Ottolenghi Simple: A Cookbook

I was delighted to receive my latest Ottolenghi cookbook, Simple, a few weeks ago. I opened it and viewed several recipes only to find that all the measurements were written in the metric system. At first I thought I would convert each measurement and even though this cookbook is designed to be simple, the conversion would take a considerable amount of time. I went back to the Amazon book list and noticed now there were two different covers of the Simple cookbook. What was the difference?? I did not see an explanation anywhere of the difference(s). I received another Simple cookbook in the mail from my pre-ordering the book (and forgetting that I had ordered it) but this one had a different cover. Upon opening it, I saw that the measurements were in both Standard US and the metric system. Now happily I could use Simple for its original purpose of providing simple, wonderful recipes!!!! Buyer be careful!!!

I purchased this cookbook because we have Ottolenghi’s earlier cookbooks and have enjoyed them a great deal. I was very interested in the thought of incorporating many of Ottolenghi’s signature flavors with less time and labor than is usually required. The good news about this book is that the dishes that I’ve made all taste great, have that signature Ottolenghi flavor and are fun to learn.

They are in no way, however, “simple” in the preparation.

In that regard, this book is a MASSIVE disappointment. SIMPLE, in Ottolenghi language is actually an acronym that stands for “Short on time”, “10 Ingredients or less”, “Make ahead”, “Pantry”, “Lazy” and “Easier than you think”.

The dishes that are “Short on Time” typically take at least an hour or more. The “Make Ahead” dishes sometimes can only be made a couple hours ahead (not say, on a weekend before the week begins). The “Easier than you think” dishes are not easier or harder than anything else (including things in his other cookbooks). This just isn’t a very practical cookbook for the busy family and as such, feels like false marketing.

If you want an Ottolenghi starter cookbook, go with one of the first two (Ottolenghi or Plenty). If you have either or both of those, consider SIMPLE only if you have to have more Ottolenghi in your life. Do not buy this cookbook if you are looking for easy, quick recipes to cook for your family. If you are an Ottolenghi completist, consider it.

If you don’t know ottolenghi’s amazing cookbooks.. this is a great intro. For the average American home cook.. be prepared to source some exotic ingredients ..(rose harissa-a must for this particular book, black garlic, sumac, preserved lemons etc)... it have a well stocked ottolenghi pantry.. and still had to find the rose Harris’s and black garlic..also.. even though the book is titled “Simple”.. a one pot wonder.. quick and easy weeknight supper.. this book is not

That being said.., these recipes pay off big time for your effort. I love this book.. two recipes in (asparagus with dill, fried capers, and almonds, and amustard cauliflower). .. have been very good..

On the other hand.. some other recipes have had mixed results.. slow cooked chicken with crispy corn crush.. was bad.. a soufflé type crust and bland stewed chicken.. rice noodle salad. bland..

Be sure and weigh your veggies.. one medium/small/large veggie is not the same as a usa medium/small/veggie..
And more than likely add more spices and salt.. many recipes seem bland

I really wish the title wasnt simple.. may recipes take multiple pots/pans and steps... some truly are simple.. some truly arent.

Updated to four stars!

Have continued cooking from this book.. yes.. I hit a rough patch with a few underwhelming recipes.. but most have them have be been so good!!! I have currently cooked 63 recipes from this book so far.. whew! Maybe the most from any single book for me. I can not recommend this book enough!

I own all of Ottolenghi's cookbooks, but this is the first one I've promptly resold after purchase. While with all of his other cookbooks, I immediately want to make ever recipe, this one totally failed to grab me. Many of them just didn't even sound good. It just didn't have the heart and soul of the other books.

I am no professional chef, but I’m an experienced home cook. And I found these recipes to be very doable, and I think many of these I could do with my twelve year old little cousin.

I do encourage anyone who buys this to take two minutes to read the introduction written by the author, so that you understand how to look at this book. He makes a good point that “simple” is different for each person, as it was for each person who helped put the book together. For example, simple for one person may mean, put it together and let the oven do its thing while you do something else, or simple is few ingredients, or simple is prep fast, or simple is make ahead on Sunday so you can just assemble it quickly after work on Monday. That’s how the SIMPLE system helps you choose recipes. There’s something for everyone.

