Ottolenghi Simple: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi

Ottolenghi Simple: A Cookbook Reviews

• 
  Jennie

  I pre-ordered this book, because Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes are almost always huge successes for me. I like his sense of flavor and some of the surprising combinations he comes up with. I thought this book would be perfect for weeknight cooking. Unfortunately, I find the recipes aren't so much "simple" as "less complicated, sometimes, but also frequently less flavorful".
  
  First, the good. I do like that he lays out his criteria and has a SIMPLE acronym to advise which recipes meet which criteria. Unfortunately, it seems to be inconsistently applied throughout the book, but it's at least a start. He covers the basic pantry ingredients you'll need; I'm not sure I agree with all of them - for example, rose harissa is very difficult to find and quite expensive, at least in the US, and regular harissa works too - but it's nice to have that all covered in detail. And some of the recipes are very, very good, in typical Ottolenghi style. The rose harissa chickpeas with flaked cod are truly easy to make and extremely delicious. The lamb meatballs with feta are great for a weeknight, though you can bake them all the way through rather than fry+bake to make it even faster. There's a baked mint rice with an olive-pomegranate salsa - that salsa is 100% fantastic and I would eat it on anything. Very easy to throw together, too.
  
  The bad: A lot of the dishes just seem not quite complete. The slow-cooked chicken with crisp corn crust has turned out poorly for many people in a couple of cookbook clubs in which I participate. The crust seems to just kind of sink into a soggy mess. And the chicken itself is... I can see where he's going, but there are about fifteen other chili recipes I'd rather eat. The chicken marbella turns out with quite soggy skin, which could be remedied if he instructed air drying. Perhaps it's my American tastes but I don't prefer soggy poultry skin. The sauce itself was good but not amazing. The overall feel of the book just hasn't been inspiring to me the way Ottolenghi's other books are.
  
  In summary, the problem is perhaps that my expectations were too high; however, if you haven't cooked with Ottolenghi before, I would recommend a different book first, like Jerusalem or Plenty.
• 
  Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂

  4.5★
  
  I have made five or six recipes from this book. The last one was Braised Eggs with Leek & Za'atar. & here I where I ran into a problem. I live in a small town in New Zealand. Za'atar is just too exotic for my location. Fortunately I can get sumac & I made quite a tasty spice mix from sumac, ground roasted sesame seeds & salt. While I could buy za'atar online I probably won't. I have a sneaking suspicion that this book is also promoting Ottolenghe's range of foods- which he lists as essentials at the back. But I am the Queen 👑 of the Substitutions. Our spinach didn't thrive this year so I substituted silver beet, mizuna & spring onions. The resulting dish was quite magical & the spice/oil mixture I painted over the poached eggs really elevated it.
  
  So this won't be a cookbook I use every day, but I will pull it out every time I either go to our local Produce Swap or am getting bored with our regular diet.
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
  
• 
  Caitlin Hawksley

  Sections: Brunch; Raw Veg; Cooked Veg; Rice, Grains, and Pulses; Noodles and Pasta; Meat; Seafood; Dessert
  
  Pros: Just. Wow. I borrowed this cookbook from the library, expecting to get maybe a week's worth of meals out of it, but I got two weeks' worth, and I want to keep trying more recipes. Every. Single. Recipe. Was SO solid. Great flavors, great techniques, great challenges. Lots of beautiful photos.
  
  Cons: I know the title of the book is "Ottolenghi Simple," and, readers might not realize until they delve in, but SIMPLE is an acronym. S = Short on Time. I = Ingredients: 10 or fewer. M = Make ahead. P = Pantry-led. L = Lazy-day dishes. E = Easier than you think. Each recipe earns at least one of these labels, but I did find that some recipes were still very involved and took a long time, which didn't feel simple to me. Also, I learned quickly to cut back on the oil. Ottolenghi has a heavy hand.
  
  No, thank you: I tried close to 20 recipes and would make each one again.
  
