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Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook Hardcover – October 13, 2020
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IACP AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • NPR • The Washington Post • The Guardian • The Atlanta Journal-Constitution • National Geographic • Town & Country • Epicurious
“Bold, innovative recipes . . . make this book truly thrilling.”—The New York Times
Level up your vegetables. In this groundbreaking cookbook, Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage offer a next-level approach to vegetables that breaks down the fundamentals of cooking into three key elements: process, pairing, and produce. For process, Yotam and Ixta show how easy techniques such as charring and infusing can change the way you think about cooking. Discover how to unlock new depths of flavor by pairing vegetables with sweetness, fat, acidity, or chile heat, and learn to identify the produce that has the innate ability to make dishes shine.
With main courses, sides, desserts, and a whole pantry of “flavor bombs” (homemade condiments), there’s something for any meal, any night of the week, including surefire hits such as Stuffed Eggplant in Curry and Coconut Dal, Spicy Mushroom Lasagne, and Romano Pepper Schnitzels. Chock-full of low-effort, high-impact dishes that pack a punch and standout meals for the relaxed cook, Ottolenghi Flavor is a revolutionary approach to vegetable cooking.
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTen Speed Press
- Publication dateOctober 13, 2020
- Dimensions7.94 x 1.25 x 10.9 inches
- ISBN-100399581758
- ISBN-13978-0399581755
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Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Organic contentProduct contains at least 95% organic material.As certified byUSDA Organic
USDA Organic is protected by law, inspected by experts, traced from farm to store, and shaped by public input. USDA develops and enforces the organic standards, which require products to be produced using farming practices that maintain and improve soil and water quality, minimize the use of synthetic materials, conserve biodiversity, and avoid genetic engineering, among other factors. Crops can be certified organic if they’re grown without prohibited substances such as most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for three years prior to harvest. Livestock are raised on pasture and treated humanely without growth hormones or antibiotics. Organic products do not contain GMOs or artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Products that contain a minimum of 95 percent organic ingredients and use the USDA Organic seal are part of Climate Pledge Friendly. - Sustainability features for this product
Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.Organic contentProduct contains at least 95% organic material.As certified byUSDA Organic
USDA Organic is protected by law, inspected by experts, traced from farm to store, and shaped by public input. USDA develops and enforces the organic standards, which require products to be produced using farming practices that maintain and improve soil and water quality, minimize the use of synthetic materials, conserve biodiversity, and avoid genetic engineering, among other factors. Crops can be certified organic if they’re grown without prohibited substances such as most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for three years prior to harvest. Livestock are raised on pasture and treated humanely without growth hormones or antibiotics. Organic products do not contain GMOs or artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Products that contain a minimum of 95 percent organic ingredients and use the USDA Organic seal are part of Climate Pledge Friendly.
From the Publisher
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"What sets [Ottolenghi] Flavor apart from its predecessors is its focus on explanation—there are in-depth profiles of the cooking techniques and flavour pairings at play in these recipes." —Chatelaine
"The food is phenomenal.... New readers will be coached and coaxed through each technique, while long-timers will find something new here—even if they own every other book in the chef’s oeuvre." —Epicurious
"A new Yotam Ottolenghi cookbook is always an event, and the vegetable-based Ottolenghi Flavor is a winner."—Julian Armstrong, Montreal Gazette
" With compelling dishes [in Ottolenghi Flavor], the carnivore in your house won’t notice the absence of meat."—Vancouver Sun
"In his newest cookbook, Ottolenghi Flavor, he and his test kitchen’s recipe developer, Ixta Belfrage, break down the fundamentals of cooking.. [and] will have you cooking in an all-new and very flavourful way."—BC Living
About the Author
Ixta Belfrage spent her youth dipping her fingers into mixing bowls in places as far-flung as Italy, Mexico, and Brazil. She formally began her culinary career at Ottolenghi's Nopi restaurant before moving to the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen, where she has worked for four years, and contributing to Yotam's columns. She lives in London, where she makes regular guest chef appearances at some of the city's top restaurants.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
I have never been shy about my love of vegetables. I have been singing the praises of cauliflowers, tomatoes, lemons, and my old friend the mighty eggplant for over a decade. I have done this on my own—in cooking demos, on book tours, and in the pages of books and magazines—and I have done this in a group, in lively discussions with colleagues in my restaurants, and in the test kitchen. It’s become my mission to present vegetables in new and exciting ways and I have embraced it with nothing but enthusiasm.
Still, in the spirit of openness, I must confess to a small niggling doubt that creeps in now and then. How many more ways are there to fry an eggplant, to slice a tomato, to squeeze a lemon, or to roast a cauliflower? How many more secrets are there to be discovered in a handful of lentils or a bowl of polenta?
