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).

If you do try any of GR's recipes do NOT do the wilted lettuce as a side-dish. There is a reason that no other bugger heats up lettuce. It's because it tastes like (I imagine) algae skimmed off the top of a particularly scummy pond would taste.

Just back from waitrose and they had sumac and za taar but no barberries.

I will be getting some middle eastern goodies for pregnsnt and posting them on Saturday so if you can't get them, let me know and I will get some more. I would think that it's as cheap near me as anywhere else in the UK. I'm on the second half of mat leave now so have plenty of time for little errands!

Does anyone have any recommendations from May's books?

I'm definitely trying the brownies from KD's but that's as far as I have got.

I'm looking through my copy of KD and these are the pages with splashes of mystery stuff (ie. have been used!):

• the "really good spaghetti bolognese"
• spiced roast potatoes with yogurt & mint
• pork chops, mustard sauce
• english cheese salad
• roast lamb with anchovy and mint
• chickpea & sweet potato curry
• lemon amaretti cream pots (not even really a recipe but lovely)
• roast pork with lemon & potatoes
• baked tomatoes
• baked aubergine with feta and mint
• baked onions

I seem to have petered out sometime around mid-autumn!!

Thanks Xiao. I have mystery splashes in my cook books too

kneedeep my favourite from Jerusalem is the Sofrito but we've also enjoyed the Mejadra, Cod Cakes and Shakshuka for brunch. The cauli and hazlenut salad is a great lunch dish and 13mo Ds is a fan of the turkey and courgette burgers.

Noooooo xiao you mustn't say the lemon amaretti pots are delicious. I was going for no bake May or no pud May. I see am going to give in to temptation now

Pantah. You resisted for a whole day which is longer then I ever manage

Ooh thank you EnglishGirl. If my copy ever arrives at the library I'll look for those.

Thread is now up on cookery techniques...

Just finished making the meatballs with broadbeans from ottelongi they are really good I are a few changes and one mistake but still good. I made the baharaat as instructed on pg 299. The mistake I made was you are supposed to add half the broad beans at the end, I misread it and added them at the same time so visually it doesn't look as good but tastes fab. Had the lemon and celery salad as posted by zj was lovely and rice too.

I love onion soup, so I might try the KD one that Polendra tried, as one of recipes this month. French onion soup (complete with cheesy toasty topping of course) is my favourite soup

How was your outdoor lunch Pregnant? We had tea outside yesterday for the first time this year and it was a real treat

I'll flick through my KD tonight, with the hope of narrowing down my choice of recipes and also to remind myself of ones I've tried already. I'll report back with my recommendations

I had a Gordon book, possibly Sunday Lunch, and got rid of it. I didn't find anything in it to inspire me and Gordon's face on the cover was far too smug. I'm not a fan of him. Hugh seems to be polarising us, but I got his Veg book and haven't tried anything yet, so would be keen to have that one month to get me going. I'm also a Delia fan - does anyone have her Vegetarian book? I love that one

Also the change I made was that I had to add half pork mince instead of lamb, which would prob never be done but was still delish, just waiting for DH so we can eat ours so far ive just had a tiny bit of the kids.

Oh, and thanks for the lovely welcome.

Hi to Nolda , I thought I'd spotted you in here!

I told Dh about the pork patties, he wants in, so we'll eat them this evening.

I did however have the grilled mint and harissa chicken with a watercress salad and it was delicious. my favourite thing about Nigel is that there are lunches, easy lunches, so I can make two recipes a day potentially. Three if I wanted a cake

Marking place. Laid low with a stomach bug so no cooking for a while.

Hi I know I only just posted about what I made for dinner to night but I just need to say OMG!! It was delicious, DH gave it a 9/10 and I would agree it was devine. The lemon and celery salad that ZJ linked to on the ottelongi website was so good. I think I may need to invite some friends over so I can cook it again!!