  More, please: Roasted whole cauliflower with green tahini sauce (Serving the cauliflower whole was a fun crowd-wower, and I'd put the green tahini sauce on anything.), Iranian herb fritters (Vivid, new flavors, and, yes, the green tahini sauce made a reappearance as an accompaniment at our dinner table.), Bridget Jones's pan-fried salmon with pine nut salsa (I've never made salmon before, and this recipe made me feel like a pro!), mint and pistachio chocolate fridge cake (Graham crackers, rum-soaked raisins, 3 bars of chocolate, and pistachios. You just can't go wrong.)
  
  I'll be buying a copy of this one.
• 
  Hilary

  This has some nice recipes, some great salads and vegetable dishes. I didn't realise this has meat recipes, but there is a section on meat based meals. Although there were some nice vegetable based dishes, I wouldn't buy a book with a meat section. It's good that a meat based cookery book shows some vegetable options but not one I'd want to keep.
• 
  Graeme Roberts

  This is my desert island cookbook, as long as the island has a store selling a profusion of fresh vegetables, fruits, and Middle Eastern, Asian, and Italian ingredients. I certainly haven't cooked all the dishes, which might take a year or two, but reading them was a torturous experience as I drooled onto my virtual silk tie.
  
  I can honestly say that not a single dish, from Raw Veg to Dessert was less than delicious. I could taste them in my culinary imagination! Their simplicity, creativity, and goodness (anything to avoid talking about health and wellness) is obvious. The few potentially unfamiliar ingredients (no pickled breast of Himalayan crevasse dove here) are described in detail at the end of the book, including advice about what to look for and where to find them. Thank Cod that Ottolenghi and his recipe wranglers did not try to be authentically anything (so depressingly 20th century) but combined strong elements of Middle Eastern cooking with Chinese and Italian. We are, after all, so cosmopolitan.
  
  I just Amazoned another copy to my daughter and son-in-law in San Francisco, since I will be visiting in two weeks, and a man must eat. Women too, I know.
• 
  Matt

  Yotam Ottolenghi’s most recent cookbook, SIMPLE, provides some pretty great recipes to fit a more practical style of cooking depending on the recipe: Short on time; Ingredients 10 or less; Make ahead; Pantry-based; Lazy; Easier than you think. Ottolenghi’s Plenty is one of my go-to cookbooks with its heavily seasoned, though sometimes finicky, vegetarian dishes, several of which have become staples in our home, so I was very curious to explore recipes of his in a slightly pared down form.
  A sample of what we’ve tried:
  
  Puy Lentils with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Yogurt: I love this recipe, and I’m generally not a huge fan of eggplant. It’s light and flavorful and is packed full of protein. I’ve already made it twice.
  
  Gigli with Chickpeas and Za’atar: This is a really hearty, immaculately flavored pasta dish. The layered tastes of anchovy, cumin, lemon, za’atar, and thyme is perfect. Any easy excuse to use some of the pasta and cans of chickpeas in the pantry.
  
  Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato, and Marinated Feta: My partner loves orzo, so this was an easy sell. Shrimp, tomato, feta, pasta, and a bit of citrus is such an amazingly simple combo that works perfectly every time. I could eat this once a week.
  
  Stuffed Zucchini with Pine Nut Salsa: A pretty straightforward stuffed zucchini recipe with good flavoring, especially the pine nut salsa which I’m going to start using on other dishes. I think Ottolenghi was trying to fit this into a 30 minute time limit, so the prep work could have been more polished; for example, he doesn’t dice the meat removed from the zucchini which would make the stuffing more manageable and less uneven. Also, for me it’s too heavy on breadcrumbs. This is thus far the only Ottolenghi dish that I’ve been somewhat disappointed in; although the salsa saves it.
  
  While going back into SIMPLE to figure out which recipes I’ve tried, I just noted another dozen that need to be cooked soon (hello rose harissa chickpeas with flaked cod), so this will be a cookbook to live with for a long while.
  
• 
  Sophie

  Recipes I've tried
  1. Chile fish with tahini (1/2/20)-this recipe was SO GOOD. Great flavors, nice kick, healthy. I would definitely make it again!
  
  2. Curried coconut, tomato, and lentil soup (1/5/20)-This one seemed a bit bland at first but it's one of those dishes with a subtle flavor that grows as you eat more of it. It also seems like a great base, something where I could easily add more stuff. Next time I might do a bit less ginger and more of the curry powder/red pepper flakes.
  