The answer, I am delighted to report, is many. My journey of discovery into the world of vegetables—by which I mean anything, really, that originates from a plant—has taken me in all sorts of directions that I simply hadn’t imagined. If my first vegetable book, Plenty, was the honeymoon period, a great big party where certain vegetables—peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, mushrooms—got a whole chapter to themselves, Plenty More was all about process; recipe were divided into the ways in which the vegetables were treated: mashed or tossed or grilled and so forth. Flavor is the third book in the series, it’s about understanding what makes vegetables distinct and, accordingly, devising ways in which their flavors can be ramped up and tasted afresh; it’s about creating flavor bombs, especially designed for veg. This is done in three ways.
PROCESS, PAIRING, PRODUCE
The first step has to do with some processes that happen to vegetables when they are cooked, or to some key ingredients with which they are cooked. The second is about pairing; what you match a vegetable with to draw out one of its distinct qualities. The third deals with the produce itself: the sheer depth of flavor that certain ingredients naturally possess that allows them to play a starring role in a dish, more or less by themselves, or to prop up and brightly illuminate other vegetables.
So, after Plenty and Plenty More, Flavor is “Plenty 3,” if you like, or P3, with the three P’s (process, pairing, and produce) being the key concepts for explaining what makes certain vegetable dishes taste so good. Let me give you some examples to illustrate this, using some of my favorite ingredients: celery root (to demonstrate process), tamarind and lime (to think about pairing), and mushrooms (to show how it can be just the produce itself doing the work).
First, process. Three recipes in this book involve cooking celery root whole for more than two hours, then dressing and serving it in different ways. During the initial cooking of the celery root, and before any other ingredient is added, something truly magical happens. Much of the water in the celery root evaporates, its flesh turns from white to golden brown, and it becomes sweeter and richer. This browning and caramelizing, which happens to many veg (and non-veg) when they are cooked in a certain way, is a key process that teases out flavor from them. Whatever you choose to do to the celery root after this is less important. Indeed, you don’t need to do anything more to it at all, if you don’t want to; the browning process is such a flavor bomb that it’s heavenly when eaten at this stage, cut into wedges and served with a squeeze of lemon or a dollop of cr.me fra.che. Other processes that have a similarly terrific effect are charring, infusing, and aging (which is mostly done to ingredients well before they reach your kitchen), all of which transform and elevate vegetables to great heights.
Illustrating my concept of pairing is a little less straightforward because, every time you cook, you obviously pair ingredients together. What I have done, though, is identify four basic pairings—sweetness, fat, acidity, and chile heat (as in spicy heat)—that are fundamental. Introducing one or more of these key pairings to a dish has the effect of showing the vegetables (or fruit) with which they are partnered in a completely new light. The asparagus salad with tamarind and lime (page 171) is a great example. Many argue that asparagus is so magnificent—with a subtle, yet refined flavor—that it doesn’t need to be paired with anything, really, except some oil or butter and possibly a poached egg. I have made this same point myself in the not-sodistant past. What I have learned more recently, though, is that asparagus can actually stand its ground when paired with robust and purportedly dominant ingredients. It does this particularly well when the paired element is complex and multilayered. In the salad I mentioned, raw asparagus is paired with three sources of acidity: lime juice, vinegar, and tamarind, each with its own particular characteristics. All these layers and iterations of sour come together in a single harmony that heightens and alters the taste of raw asparagus in a way that really opens your eyes to the vegetables.
The third concept has to do with produce. Vegetables, famously, are not as good at imparting flavor as are meat and fish, because of their high water content and the low levels of fat and protein they contain. Some, though, are absolutely brilliant at it. Our spicy mushroom lasagne (page 228) is proof of the power of this particular veg to carry the weight of a whole complex dish on its own little shoulders, giving any meat a good run for its money. Not many vegetables can do this, delicious as they may be, but since mushrooms are bursting with umami—that satisfying savory flavor that makes tomatoes, soy sauce, cheese, and many other ingredients so impactful—they are perfectly capable of providing ample flavor and some serious texture to give vegetarian dishes a very solid core. Other plant-based ingredients that show similarly impressive skills are alliums (onions and garlic), nuts and seeds, and fruit. All four are the types of produce that you can rely on to do some seriously hard work in your kitchen.
While making a delicious recipe can be simple, great cooking is never the result of one element in isolation—it is the interplay of different types of processes, pairings, and produce in one dish that elevates and makes it exquisite. Using the lasagne example again, this dish clearly relies heavily on mushroom umami (produce), but it also benefits greatly from an interplay of different fats (pairing) and the complex art of aging cheese (process). The structure of this book, in which each chapter highlights one particular kind of process, pairing, or produce, is, therefore, not to undermine or deny the existence of any other elements in a recipe; its purpose is to highlight the USP (unique selling point) of a dish, a particular element at the core that makes it particularly delicious or special.