Also I usually dislike green peppers and leave them to rot in the fridge so the salad is a great way to use them up, I roasted over a flame on the hob too instead of in the oven. Sorry I know I am going on a bit but it was just so nice, I love this thread thanks tiger

Ok I've just made April 2nd's dinner from the Kitchen Diaries. I know it's unseasonal but hey, spring is late this year. Does this count as one of my two recipes this month?

I've also read May 1st's entry as it is May 1st today. I love it. Can't wait till DS is old enough to understand that Saturday mornings in summer are sacrosanct and should be devoted to coffee, croissants and the saturday papers!!!

I'm back from my cooking grump and all ready for the May books! Jerusalem is fantastic and there's so much I want to cook in there but am planning to start with falafels and homous tomorrow so have got my chick peas soaking and ready.

Struggling a bit more with kitchen diaries although I did spot a couple of things I might try. Off to read the thread now and see what the rest of you are up to.

sayanything i have sent a tall dark man with a boom box to stand outside your bedroom window playing Peter Gabriel songs until you're better, ok?

Right, I think I've chosen my first recipes - after ELR's glowing review it has to be the lemon and celery salad, so I'll see if I can get some sumac at the weekend. And then from KD I fancy the very easy sounding lemon and basil linguine (May 2nd), DH doesn't like basil, so it can be a quick and easy tea for me one evening when he's away. Nige talks about doing a version with cream, which also sounds nicer (a cooler day version perhaps?) so I might do both and compare (not on the same day - that would be greedy!) Shopping list written for these first too

Does anyone else feel a bit like they're breaking some rule by reading the other months in KD? I agree with Xiaoxiong that it is more April-ly than May-y this year, but still feel bad for some strange reason

I've flicked through KD to eliminate those recipes I've already done - for those wanting recommendations, here's my thoughts ...
Jan - a velvety soup for a clear, cold day (leek, potato and parmesan, a regular make)

• chicken broth with noodles, lemon and mint (the best chicken noodle soup, so good, we often have roast chicken just so I can make stock for this)
• spiced crumbed mackerel with smoked paprika (my default recipe when I have mackerel, I love it)

Feb - smoked haddock with flageolet beans and mustard (sure I've cooked this before, but can't remember what on earth it's like!)

• pork chops, mustard sauce (make them regularly)
• treacle tart (very good, I do love treacle tart)

Apr - mackerel with cumin and lemon (good, but not as good as the Jan mackerel recipe) May - asparagus and lemon risotto (my second favourite asparagus dish, my first being steamed with lots of melted butter) Jun - broad bean and dill 'hummus' (only made a tiny portion with the 1 plant DD grew at nursery, but what we had was nice) Aug - bread and tomato salad (I don't remember putting all the cucumber and peppers in, I'm pretty sure I just used lots of tomatoes, bread and the dressing) Sep - courgette and Lancashire cheese crumble (a bit bland I think, although it was a while ago) Oct - English apple cake (I made this as a pudding, served warm with cream, yum)

Has anyone got any recommendations from Ottolenghi that are must tries?

elr sounds good. I think i am gettibg broad beans in the next veg box, if so I will try them.I always think meatballs are a bit of a faff but then I try them and realise they are easy, and so much lighter than shop bought ones. Bit of a spoiler... The meatballs de mehico in the thomasina miers book for June are the best I've ever tried, truly melt in the mouth. But I also have a good book called marvellous meals with mince (just been reprinted!) and there's a few nice recipes in there as well.

I'm off to a good start having made the NS chicken with tarragon for dinner tonight. It was gorgeous and will probably be served again chez kameleon. It's another April recipe but like everyone else, I felt it was more fitting for the weather this year. We did sit outside in the garden for the first time this to eat it though and enjoyed the evening sun.

Had a flick through Jerusalem and there isn't anything I don't want to cook in there! I will probably try to trek over to a middle eastern shop at the weekend but was hoping that some one who has already cooked a bit fro it could tell me the must have ingredients I will need. I have sumac, zaatar, barberries and lots of fresh herbs on my list but is there anything that I'm missing?