I’ve included a picture of the inner cover with a brief description of the SIMPLE grading system, and each recipe has one or more of these letters to categorize the recipe. So don’t expect every recipe to meet all 6 criteria.

The introduction goes over ingredients:

For those who are intimidated by the “Ottolenghi Ingredients” (see picture)

If you live in Texas, I was able to add these following ingredients into my curbside pickup at H-E-B. Saves time searching! I was able to find Sumac, Za’atar, Pomegranate Molasses, Ground Cardamom, Tahini, and Date Syrup (Molasses)—not Ottolenghi ingredients, but a unique ingredient used in a recipe. All for reasonable prices. Note, each store will vary, so if you can do curbside pickup—find the closest “big” H-E-B close to you and go town. Curbside is something I’ve come to embrace during the pandemic, and it saves so much time when it comes to finding special items.

If you don’t have an HEB, then your local grocery store with a good international section that includes middle eastern ingredients/brands like SADAF etc, may have these.

Black Garlic I found at our local 99 ranch market which is an Asian grocery store, so if you have one in town, check it out.

I found Harissa at our local Kroger’s but not Rose harissa, but I do have rose water and will try to simulate the taste.

There are recipes for Rose Harissa online and the ingredients are quite attainable, so you could make a batch to jar and use for months. The recipes I have found involve both petals and rose water, but I will omit the rose petals and try mixing the proportions for harissa to rose water to at least get the floral element.

I’ve seen you can find many of these ingredients at the middle eastern grocery store. Many Asian Supermarkets have a good Indo/Paki/Middle Eastern section—you might find them there too

It’s more likely cheaper to buy in store than online.

[UPDATE: I went to our local middle eastern grocery store, Phoenicia— all or most of these ingredients are $6 at most. Awesome!!]

BUT EVEN IF you don’t have these, and don’t have these special grocery stores, and don’t feel like buying them online and paying more for them—improvise! He offers substitutions if you can’t find the fancy stuff, and the internet has all the substitutions you need when you’re missing something.

That’s what you would do when you’re cooking “normal” things at home right? I don’t have heirloom tomatoes, but I have normal tomatoes! I don’t have date syrup, but I have honey. So take a chance and you might be pleasantly surprised, or disappointed—but that’s the fun in learning and gaining experience with cooking.

With that being said, any substitution means it will deviate from the original taste intended, but if you like it, and your loved ones like it, then the substitution was a win and you didn’t need to buy a $13 ingredient you may only use once or twice.

I say this so that people will not hold back from this book because of these special ingredients.

At the end of the introduction, he clarifies certain ingredients to be EXTRA clear—and I really appreciate that he took the time to be very clear throughout the book to help the reader be successful in following the recipes.

The book is beautiful with many pictures and of most of the recipes. Its layout is user friendly. And Ottolenghi is very detailed in his instructions.
Cut it this way, and lay it on the dish this way, in this direction.

Most recipes are very approachable. And if you understand the SIMPLE system, then you can choose a recipe that suits your needs at that moment. There are soo many great recipes here, so don’t be discouraged to try new things!

UPDATE:
I have made about 5-6 recipes already, and now that I’ve acquired the rest of the ingredients and have found a middle eastern grocery store to replenish my ingredients—I can forsee many of these becoming go to/staple recipes in our house.

I also highly recommend using this book alongside Adeena Sussman’s “Sababa” cookbook. She offers recipes to many of these special ingredients, spice blends, and condiments.

havent tried the recipes yet and probably wont. I live in a big city, but still dont know where i would find such odd ingredients, which are in the majority of the recipes. where do you find Rose Harissa, and black garlic, etc etc in a regular store.

This like all of Ottolenghi's books looks amazing and I can't wait to eat my way through the book! It is exactly as the title states - simple. The recipes are not fussy and while some of the ingredients take a little research to procure, they are worth it and a lovely way to introduce your palate to other flavors while being -- simple. :)

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.

I live in Australia and I’ve owned the UK version for six weeks. I’ve not cooked anything from it. I own all of his previous books and cook from them frequently.

Not one recipe ‘jumps out at me’ demanding to be cooked. To me, it’s all ‘over the place’ and lacks the focus of his previous books.

I’m selling my copy.

Very disappointed! Saw it on Rachael Ray show. Uses too many ingredients that are not readily available. It’s suppose to be simple and it’s far from it.