Product details
- Publisher : Ten Speed Press (October 13, 2020)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0399581758
- ISBN-13 : 978-0399581755
- Item Weight : 3.5 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.94 x 1.25 x 10.9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #9,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #20 in Mediterranean Cooking, Food & Wine
- #34 in Vegan Cooking (Books)
- #74 in Celebrity & TV Show Cookbooks
- Customer Reviews:
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About the authors
Yotam Ottolenghi is the restaurateur and chef-patron of nine UK-based Ottolenghi delis, including the NOPI and ROVI restaurants. He is the author of ten best-selling cookery books which have garnered many awards, including the National Book Award for Ottolenghi SIMPLE which was also selected as best book of the year by the New York Times. Yotam has been a weekly columnist for the Saturday Guardian since 2006 and is a regular contributor to the New York Times Magazine. His commitment to the championing of vegetables, as well as ingredients once seen as ‘exotic’ has led to what some call “The Ottolenghi effect”. This is shorthand for the creation of a meal which is full of colour, flavour, bounty and sunshine. Yotam lives in London with his family.
Ixta’s style of cooking draws inspiration from three countries she grew up travelling to, eating in and obsessing over. Brazil (where her mum is from), Italy (where she lived as a child) and Mexico (where her granddad lived). She worked at the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen for five years and is the co-author of the New York Times bestselling FLAVOUR with Yotam Ottolenghi. In 2022 she published her first solo cookbook: MEZCLA, which was nominated for 'best debut cookbook' at the Fortnum & Mason Awards and 'best international cookbook' at the James Beard Awards. MEZCLA was named one of the best cookbooks of 2022 by The Independent, The Times, Bon Appetit, Amazon, Spectator and Squaremeal.
In 2021 and 2022 Ixta was named ‘one of the most influential women in food’ by Code Hospitality.
Ixta is a Contributing Editor at Elle Magazine and has also written for The Guardian, Suitcase Magazine and Pit Magazine.
Tara Wigley – Tara worked in publishing for the best part of a decade before switching to food and writing in 2010. She trained at the Ballymaloe cookery school, in Ireland, before starting to work with Yotam Ottolenghi in 2011. Initially testing recipes with Yotam, she soon became his writing collaborator. Tara was very involved with the creation of PLENTY MORE (2014) and is credited on the title page with the writing of THE NOPI COOKBOOK (2015), the re-launched edition of the first OTTOLENGHI COOKBOOK (2016), SWEET (2017) and FLAVOUR (2020). She is the co-author of SIMPLE (2018), with Yotam Ottolenghi and FALASTIN (2020), with Sami Tamimi.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the recipes in the book flavorful and good. They find the content informative and compelling, with good information on various techniques. The photos are clear and well-organized. Readers appreciate the health benefits and innovative combinations. However, opinions differ on the ease of preparation - some find it quick and easy to make on a weekday, while others feel some recipes and ingredients are too weird or obscure.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the flavorful and chef-driven vegetarian recipes in the book. They find the recipes easy to follow and say the meals are good and entertaining. The photos are beautiful and the recipes are developed with a great palate.
"...Gripes aside, the recipes themselves sound great and I will be cooking through this book, as I have done with all of Ottolenghis other books...." Read more
"...of plant-based cookbooks, and true to form, provides a number of drool-worthy recipes likely to join my growing rotation of Ottolenghi-inspired..." Read more
"...It is topped with rice noodles, green beans, cucumbers, and an herb mix of of mint, basil and cilantro. An amazing mix of flavors and textures...." Read more
"...or difficult-to-source ingredients, however, the flavor combinations are unique and interesting and not things I would come up with on my own...." Read more
Customers find the book informative and compelling. They appreciate the good information on various techniques to enhance flavor, learning about elements of food they haven't thought about. The pictures, directions, and explanations add to the overall enjoyment. Readers mention that the book offers new ideas to try, plethora of recipes, and background information.
"This is an informative book with good info on various techniques to enhance flavor of vegetables. So far every recipe we’ve tried has been excellent...." Read more
"...This book Flavor includes beautiful photos and LOTS of inspiration. I highly recommend it!!" Read more
"As with all of Ottolenghi's cookbooks, "Flavor" is simply a masterpiece of imagination and professional writing...." Read more
"There is no useful table of contents so it is not possible to browse a list of recipes. Really terrible decision by the editors. Minus two stars...." Read more
Customers appreciate the clear photos in the book. They find the pictures helpful, with some showing intermediate steps. The recipes are accompanied by full-page or two-page photo spreads.
