Customer Reviews

Ottolenghi: The Cookbook

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a fan of Ottolenghi recipes. I follow their Guardian column 'The New Vegetarian'. I find their recipes fresh, modern, bright and fun. So far I have tried couple of eggplant recipes, pistachio cookies and baked okra. All came out great. Their recipes in Guardian-online are fun as well.
Having said that, I wish they had serving suggestions in this book for recipes. It would also help to have some sample menus, specially for someone new to Mediterranean cooking.
I live in US and as such the book is cumbersome to use because of metric system used throughout. I don't mind that much, but it would have been nice to include a conversion table somewhere. Hopefully, there will be a US edition soon, but I could not wait for it to come out.
The book is beautifully laid out and the pictures are very tempting.
Overall, I like the book a lot.

Great book with original recipes. Lots of tasty salad-type dishes, just like their shops in London. Amazon never seems to have it in stock. Tip: order it from Amazon.uk; it's roughly the same price.

I learned about this ccokbook from a friend who had lived in London for several years. I was enchanted by the stories of the two owners. And then I started to read the recipes. The ingredients and combination of flavors sounded amazing! So I borrowed the cook book, made fennel gratin, cauliflower fritters with lime yogurt dipping sauce and honey cilantro lamb chops. Every recipe produced delicious food! Needless-to-say I quickly purchased my own copy and look forward to cooking my way through the rest of the book.

I have so many cookbooks some might see it as ridiculous I buy yet another...but this one is really quite special. This book is very inspiring. Nice pictures, they really bring the dishes to life. However, it's the inventive, thoughtful combination of ingredients that just blow me away. Seriously, I just look at the picture of the green bean and pea dish and 20 other variations pop in my head. I am not a recipe follower too often, mostly I just read and then start chopping whatever is in the kitchen. I heartily recommend it even though I have barely read through 15 pages. The authors are VERY specific in their cooking directions in a really good way. They also like their veggies a bit on the crunchy side for our family's taste, but that is simple to change. I wish it was in paperback so it was easier to read in bed.

This cookbook is amazing with fresh ideas for healthy (mostly) and delicious food. My only issue (not a complaint) is that some of the ingredients may be difficult to track down for American cooks. I live in Chicago and still do not have access to all of the ingredients listed in the book. Everything I have made has been delicious- the recipes are straightforward and the pictures are lovely.

I bought this book as a gift for my wife. She's a former professional chef and caterer, and now a superb home cook. These recipes are sensational across the board. Especially notable are the chicken w/ sumac, za'atar & lemon, as well as the marinated turkey breast w/ cumin, etc. However, there is a challenge for us Americans because the measures are metric and the temps are in celcius. This book is published in England. Didn't the Brits invent our system of standard measure? Anyhow, it's worth the trouble for me to convert these recipes for her because these dishes are outstanding.

This books starts with the Modern English cuisine (note: this is a UK term and might not be familiar to all) and adds a Middle Eastern touch. This works very well and the recipes produce very tasty food. The end result is far removed from any traditional English cooking, except for the cakes and puddings, which for some reason are quite traditional.

Somewhat similar (but without the Middle Eastern touch) is Skye Gyngell's books.

This is a GREAT cookbook. It is filled with simple to make dishes with complex flavors. Tons of vegetarian friendly food. The only drawback for us in the United States is that the recipes use UK measurements. Once you get a conversion chart this is really not a problem. A new favorite in my household.

When initially learning about this cookbook, I was so excited to purchase it. Being from Vancouver, Canada, I had never heard of Ottolenghi before, but being the "most anticipated cookbook of the year" I had to have it. I could not find it any bookstores so I purchased it before I had a chance to look through it. $65 and a lonnnnnnng wait later it came to my door. The book is absolutely gorgeous. The photographs of the food and the restaurants are amazing. I find the content and the recipes lacking in something though. I can't exactly put my finger on what. I've had the cookbook for a year now and have not made one thing out of it (this is very unlike me). I so desperately want to use it but everytime I flip through I am disappointed. The recipes seem more complicated than they should be and even though I live in a thriving metropolis with bakeries, delis, organic markets, and international and upscale grocery stores, I still find it difficult to find ingredients. I consider myself an experienced home cook and there is generally nothing that I am hesitant on tackling however I find Ottolenghi's recipes almost intimidating. Maybe it is just not for everyone and it's possible that I am just used to different cuisine (this is my first cookbook out of the UK other than Jaime Oliver) but if I could go back, I wouldn't purchase this book again.

My husband visited this place in London, and loved the food as well as the presentation every time he went in. The cook book is wonderful. We have made a few things and they are so wonderfully good and unique I would highly recommend this to intermediate cooks. Not really for beginners. We don't bake much, mostly cook but these baking recipes are pretty easy to follow. And dang they are known for their baked goods!