Ottolenghi SIMPLE Hardcover – 6 Sept. 2018

Ottolenghi has been quoted as saying his cooking is aimed at ‘drama in the mouth.’ Simple is an acronym for Short on time, Ingredients ten or less, Make ahead, Pantry (meaning basic stock ingredients), Lazy, Easier than you think. The recipes are very clear and easy to follow. There are beautiful photographic illustrations of the dishes. There is a wide range of recipes, including salads, cooked vegetables, eggs, chicken, fish, lamb, pasta, cakes and desserts. I have tried several recipes, had easy and delicious results, and then repeated my favourites. I have also taken inspiration from a carrot salad recipe and combined some of the ingredients (cinnamon, dill, coriander, cider vinegar, garlic and honey) with carrots and, instead of making a salad, I added stock and managed to turn these flavours into a delicious soup. Many, but not all, of the recipes include suggestions for suitable accompaniments. This would have been very useful to include with the recipe for the rich and delicious chicken Marbella, but all is not lost because there is a section on Meal Suggestions at the end of the book where you can find suggestions for vegetables or salad which would go well with the delicious and easy date, olive and caper ingredients in the chicken Marbella marinade. The cross-referencing in this section is really helpful. Finally, the book is sturdy and robust enough to survive splashes and steam in the kitchen. It’s a marvellous modern recipe book, truly a gateway to ‘drama in the mouth’ for those who aspire to fit delicious cooking into an otherwise very busy life.

Prior to buying this book by Ottelenghi I had tried some of the recipes from my two daughter's books and decided it was time to purchase my own. It is a pleasure to look through, but even more enjoyable to make plans to experiment with new recipes.

I like Ottelenghi, but in general his recipes are quite complex and require a lot of planning, especially so because of his use of unusual and hard-to-find ingredients for those of us who don't live in London. The prospect of a 'cut down' Ottelenghi with simplified recipes was just the thing I was looking for.I hesitated in making this purchase having looked at his list of pantry ingredients, Some of those ingredients I had never heard of, and have no desire searching high and low for, then paying over the odds for something I may only use a few times. However, I'm well aware that easy substitutions can be made for the ingredients I am familiar with - No sumac? Use lemon rind. No za'atar? Use some thyme. So I took a punt, and purchsed the book with confidence that I can improvise some workarounds.And I am glad I did.There are a lot of recipes in this book, and while I've only tried one to date, a quick thumb through shows a plethora of easy-to-make dishes that don't appear to need a selection of strange and exotic ingredients. To sum up, if you like Ottelenghi, you'll like this book, as it makes his style of cooking far more accesible to the average cook like myself.

I do like this book however it’s not quite as expected, some recipes not so simple as the book states, especially when it comes to sourcing the ingredients which I have managed to so whilst spending quite a bit of money. Tried the gigli pasta and broccoli with garlic which was great, baked rice good but my children turned their nose up to the strong cinnamon fragrance and 25 cloves of garlic. Perhaps they are not so Ottolenghi ready as I thought just yet. I come from a Mediterranean background and familiar with this type of cooking, I believe you could some things in half the time by skipping a step here and there etc. But this is just my opinion and Ottolenghi is renowned for exact step by step process and measurements which for the novice cook helps loads. Meal ideas at the back of the book by season are really helpful. Looking for a next book with more large family meals perhaps although lots of that in his previous books too. Cant stop reading it though in my spare time, definitely some different things and ideas in here if you are looking for something slightly different to the norm, however if you already cook different types of foods already eg Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, this feels a more polished version of old authentic recipes with a twist and to suit modern times.

I love the look of the book; there’s a great selection of relatively easy recipes, with great flavours. The recipes I’ve tried so far have been tasty and successful.

Bought as gift. Recipient pleased.

Bought this book for my daughter for Christmas as she had requested it. She loves it.

Loved the recipes overall. Great mix of flavours and tastes. Looking forward to trying a lot more.