"...In that chapter every recipe has a corresponding full page sized photo or even a two page photo spread, sometimes multiple photos on a two page..." Read more
"...like that it will lay flat and I love that there are photos for pretty much every finished dish, sometimes with photos of intermediate steps, as well..." Read more
"...The pictures are clear and I can't wait to start cooking all the dishes I think very interesting. This book might just turn me to be Vegan!" Read more
"Very interesting recipes with excellent photography that makes you want to try them." Read more
Customers find the book well-written and organized. They appreciate the clear explanations and illustrations for making plant-based meals. The book includes detailed directions and pictures for preparing each dish.
"...Jonathan Lovekin provide an inspiration for completion and presentation of each dish...." Read more
"...So well written, this book was thought of to help you level up your vegetables...." Read more
"...the meal I tried was so blah, but he demonstrated in this book and explained well how to make a plant base meal interesting with the technique he..." Read more
"This book is incredibly well presented and interestingly organized. Have a look at the Contents photo. And the food…. WhoaMyGod!..." Read more
Customers enjoy the healthy meals in the book. They say the ingredients have helped them improve their cooking. Many of the recipes are vegan or easily adaptable.
"...These ingredients have been used to enhance, draw out and accentuate, they are umami rich, many of them are aged, and all have complex layers of..." Read more
"...have introduced me to exciting ingredients that have helped me punch up my home cooking...." Read more
"This book has been transformative for my cooking since I got it for Christmas. At the outset, it must be said that I'm an experienced cook...." Read more
"Ottolenghi always delivers! I love that most of the recipes are either vegan or easily adaptable, and always packed with flavor...." Read more
Customers like the book design. They mention the food is flavorful and the combinations are innovative. The shaved tomatoes make a surprising good combination with the roasted garlic butter.
"...Unusual combinations to help you develop your palate and make everyday meals way more entertaining, very typical Ottolenghi...." Read more
"...like caraway seeds and shaved tomatoes that made a suprisingly good combination with the roasted garlic butter...." Read more
"...for people who are veg or just love super flavorful food and innovative combinations. Get it us out of a recipe rut." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the recipes' ease of preparation. Some find them quick and easy to make on a weekday, with simple ingredients to use and source. Others feel some recipes are not easy, with unfamiliar ingredients or complex preparation times. There are also complaints about the limited number of recipes in the book, which makes it difficult to browse a list of them.
"...first 12 recipes alone, there are 6 recipes that have a cooking time of 30 mins or less, and the prep for all of those recipes is speedy, with some..." Read more
"...True to nature though, the recipes and some ingredients get a bit fussy from time to time but you can still learn the basics of seasoning tastes so..." Read more
"...which provides lists of recipes that home cooks like me can prepare in 30 minutes or an hour..." Read more
"There is no useful table of contents so it is not possible to browse a list of recipes. Really terrible decision by the editors. Minus two stars...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the ingredients in the book. Some find them exciting and hard-to-find, while others feel they are unconventional for the average person and there are recipes that use dairy without any plant-based alternatives.
"...appreciate about Ottolenghi's books is that they have introduced me to exciting ingredients that have helped me punch up my home cooking...." Read more
"...is a great cook, but, as I looked through recipes, the ingredients were a bit unconventional for the average person with ingredients like saffron..." Read more
"...The process section emphasizes methods like charring, aging, and infusing ingredients...." Read more
"Weird Ingredients - Won't Ever Use This Book..." Read more
Reviews with images
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Another great addition to the Ottolenghi line up!
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2020For fans of Plenty and Plenty More, embrace Flavor, a book that Ottolenghi describes as Plenty Three.
EDIT: I'm adding the following comment on cooking times a day after I posted my initial review. A reviewer below mentioned that in the whole book there are only 5 recipes that can be produced in under 30 mins. I disagree.
Just in the first 12 recipes alone, there are 6 recipes that have a cooking time of 30 mins or less, and the prep for all of those recipes is speedy, with some ingredients being prepped during the cooking time. Yes, there are recipes that have multiple steps, and long cooking times, but this is not advertised as a recipe book specifically for those who need to get dinner on the table in 30 mins. There are plenty of other books out there that offer that. However, a quick scan shows a number of recipes that do meet that bill. For example, Noors Black Lime Tofu. The tofu is tossed in cornstarch and fried for 6 mins, while the tofu is frying throw the onions and garlic in a food processer. Fry that for 10 mins. Add the spices etc and cook for another minute. Add water, simmer for 6 mins. Add the tofu to the sauce and toss in the spinach, serve straight from the pan and dinner is done. The One Pan Orecchiette Puttanesca cooking time is just 14 mins if you boil the pasta while the sauce is reducing, then stir together.. Some of the more labor intensive recipes you might like to save for the weekend but there are weeknight healthy and delicious sounding recipes in this book.