  3. Blueberry, lemon, and almond cake (3/4/21)-This was actually the second time I made this recipe but I didn't document the first time. The first time I made it mostly as is but without the icing, the second time I did the icing and added frozen raspberries. Both ways were really good, I definitely prefer it with the icing. The raspberries are good as well, but I added that mostly because I was low on blueberries. Definitely a repeat recipe. First time using almond flour!
• 
  pax

  Yes, it's a cookbook and I usually only skim them, looking for recipes to try, but I actually read this one from beginning to the end. Most recipes are amazing and I want to try them all - they hit just the right spot between not being too fussy (I have the skills to do it, but I don't enjoy fussy cooking!), sounding amazingly promising to be an absolute taste and texture explosion, and being heavy on vegetables. Not to forget that the book focussed on the food and does not spend a ton of time telling (mostly rather boring) stories of this and that. The only sad thing that not many of the recipes would work for a workday lunch, to take with me to work, but well, you can't have everything, can you? Anyway: love this one. Will be used a ton.
• 
  Savanna

  This has my minty baked rice with pomegranate and olive relish, which I make at least once every few months. It's incredible. The majority of this cookbook is vegetables in new and surprising ways.
  
  I really love the S-I-M-P-L-E concept. L-- Lazy cooking-- is my favorite, since it mostly involves throwing things into a pot or a pan and let it simmer away.
• 
  Alexa

  I thought that since I loved Ottolenghi's previous book (
  Sweet), I'd also like this one, but nothing could have been further from the truth.
  
  My main problem was the fact that I didn't have full ingredients to make even one recipe! (And I have a pretty well stocked pantry!)
  
  Every single recipe had at least one spice or ingredient that was far from standard western fare: Harissa, Za'atar, Sumac, pomegranate molasses... The list is long. And I don't mind experimenting or trying new things, but with a book called 'Simple' I'd have loved to have the opportunity to try the cookbook with the things in my pantry, before heading to the stores to buy new stuff.
  
  In the end I returned the book without trying a single recipe, so please, take my rating with a grain of salt. As usual, both the review and rating are insanely personal and representative of my feelings on the book NOW. Yours might be different, so I encourage you to try it!
• 
  Chantal

  This book is what it says in his title: simple. The inside was really simple, so simple it was blended. The recipes I found at times in simple, sometimes even boring. The pictures same thing... This book was not for me.
  
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• 
  Brittany

  Ottolenghi did it again! I have yet to make a bad meal out of any of his cookbooks. This one is even better than the others because the recipes are, in fact, simple. This past Tuesday, in anticipation of Thanksgiving, we made EIGHT dishes! Each one was fantastic. Now I’m hungry...
• 
  Kayo

  I think the title is misleading. Not simple in any way. Disappointing.
• 
  A Kane

  I bought this book because I love Ottolenghi's food (I'm lucky enough to have eaten at his restaurants a few times) and theoretically liked Plenty and Plenty More.. but didn't often have the time/the ingredients to cook from them. Simple seemed like the perfect everyday Ottolenghi cookbook, and for me it is.
  
  I've cooked/eaten about 30 recipes from this book and loved most of them. I liked it enough to gift it to a friend, my boyfriend gifted it to his mom, and my flatmate gifted it to her sister. These people have regularly been texting us since then everytime they cook a recipe they like.
  
  I've seen people complain about the ingredient list/the fact that some recipes are not simple, but so far, none of them have been a challenge for me or called for ingredients I can't find in my neighbourhood.
  
