat based on an ingredient I've got in or something

I had a cookery book purge last year, and sold quite a lot on Amazon (to make room for more!) I have two that didn't sell, and given the new postage costs, doubt it'd be worth my while selling them now. I'd be happy to send them on to anyone on here who would like them, for just the postage costs. The first is Flavours of the World, and the second isn't a recipe book but is a foodie one The Year of Eating Dangerously. Just pm me your address if you'd like one or both of them

zuleika we couldn't taste the anchovies at all, they just added that extra oomph to the recipe I think. I love lemony flavours so used the zest of the whole lemon not just half as advised, they were delicious and will be made again and again here.

We had the chicken with vermouth and tarragon last night, although it was Sauvignon blanc and white wine vinegar as substitutes and less cream and butter. It was nice, not spectacular and still a bit too greasy. I served with rice and some steamed flat beans, courgette, pepper and left over salad leaves. Next time I'll remove the skin from the thighs, they don't crisp up so bring nothing good to the party, I thin that'll diminish the greasy aspect. We finished up the lemon amaretti pots last night as well...yum yum yum, cream overload. It's going to be a week of healthy cooking next week :)

I made Nigel Slaters chicken with lemon grass and mushroom yesterday (march) with some leftover roast chicken.

it was delicious, quick and aromatic. great recipe for making leftover cooked chicken into a nice meal in its own right, iykwim.

Jerusalem's poached chicken with freekah is on the Sunday lunch menu, do I need to add anything else do you think? perhaps one of the veg dishes to compliment? I am terrible at pairing sides to a meal, does anyone have any suggestions?

Morning all, this thread has been quiet for the last few days!
Today I have a double two hour cooking with 16 kids and we are going to make the turkey and courgette burgers with the sumac sauce from Jerusalem and blueberry, lemon and white chocolate muffins(my recipe) I will let you know how 5-10 year olds fair at making them and if they like the taste!
I managed to renew my copy of Jerusalem at the library so have it or another three weeks not sure what to make maybe the chocolate bread that looks yummy!

pregnant that sounds good but I rarely have any leftover chicken, they're like marauding hoards in this house, food disappears faster than I can cook it :). I'm doing the roasted butternut squash with burnt aubergine and pomegranate molasses with some sausages for tea. It's an Ottolenghi dish but from Ottolenghi not Jerusalem. Will let you know if its any good.

elr bet the kids love them, DS2 always loved anything he made at cookery school when younger. I'm going to try the burgers next week after a trip to the supermarket, our butchers only do turkey at christmastime.

ELR, this sounds really exciting! It's great that you are expanding the children's horizons. I am sure they will love the experience and the food.

Those of you who have made the Ottolenghi beetroot salad, what did you do regarding the date syrup? Did you substitute it? Did you buy it? Did you make it? If the latter, did you just put dates in water and let them dissolve or blended them?

I want to bake the tahini cookies tomorrow but I only found tahini paste in Sainsburys rather than light tahini paste. Will that be ok do you think?

Well, reporting back on how the kids got on with the turkey & courgette burgers. Happy to report most of them loved them a few were moaning about the look of them and the fact hey had to use their hands to mould them but on the whole went down well. Nobody had ever seen or heard of sumac and they all tasted it no problem with most of them surprised it didn't taste disgusting!

Also DH made the KD spag Bol and it was very nice. He did not add mushrooms though as we didn't have any!

Good for you ELR and lucky children!

daisies I just used ordinary tahini as well.

Thanks Glorious

Does anyone know If Waitrose sell mini cucumbers?

daisies Sainsburys tahini used here too. I'm not making them again though, I can't stop eating them!

kneedeep they do a small organic ridged one, its good but if you've any middle eastern grocers near you they sell Lebanese cucumbers, the taste is as cucumbers used to be iykwim.

We had the roasted butternut squash with burnt aubergine and pomegranate molasses last night from Ottolenghi. It was good but not wow, don't think I'd make it again, although it was fun burning the Obo on the hob! The roasted seed mix, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame and nigella, was lovely on top and mixed in with the dip. Definitely one for a salad topping.

Pantah, Do you use the Middle Eastern shop in Charminster or Boscombe?

Charminster Rd for Middle Eastern and Boscombe for Spicy World kneedeep :)

If you come to the cross roads from Wessex Way/Firestation side, turn left towards Bmth and its half way up on right hand side, before you get to Tesco Express. They've got barberries and lots of good veg, etc too.

Thank you Pantah I know exactly where you mean!

The poached chicken with sweet spiced freekah was delicious. And, surprisingly, easy, much less work than a roast anyway. The freekah has a lovely nutty buttery taste, and the chicken was delicately spiced and melt in the mouth. I would give it a 9/10 for taste and ease of cooking. I will make it again, though when my freekah runs out I will have to scour the Welsh Valleys for more

Tonight I made the Swiss chard with tahini and yogurt sauce from Jerusalem. Absolutely delicious.

I had to play with the quantities - the recipe calls for 1.3kg of Swiss chard. 300g cost me almost £2. I'll definitely make it again though, with any greens in season.

Just had the turkey and courgette burgers - I think they were just ok - not hugely exciting, I don't think I'd do them again, we served them with a spicy carrot salad from Plenty.

Snow that's a shame as I loved them. One tip I would say is to use turkey thigh mince not turkey breat mince as there is so much more flavour in the thigh!

I've picked up the Jamie Oliver book from the library today, ready for next month, and I'm quite excited. I've got the Thomasina Miers ordered too. Sadly I don't think Jerusalem will reach me this month, as the current reader has it until the 29th

However I've made my second Ottolenghi recipe tonight - lemon and celery salad that has been linked to it was delicious, DH and wolfed it and DD1 picked out the celery and ate that. Now I have some sumac, it is all ingredients that I tend to have in, so will definitely do it again

So that's 3 down and 1 to go this month. I'm trying to have a freezer-cupboard clear out this week so I'm only buying milk and fruit and veg. So my final recipe choice may be based on using up a random ingredient!

We just had the turkey burgers. Everyone loved them. I really liked the sumac yogurt sauce.

Will make tahini cookies this week.

I slightly splattered the page and am panicking because its a brand new library book