Flavor contains 100 recipes, which are almost all vegetarian sometimes vegan (45 recipes) that occasionally dabbles with fish sauce and parmesan, eggs and dairy. Yotam offers substitutions for various ingredients where possible such as light soy sauce for fish sauce.
At the start of the book, Yotam lists the 20 ingredients that he considers essential to this book. He is not suggesting that you rush out and purchase them all right away (if you don’t already have them, you will likely want to stock most of them anyway, after trying these recipes) He describes these ingredients are being the essence of the book. These ingredients have been used to enhance, draw out and accentuate, they are umami rich, many of them are aged, and all have complex layers of flavor.
These 20 ingredients are: Aleppo Chile (Gochugaru Korean hot pepper flakes are suggested as a substitute) Ancho chile, Anchovies packed in olive oil, black garlic, Persian dried black lime (he suggests that regular lime could be used, but to me, Persian lime has a scented, earthy tang that really is a different thing entirely from fresh lime) Cascabel Chiles (ancho as a substitute) Dried Whole Chipotle, Fish Sauce, Gochujang paste, Ground cardamom, Hibiscus flowers, jarred butter beans (canned are acceptable but jarred is preferred) Mango Pickle (not chutney) Masa Harina, Miso (preferably white not sweet white) red bell pepper flakes, rice vinegar, rose harissa (regular harissa can be substituted, I would like to add that culinary rose petals can also be crushed and added to harissa, and these can be found at World Market or online) Shaoxing Wine, Tamarind Paste.
The book is divided into three main categories. Process, Pairing and Produce.
Those categories are further divided into
Process: Charring, Browning, Infusing, Aging
Pairing: Sweetness, Fat, Acidity, Chile Heat
Produce: Mushrooms, Alliums, Nuts and Seeds, Sugar: Fruit and Booze
Finally we have Flavor Bombs which is a two page spread, showing all of the condiments that are in the book with the corresponding page number (see my photo) Butters, oils, salsas, mayonnaise, sauce, pickles, salts and spiced nuts.
Each chapter begins with an essay on that subject which covers the subheadings. I love this, as I read cookbook like novels and here, each method and the equipment used, and a run down of some of the recipes and how they embody the method used, is described in detail with some cute, cartoon-like line drawings.
Process for example, has 12 pages describing the processes and benefits to Charring, Browning, Infusing and Aging before we get to the recipes.
Here are a selection of four recipes from each chapter (please see the corresponding photo)
The Process Chapter
Charring: Iceberg Wedges with Smoky Eggplant Cream
Browning: Hasselback Beets with Lime Leaf Butter
Infusing: Chilled Avocado Soup with Crunchy Garlic Oil
Aging: The Ultimate Roasting Pan Ragu
The Pairing Chapter
Sweetness: Coconut and Tumeric Omelette Feast
Fat: Stuffed Eggplant in Curry and Coconut Dal
Acidity:Noors Black Lime Tofu
Chile Heat:Saffron Tagliatelle with Ricotta and Crispy Chipotle Shallots
The Produce Chapter
Mushrooms:Broccoli with Mushroom Ketchup and Nori
Alliums:Olive Oil Flatbreads with Three Garlic Butter
Nuts and Seeds:Tofu Meatball Korma
Sugar: Fruit and Booze Tapioca Fritters with Orange Syrup and Star Anise
I have listed a range of recipes from main courses to side dishes.
In the process chapter for example Charring has 7 recipes, Browning has 11 recipes, Infusing has 8 recipes and Aging has 9 recipes. In that chapter every recipe has a corresponding full page sized photo or even a two page photo spread, sometimes multiple photos on a two page spread. Additionally, there are a number of photos of Yotam and Ixta cooking.
This brings me to a bit of a gripe. I know that the majority of cooks like a photo of every recipe, and many people find it hard to get enthusiastic about a recipe with no photo, but this seems to be overkill at the expense of the amount of recipes in this book.
Plenty had 120 recipes to 288 pages
Plenty More had 150 recipes to 352 pages
Flavor has a mere 100 recipes to 317 pages.
Admittedly, the chapter essays take up some of this, but I never thought I would say this about a cookbook, but the photos are overkill. While I enjoy the photos of Yotam and Ixta cooking, these could have been reduced in size to half or even quarter page photos.
The two page spreads of a single recipe, for example the Hasselback Beets, could have been reduced in size to a single page to make way for another recipe.