  So far I've had:
  - Braised eggs with leeks and za'atar: careful with the preserved lemons, depending on their size, you might be adding quite a bit more salt than you expect. Super straightforward to make and really comforting.
  - Courgette and ciabatta frittata: it's the recipe I liked the least, but it might be because I am not the biggest fan of eggs mixed with dairy (such as in flans, quiches, etc.).
  - Avocado butter on toast with tomato salsa: the avocado butter was creamy and indulgent, but the salsa brought enough freshness to not make it feel heavy. We devoured it.
  - Cornbread with cheddar, feta and jalapeño: so soo good when it comes out of the oven. It's a bit sweet, a bit spicy, super savoury, it tastes rich but not heavy, and every bite has a different combination of filling/topping so it doesn't get boring. Will definitely cook again, because also, you just prep the ingredients and then mix everything together in the right order and put in the oven. Done.
  - Curried lentil, tomato and coconut soup: I've made this one several times because it's easy, uses stuff I usually have around and lends itself well to being played with. I've made it as is, but also with added greens (chard, spinach), or cooked rice in the soup to make more of a stew. All versions were nice.
  - Courgette, pea and basil soup: made this with friends and was a bit drunk by the time we ate it, so I don't remember it clearly, but we ate all of it with pleasure.
  - Tomato, chard and spinach with toasted almonds: my boyfriend cooked this one and it wasn't our favourite, as there was a bit too much mint for our taste and the texture wasn't super nice. This being said he's not as experienced a cook as I am and there are several things I would have done differently (he didn't separate the chard leaves from the stems for instance and kept quite big pieces, included the hard stem from the mint, etc.). I kinda want to try it again.
  - Fried broccoli and kale with garlic, cumin and lime: went well with the gnocchi alla romana I made with it, as it's quite bright and was a nice counterpoint to the richness of the gnocchi
  - Tenderstem broccoli with soy sauce, garlic and peanuts: one of my favourite recipes in the book ! It's a bit sweet, it's savoury, the broccoli has the nicest texture (not crunchy, but not too soft either), the peanuts give it some crunch. I had the leftover cold the next day and it was lovely as well.
  - Roasted asparagus with almonds, capers and dill: so easy and so good, we had it twice in a week ! It's nutty and buttery, but doesn't drown the asparagus and the capers give you little bursts of salty-tangy goodness.
  - Garry's stir-fried cabbage with garlic and chili: my flatmate cooked this one as part of a spread and it was lovely. Just as the name tells you, it gets lots of taste from the garlic (6 cloves !) and the chili.
  - Tofu and French beans with chraimeh sauce: super easy, really good with rice, I made it a few times with different types of tofu, and switching some of the spices to fit what I had, and it worked well each time
  - Avocado and broad bean mash: we had it as part of a spread and it was very nice, lighter than a guacamole would be, which made it nice to have along heavier stuff
  - Carrot salad with yoghurt and cinnamon: we often cook this as a starter when the main is going to be a load of starch or when we want something to eat along with some bread as the dressing is just too good to waste.
  - Oven chips with oregano and feta: all british people apparently know you should boil potatoes beforehand to get really crispy chips (or so I've been told), but it was the first time I used this method used and the texture was so nice !
  - Shallow-fried potatoes with rosemary and sumac: here the potatoes have a texture that ranges from creamy to crispy depending on how long you cook them for. Both are delicious, and you can get both a the same time if you try to fit way too many potatoes in the pan and can't have them all at the bottom at the same time like I did.
  - Sweet potato chips: they were good, but I used coarse polenta and the texture wasn't the best, I'd probably use a finer one if I made them again
  - Buckwheat and French bean salad: was really good although I forgot the onions in the oven and half burned them..
  - Puy lentil and aubergine stew: it's supposed to serve four but my boyfriend and I finished it in one meal.. woops.. The only reason we haven't made it again is that we have a list of about 12 recipes we want to try with aubergine before we can circle back to the ones we've cooked before.
  - Bulgur with tomato, aubergine and lemony yoghurt: loved it and it couldn't be easier to make. The only thing is I would make more aubergine to top the bulgur, because roasted aubergines are so nice you kinda want to eat more of them. The allspice is quite strong in this recipe, so people who don't love it might want to cut back a bit.
  - Bulgur with mushrooms and feta: it's one of two bulgur recipes that I've ever made, along with the one above, and so far, bulgur gets 10/10
  - Puy lentils with aubergine, tomatoes and yoghurt: seems really similar to the other lentil and aubergine dish in the book at first glance, but doesn't taste the same at all ! Here the aubergine disappears in the mix and gives it a lovely creamy texture and smoky taste.
  - Baked mint rice with pomegranate and olive salsa: my boyfriend's mom cooked this one for a big family dinner (along with some lamb) and it was so good. There's something different going on with each bite and it stood up on its own for the vegetarians at the table who didn't eat the meat. She said she loved it because she just put everything in the tray, and in the oven and didn't have to spend any time in the kitchen actually cooking while we were there.
  - Soba noodles with lime, cardamom and avocado: sooo goood. The avocado makes it creamy, the cardamom and the lime make it fresh, and the soba bring a nice earthiness to the dish.
  - Pasta alla Norma: roasting aubergine to make a pasta sauce might seem like overkill, but only until you actually try the pasta.
  - Pappardelle with rose harissa, black olives and capers: I used a bit less rose harissa as my bf is not that much into spicy food, and the pasta still had quite a bold taste. It feels like a middle-eastern puttanesca, which is quite nice, but I like regular puttanesca too much to chose this recipe over the traditional one.
  - Gigli with chickpeas and za'atar: these are amazing. I've never had similar pasta before, so I don't really know what to compare it too, but I'll definitely be making them again. And again.
  - Gnocchi alla romana: the first time I made these, I didn't find them super easy. The second and third time, I actually needed less than 30 minutes' prep time overall to make them (I obviously don't include the time it spends in the fridge as prep time). It's good as is, with a nice veggie side to cut through the richness, or with a tomato sauce ladled on top.
  - Plum, blackberry and bay friand bake: I made this with mixed frozen berries and it still turned out well. I cut back on the sugar a bit, because I think Ottolenghi tends to make quite sweet desserts.
  - Honey and yoghurt set cheesecake: this one is a bit of work even if you don't need to cook it, but it's well worth it ! I've made it 4 times and it's never lasted until the next meal.
  - Brunsli chocolate cookies: I wanted to make the christmas cookies from my childhood, so since the header said the original cookies only have cinnamon and cloves, I omitted the other spices. They tasted just like I remembered them and made me feel connected to my family far away, which is the whole point of christmas baking, isn't it ?
• 
  Margaret

