Do you know Yotam Ottolenghi?
Do you know Yotam Ottolenghi? Maybe not, in which case let me tell you a little about him.
5,502 4.8/5 (13 reviews)
Keywords for this post:ChefLondonGreat BritainIsraeliVegetablesRecipesLast modified on: December 19th 2020
Do you know Yotam Ottolenghi?
He's an Israeli chef, but based in Great Britain and trained at the Cordon Bleu in London, in the French style, and late in life, his first profession being literature.
You may never have heard of him, but he's a star in England, comparable no doubt to Cyril Lignac back home. Perhaps someone who knows the UK well could comment on this comparison?
So famous, in fact, that his London restaurant is mentioned in the dialogues of the film "Bridget Jones's Diary", where Colin Firth talks about inviting Bridget to eat there.
The funny thing is that the dish he mentions in the film didn't actually exist on the menu, but the chef cleverly added it in a personal version, and it's now something his customers often ask for.
Why am I telling you about him? Because his cuisine, his recipes and his books are astonishing in their simplicity, and especially in their frequent use of vegetables, which are revisited in a beautiful way.
I first heard about him on the excellent France-Inter program "On va déguster", where he was praised by female listeners, and I later stumbled across his book "Simple" last Christmas (back in the days when we could all gather at our grandparents' house without any danger to them), which was under the tree for my sister - yes, I'm telling you about my fascinating life :-)
So this book, I freely admit, blew me away. As a fan of vegetables, no pun intended, there were lots of very, very appetizing recipes.
I started, as I think we all do, to take photos of a few of the recipes I liked, and then after 15 or so I thought it would be better to go and buy it in a bookshop...
In fact, it doesn't revolutionize anything, but it does have a knack for using all kinds of vegetables (but not only) in surprising combinations of spices and cooking techniques, which I think are often very successful.
The influence of his Mediterranean, even Middle Eastern, culture is evident in his recipes, with spices - sometimes little-known (to me, at least) - such as zaatar, olive oil, lemon, herbs and others, often used to great effect.
His sauces are also rather atypical, often raw, no cream, but unusual combinations like tuna, parsley (whole) and capers, to accompany baked potatoes for example.
If I had to make one small criticism, it's his desserts, at least in the "Simple" book (I don't know about the others), which aren't exactly transcendent, but after all noboby's perfect.
I suggest you go and browse through her books at your favorite bookshop, now we can, to get an idea, maybe you'll be won over too?
You may never have heard of him, but he's a star in England, comparable no doubt to Cyril Lignac back home. Perhaps someone who knows the UK well could comment on this comparison?
So famous, in fact, that his London restaurant is mentioned in the dialogues of the film "Bridget Jones's Diary", where Colin Firth talks about inviting Bridget to eat there.
The funny thing is that the dish he mentions in the film didn't actually exist on the menu, but the chef cleverly added it in a personal version, and it's now something his customers often ask for.
Why am I telling you about him? Because his cuisine, his recipes and his books are astonishing in their simplicity, and especially in their frequent use of vegetables, which are revisited in a beautiful way.
I first heard about him on the excellent France-Inter program "On va déguster", where he was praised by female listeners, and I later stumbled across his book "Simple" last Christmas (back in the days when we could all gather at our grandparents' house without any danger to them), which was under the tree for my sister - yes, I'm telling you about my fascinating life :-)
So this book, I freely admit, blew me away. As a fan of vegetables, no pun intended, there were lots of very, very appetizing recipes.
I started, as I think we all do, to take photos of a few of the recipes I liked, and then after 15 or so I thought it would be better to go and buy it in a bookshop...
In fact, it doesn't revolutionize anything, but it does have a knack for using all kinds of vegetables (but not only) in surprising combinations of spices and cooking techniques, which I think are often very successful.
The influence of his Mediterranean, even Middle Eastern, culture is evident in his recipes, with spices - sometimes little-known (to me, at least) - such as zaatar, olive oil, lemon, herbs and others, often used to great effect.
His sauces are also rather atypical, often raw, no cream, but unusual combinations like tuna, parsley (whole) and capers, to accompany baked potatoes for example.
If I had to make one small criticism, it's his desserts, at least in the "Simple" book (I don't know about the others), which aren't exactly transcendent, but after all noboby's perfect.
I suggest you go and browse through her books at your favorite bookshop, now we can, to get an idea, maybe you'll be won over too?
Lasts posts
A drizzle of olive oil
Often in a recipe, you have to "baste" vegetables, for example, before sending them to the oven. What the author means by this is that you need to put oil on top of the vegetables to cook them in the oven. Typically, we just quickly drizzle oil over the vegetables, hoping not to miss any, but...July 13th 20255795
Always secure your cutting board
When using a cutting board, it's very important that it's stable and doesn't move while you're cutting, for safety's sake. Boards have a natural tendency to slide on the work surface, but here are 2 ways to block them effectively.July 1st 20257925
Cherry clafoutis, with or without pits?
When it comes to cherry clafoutis recipes, there's often a camp of those who argue that you absolutely have to leave the stones in because it tastes better, and the other camp (myself included) who prefer cherries without stones, which makes a much more pleasant clafoutis to eat. But is it true...June 29th 20257875
Should potatoes be washed twice?
Let's say you have to make a recipe that includes potatoes, let's say sliced, you'll most likely proceed as follows: Peel the potatoes, wash them, slice them, wash them again, pat them dry and add them to your recipe. But there's a "but": depending on the recipe, the second washing may be a bad...May 19th 20252,418 15
Grilled bacon is much better in the oven
Some recipes call for thin slices of bacon to be cooked and added to the recipe, or to prepare one of those delicious breakfasts known as "à l'Anglaise".April 25th 20252,1285
Other pages you may also like
Artichoke stalks
When preparing artichokes for cooking, you may well already know that we often need to remove the first round of leaves, if they are tatty or dirty, as well as the inedible stalk. The operative word here is “remove” , rather than “cut off”.October 25th 201650 K4.3
Preservative oil, an asset for taste
When you prepare a dish using an ingredient that has been preserved in fat, for example a springtime mixed salad with tuna in oil or sun-dried tomatoes, you're probably going to make a french dressing (vinaigrette) next. In that case, why not use the preserved oil from the tuna or tomatoes?June 5th 20245,1165
Markers in cooking
When it comes to cooking, there is only one real rule, and that is that there are no rules! By that I mean that everything is possible, everything can be combined, everything or almost everything can go with everything, but you have to like it, you have to find it good. I have friends who...July 3rd 20219,4215
How to zest a fruit?
You will have no doubt noticed that many recipes call for the zest of citrus fruit. The zest is that outer layer of the skin which adds so much flavour to a dish. There are many different ways to peel off the zest and various tools are available. Here is a summary of the “dos and don'ts” of...November 5th 201344 K3.8
For well opened (puffed) cakes
It's always nice to have a well puffed up cake after baking, not only will it taste good but it looks great too. Let's see how to get this beautiful shape almost every time.January 23th 201930 K4.2
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.