Noors Black Lime Tofu has no less than three full pages of photos. A photo of the tofu in the pan with the paste, then a photo of the spinach being added to the pan, then a photo of the spinach being stirred in, then a photo of the spinach almost completely stirred in and almost wilted, and then a photo of the finished dish with spinach wilted satisfactorily.
This type of photo series could have been kept for recipes that were a bit more complex, such as the home made Saffron Tagliatelle. That recipe has no photo at all and could really have used a series for people who have never made pasta before. Instead the two page spread has been used for the Saffron Tagliatelle dish with Ricotta and Crispy Chipotle Shallots. And in that instance the photo series shows the already made Tagliatelle on a tray, then it being cooked in water, then it in the pan with the parmesan being added, then its in the pan with the parmesan added now, and then a full sized photo of it in the pan with the crispy shallots on top.
There always has to be a gripe, but for me this is a pretty big one. If I was the editor I would have said one photo only per recipe unless a difficult technique really needs to be shown and add more recipes in place of all the rest. The book is pretty, but beyond a photo of each finished dish, the rest of the photos are just eye candy and most of the extra photos of the type I described above, are not what I would consider helpful or even particularly interesting. Personally, I would prefer more recipes.
Another area which I think had some room for expansion was the Flavor Bombs page. While it is helpful to show all the condiments etc on one page with the recipe page number listed, and in the intro to each recipe there are some ideas on how else to use one of the Flavor Bombs I think this could have been fleshed out a bit more.
For example, if you have leftover Fenugreek Marinade from the Curry Crusted Rutabaga Steaks it is described as keeping for two weeks and can be used as a base for curries or for marinating vegetables or different meats. Perhaps this could have been expanded to say mix with yoghurt and serve with grilled chicken, or to marinate chicken before grilling (I don’t know if that would be good, just riffing here) but if I am going to make double or triple of a condiment I would love a handful of simple ideas sketched out, to start me off on the journey of what else I could do with these Flavor Bombs beyond a line or two on the recipe page. But perhaps that is just nit picking. There are some ideas, I just want more, more, more!
Gripes aside, the recipes themselves sound great and I will be cooking through this book, as I have done with all of Ottolenghis other books.
Fans of Ottolenghis will want this book, so I am preaching to the converted here but it is always nice to read an extensive review before purchase even if you pretty much know you are going to purchase a book.
Newbies, this is a pretty vegetable book with some very interesting recipes. You can't go wrong with this book or Plenty or Plenty More if you want to expand your vegetable repertoire. Or Ottolenghis other books if you also want interesting recipes that include meat and fish.
I am happy to have this book and I will post an update when I cook from it (I pre-ordered it and just received it today)
If this review was helpful to you, please click the helpful button. It always gives me a huge kick to see that my reviews were helpful to other like minded cooks. You might also be interested in my other cookbook and ingredient reviews and my ideas lists of kitchen tools etc
Happy cooking!
5.0 out of 5 starsFor fans of Plenty and Plenty More, embrace Flavor, a book that Ottolenghi describes as Plenty Three.Another great addition to the Ottolenghi line up!
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2020
EDIT: I'm adding the following comment on cooking times a day after I posted my initial review. A reviewer below mentioned that in the whole book there are only 5 recipes that can be produced in under 30 mins. I disagree.
Just in the first 12 recipes alone, there are 6 recipes that have a cooking time of 30 mins or less, and the prep for all of those recipes is speedy, with some ingredients being prepped during the cooking time. Yes, there are recipes that have multiple steps, and long cooking times, but this is not advertised as a recipe book specifically for those who need to get dinner on the table in 30 mins. There are plenty of other books out there that offer that. However, a quick scan shows a number of recipes that do meet that bill. For example, Noors Black Lime Tofu. The tofu is tossed in cornstarch and fried for 6 mins, while the tofu is frying throw the onions and garlic in a food processer. Fry that for 10 mins. Add the spices etc and cook for another minute. Add water, simmer for 6 mins. Add the tofu to the sauce and toss in the spinach, serve straight from the pan and dinner is done. The One Pan Orecchiette Puttanesca cooking time is just 14 mins if you boil the pasta while the sauce is reducing, then stir together.. Some of the more labor intensive recipes you might like to save for the weekend but there are weeknight healthy and delicious sounding recipes in this book.
Flavor contains 100 recipes, which are almost all vegetarian sometimes vegan (45 recipes) that occasionally dabbles with fish sauce and parmesan, eggs and dairy. Yotam offers substitutions for various ingredients where possible such as light soy sauce for fish sauce.
At the start of the book, Yotam lists the 20 ingredients that he considers essential to this book. He is not suggesting that you rush out and purchase them all right away (if you don’t already have them, you will likely want to stock most of them anyway, after trying these recipes) He describes these ingredients are being the essence of the book. These ingredients have been used to enhance, draw out and accentuate, they are umami rich, many of them are aged, and all have complex layers of flavor.