  I am completely biased as I think Yotam Ottolenghi is currently the most influential food writer, recipe developer and chef. His name has become synonymous with a style of food that beloved fans instantly recognise. He has, through each of his books Plenty, Plenty More, Jerusalem and now Simple, taken us on a culinary journey through the Mediterranean mostly making vegetables the hero. He has introduced us to delicious ingredients, foods and flavors and most importantly has made them delicious and 'doable' for the home cook. Anyone who has tasted roasted eggplant with a dollop of creamy yoghurt or who craves for roasted cauliflower with green tahini sauce should thank Ottolenghi.
  His latest book, Simple, combines everything that has become staple Ottolenghi (ingredients and flavours) but is a collection of recipes that are easy and effortless. This means lots of delicious food that can be prepared ahead, or sourced from your pantry or whipped up for a tasty week night dinner or can be prepared in a single dish. You will not be disappointed with this latest (and best) offering.
  There is everything to love about this book and this chef!
  
  
• 
  Kim Raymond

  Grosse déception pour moi. Les recettes sont peut-être "simplifiées" par rapport à Plenty et Jerusalem, mais on est loin de la série de recettes one pot permettant de cuisiner du Ottolenghi chaque soir de la semaine promise dans la description du livre. Il n'y a finalement pas beaucoup de recettes qui sont des repas en soi, et beaucoup de trucs qui doivent être combinés avec une ou deux autres composantes pour faire un repas complet. Vraiment pas le genre de livre de recettes de semaine auquel je m'attendais.
  
  Celui-ci reprendra le chemin du Amazon Warehouse, j'ai déjà beaucoup trop de livres de recettes pour en conserver un que je n'utiliserai pas.
• 
  Molly

  I rarely buy cookbooks, but Ottolenghi recipes have proven to consistently be delicious, and this book recognizes that his usual recipes are a tad on the "where am I even going to find that and why does he assume everyone has rosewater and sumac in their pantry" variety. There are some really promising ones in here- and the "simple" method is nice for recognizing that sometimes you have lots of time, but don't want to get a bunch of ingredients; or maybe vice versa. I guess I will update when I've actually made one. Which... may be awhile- I may have a slight recipe hoarding problem at the moment. :)
• 
  Laurel

