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Ottolenghi: The Cookbook (2008)

by Yotam Ottolenghi(Favorite Author)

4.31 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0091922348 (ISBN13: 9780091922344)

languge

English

genre

Food & Cookbooks

publisher

Ebury Press

review 1: I had never heard of Ottolenghi before and when I saw this cookbook, the title was the first thing that grabbed my attention, and then the blurb sealed the deal.The first thing I want to say about it is that it is the most interesting cookbook I’ve ever read. The recipes are very different than what I’m used to making, and they all sound easy enough to prepare. The photos were amazing, and the stories shared about his family made me feel as if I knew them. They were very close and I liked that.The contents are:IntroductionVegetables, legumes, and grainsMeat and fishBaking and patisserieLarderIndexThe Ottolenghi peopleThank-yousMy favorite recipes were the salads. I love a good salad and there was such a variety. Some of them had ingredients that I would have never tho... moreught to put together. Even days after finishing the book I catch myself thinking “oh, I could make a salad with …If you’re a cookbook lover, check this out. I don’t think you’ll be sorry.
review 2: Source: Library bookThis is a hard cookbook to rate with fairness because of the delta between what can be learned as theory and what can be used in practice. It is a gorgeous cookbook. In the forward, the buzz phrase "curating" is brought up -- recipe curating. I didn't cringe too much because the recipes in this book are, indeed, curated. They are carefully selected, brilliantly showcased, intelligently presented. It's clear why Ottolenghi (the establishment in England) has garnered huge respect in the food world. The recipes are well-formatted and the instructions clear. The authors' "curating" is a five-star effort. For someone like me who reads a cookbook to learn something new, to understand a culture via its cuisine, and to use as a springboard for ideas in my kitchen, it's simply a freaking brilliant cookbook. As a cookbook to be used in a practical way, it's a three-star cookbook. While I would happily tuck into a meal featuring any (all) of these recipes, the truth is that I probably would prepare very few of them because they are not doable for the average person. It's not the skill level required: most of the recipes are approachable, if fiddly, and I'm a competent cook. It's not he time: I have plenty of time. It's the ingredients. Almost every recipe has an integral ingredient -- usually an obscure vegetable or herb, but sometimes a cheese or meat -- that simply cannot be found in my medium-sized town. While I've heard of most of them (I did have to look up a couple), I'm fairly certain if I walked into any grocery in the area and asked for fresh fava beans, speck, manouri, samphire, gooseberries or pork belly, the manager would look at me like I was speaking a foreign language or asking for a phoenix feather. Even if I could have them special ordered or get them on-line, they would cost a king's ransom. Granted, I don't live in a culinary Mecca, but it's not exactly a backwater, either. To read, enjoy, learn from, dream about, swoon over = 5 starsTo add to a collection of books you might cook a few recipes from for very special occasions = 4 starsTo actually cook from -- unless you live in a major food-centric city, are quite wealthy or have a specialty produce importer at your beck and call = 2.5 stars. less

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