These 20 ingredients are: Aleppo Chile (Gochugaru Korean hot pepper flakes are suggested as a substitute) Ancho chile, Anchovies packed in olive oil, black garlic, Persian dried black lime (he suggests that regular lime could be used, but to me, Persian lime has a scented, earthy tang that really is a different thing entirely from fresh lime) Cascabel Chiles (ancho as a substitute) Dried Whole Chipotle, Fish Sauce, Gochujang paste, Ground cardamom, Hibiscus flowers, jarred butter beans (canned are acceptable but jarred is preferred) Mango Pickle (not chutney) Masa Harina, Miso (preferably white not sweet white) red bell pepper flakes, rice vinegar, rose harissa (regular harissa can be substituted, I would like to add that culinary rose petals can also be crushed and added to harissa, and these can be found at World Market or online) Shaoxing Wine, Tamarind Paste.
The book is divided into three main categories. Process, Pairing and Produce.
Those categories are further divided into
Process: Charring, Browning, Infusing, Aging
Pairing: Sweetness, Fat, Acidity, Chile Heat
Produce: Mushrooms, Alliums, Nuts and Seeds, Sugar: Fruit and Booze
Finally we have Flavor Bombs which is a two page spread, showing all of the condiments that are in the book with the corresponding page number (see my photo) Butters, oils, salsas, mayonnaise, sauce, pickles, salts and spiced nuts.
Each chapter begins with an essay on that subject which covers the subheadings. I love this, as I read cookbook like novels and here, each method and the equipment used, and a run down of some of the recipes and how they embody the method used, is described in detail with some cute, cartoon-like line drawings.
Process for example, has 12 pages describing the processes and benefits to Charring, Browning, Infusing and Aging before we get to the recipes.
Here are a selection of four recipes from each chapter (please see the corresponding photo)
The Process Chapter
Charring: Iceberg Wedges with Smoky Eggplant Cream
Browning: Hasselback Beets with Lime Leaf Butter
Infusing: Chilled Avocado Soup with Crunchy Garlic Oil
Aging: The Ultimate Roasting Pan Ragu
The Pairing Chapter
Sweetness: Coconut and Tumeric Omelette Feast
Fat: Stuffed Eggplant in Curry and Coconut Dal
Acidity:Noors Black Lime Tofu
Chile Heat:Saffron Tagliatelle with Ricotta and Crispy Chipotle Shallots
The Produce Chapter
Mushrooms:Broccoli with Mushroom Ketchup and Nori
Alliums:Olive Oil Flatbreads with Three Garlic Butter
Nuts and Seeds:Tofu Meatball Korma
Sugar: Fruit and Booze Tapioca Fritters with Orange Syrup and Star Anise
I have listed a range of recipes from main courses to side dishes.
In the process chapter for example Charring has 7 recipes, Browning has 11 recipes, Infusing has 8 recipes and Aging has 9 recipes. In that chapter every recipe has a corresponding full page sized photo or even a two page photo spread, sometimes multiple photos on a two page spread. Additionally, there are a number of photos of Yotam and Ixta cooking.
This brings me to a bit of a gripe. I know that the majority of cooks like a photo of every recipe, and many people find it hard to get enthusiastic about a recipe with no photo, but this seems to be overkill at the expense of the amount of recipes in this book.
Plenty had 120 recipes to 288 pages
Plenty More had 150 recipes to 352 pages
Flavor has a mere 100 recipes to 317 pages.
Admittedly, the chapter essays take up some of this, but I never thought I would say this about a cookbook, but the photos are overkill. While I enjoy the photos of Yotam and Ixta cooking, these could have been reduced in size to half or even quarter page photos.
The two page spreads of a single recipe, for example the Hasselback Beets, could have been reduced in size to a single page to make way for another recipe.
Noors Black Lime Tofu has no less than three full pages of photos. A photo of the tofu in the pan with the paste, then a photo of the spinach being added to the pan, then a photo of the spinach being stirred in, then a photo of the spinach almost completely stirred in and almost wilted, and then a photo of the finished dish with spinach wilted satisfactorily.
This type of photo series could have been kept for recipes that were a bit more complex, such as the home made Saffron Tagliatelle. That recipe has no photo at all and could really have used a series for people who have never made pasta before. Instead the two page spread has been used for the Saffron Tagliatelle dish with Ricotta and Crispy Chipotle Shallots. And in that instance the photo series shows the already made Tagliatelle on a tray, then it being cooked in water, then it in the pan with the parmesan being added, then its in the pan with the parmesan added now, and then a full sized photo of it in the pan with the crispy shallots on top.