  Everything I have made so far has been delicious and loved by the entire family. Can't wait to make dinner tonight! Later this afternoon, starting a batch of preserved lemons.... and who knows, black garlic may be next.
• 
  Charlotte Lloyd

  LOVE HIS COOKING STYLE!!!!
• 
  TAB

  I did it, I read a coffee table book cover to cover! So I came up with a challenge last year to myself that I needed to actually read all the coffee table and cook books lying around my house that in reality are nothing more than adult picture books to flip through lackadaisically. I honestly thought it wouldn't be that hard but choosing a cook book as my first attempt was a stupid idea because they are slow and to keep myself from skimming recipes as I normally do, I often made myself read them out loud to my newborn as an irregular form of bonding.
  
  But I did it and I now for the actual book review, I'm a fan. I haven't made too many of the recipes but this one lentil soup we have made religiously and it is easily one of our go-to's now. I marked a plethora of other recipes to try that I hope I will over the years to come. I'd say Mediterranean/Middle Eastern is definitely the range but honestly buckle up because this man loves tahini which I honestly don't really understand. His trying to cover all his bases and including all recipes in both imperial and metric is just really cumbersome to read at times (people know how to google convert, it's ok), but honestly I recommend copying recipes you like down into your own cookbook or cards so that they're in your terms going forward.
• 
  Nelly Santanna

  Un bon livre pour s'initier à l'esprit 'Ottolenghi' 😂
• 
  Cindy

  Lekkere dingen :)
• 
  Wendy

  SIMPEL staat eenvoudigweg voor Snel - niet meer dan 10 Ingrediënten - Maak van tevoren -Provisiekast - Eenvoudiger dan u denkt - Lui: elk recept kreeg 1 of meerdere van deze labels. Persoonlijk kijk ik hier niet echt (of zelden) naar, ik beschouw het gewoon als een weer erg goed Ottolenghi-kookboek, vol erg lekkere recepten. Én een schitterende cover!
  Waar Ottolenghi’s Plenty-kookboeken enkel om groenten draaien, staan in dit boek ook recepten met vlees en vis. De recepten blijven fijn om te maken, toch soms een uitdaging, ook qua ingrediënten (maar er worden vaak suggesties voor alternatieven gedaan). Leuk is ook het overzicht van de ingrediënten, en de inleiding tot elk recept.
  
  Ik blijf alleszins fan! Mijn (voorlopige) favorieten: zoete-aardappelpuree, gebakken rijst uit de oven met munt en granaatappel-olijvensalsa, sobanoedels met limoen, kardemom en avocado, en de arretjescake met munt en pistachenoten. Maar gelukkig blijven er nog heel wat recepten over om te ontdekken :-)
• 
  Sharon

  SIMPLE : Short on time, Ingredients: 10 or less, Make ahead, Pantry, Lazy, Easier than you think! Simple.
  
  Have all the books except the Sweet as we don’t eat dessert unless out somewhere. They are amazing cookery books and like fabulous reference books to the cuisines mixed therein. BUT often way too difficult and complicated for me, a home cook. Simple is exactly the answer. Amazing approachable and very doable cookery with great ingredients and truly delicious results. Cannot recommend it more! Excellent.......
• 
  Lara

  Welllll, I didn't really love either of Ottolenghi's first two books, but with the word simple in the title I figured I'd give it a shot. But no. Though some recipes definitely seem less complicated than recipes in the previous cookbooks, they're still too complicated for me! And also, what even are some of these ingredients? Once again, I would love to visit his restaurant and have this food cooked for me. I do not have the time or money or effort to spend on making this stuff for myself. Back to the library with you!
• 
  Kent District Library

  Join us for an informal discussion about cookbooks and sample delectable examples, potluck style. Stop by the branch for more details. This month's selection is Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi. Discussion will take place at Kent District Library's Lowell Branch, on August 26, 2019 from 6:30-7:30 pm.
• 
  Heather

  For those of you who love Ottolenghi recipes but balk at the long ingredient lists, this book contains recipes with ten ingredients or less. As long as you have black garlic, harissa, preserved lemon, nigella seeds, and pomegranate molasses on hand, you can definitely maybe make some of these recipes. The photography is beautiful.