There always has to be a gripe, but for me this is a pretty big one. If I was the editor I would have said one photo only per recipe unless a difficult technique really needs to be shown and add more recipes in place of all the rest. The book is pretty, but beyond a photo of each finished dish, the rest of the photos are just eye candy and most of the extra photos of the type I described above, are not what I would consider helpful or even particularly interesting. Personally, I would prefer more recipes.
Another area which I think had some room for expansion was the Flavor Bombs page. While it is helpful to show all the condiments etc on one page with the recipe page number listed, and in the intro to each recipe there are some ideas on how else to use one of the Flavor Bombs I think this could have been fleshed out a bit more.
For example, if you have leftover Fenugreek Marinade from the Curry Crusted Rutabaga Steaks it is described as keeping for two weeks and can be used as a base for curries or for marinating vegetables or different meats. Perhaps this could have been expanded to say mix with yoghurt and serve with grilled chicken, or to marinate chicken before grilling (I don’t know if that would be good, just riffing here) but if I am going to make double or triple of a condiment I would love a handful of simple ideas sketched out, to start me off on the journey of what else I could do with these Flavor Bombs beyond a line or two on the recipe page. But perhaps that is just nit picking. There are some ideas, I just want more, more, more!
Gripes aside, the recipes themselves sound great and I will be cooking through this book, as I have done with all of Ottolenghis other books.
Fans of Ottolenghis will want this book, so I am preaching to the converted here but it is always nice to read an extensive review before purchase even if you pretty much know you are going to purchase a book.
Newbies, this is a pretty vegetable book with some very interesting recipes. You can't go wrong with this book or Plenty or Plenty More if you want to expand your vegetable repertoire. Or Ottolenghis other books if you also want interesting recipes that include meat and fish.
I am happy to have this book and I will post an update when I cook from it (I pre-ordered it and just received it today)
If this review was helpful to you, please click the helpful button. It always gives me a huge kick to see that my reviews were helpful to other like minded cooks. You might also be interested in my other cookbook and ingredient reviews and my ideas lists of kitchen tools etc
Happy cooking!
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2020I first discovered Ottolenghi through the cookbook Plenty, the first in his series of plant-based cooking. At the time I was a pretty inexperienced home cook trying to adopt a more plant-based diet through recipes with exciting flavor profiles that motivated me to eat better. His cookbooks Plenty and Plenty More has helped me accomplish those goals. Flavor is the third book in his series of plant-based cookbooks, and true to form, provides a number of drool-worthy recipes likely to join my growing rotation of Ottolenghi-inspired favorites.
This cookbook is organized a bit differently from the others, with recipes focused on "process" (such as charring, browning, infusing, and aging); "pairing" (combining flavors with sweetness, fat, acidity and chile heat), and produce (with a focus on mushrooms, alliums, nuts and seeds, and sugar). I especially appreciate the chapter toward the end with meal suggestions and feasts, which provides lists of recipes that home cooks like me can prepare in 30 minutes or an hour (on my list to try include cardamom tofu with lime and greens, the ultimate roasting pan ragu, and sweet potato in tomato, lime, and cardamom sauce), as well as recipes that are relatively low effort to pull off (such as portobello steaks with butter bean mash and sweet and sour sprouts with chestnuts and grapes). Then there's a listing of suggestions for feasts, with three-course menus with some of the more involved recipes; high on my list to try when I am feeling ambitious is the korma feast, with tofu meatball korma, berbere ratatouille, and flatbreads).
One of the things I most appreciate about Ottolenghi's books is that they have introduced me to exciting ingredients that have helped me punch up my home cooking. This cookbook uses several of his perennial favorite ingredients like rose harissa (which has become of one of my condiments of choice), black lime, and Aleppo chile flakes. This cookbook also features several chiles popular in Mexican cuisine (ancho, cascabel, and chipotle) as well as Asian ingredients such as gochujang chile paste, shaoxing wine, and mango pickle. For home cooks like me who want to keep it interesting, such ingredients are fun to discover and experience.
Finally, I need to give the authors major props for the thoughtfulness and care that went into this cookbook. For example, the introductory note to the recipe for "The Ultimate Roasting-Pan Ragu" describes their process for developing the recipe: "In our mission to create the best meatless ragu, enough versions were made to sink a large ship." It reminds me of a note of a recipe in one of Ottolenghi's other books that has stuck with me: that he is always tinkering with recipes to keep things fresh and exciting, and to elevate them to higher levels of excellence. No wonder Ottolenghi can be so prolific while continuing to top his game. This book reflects that spirit, and I am grateful for how his books continue to inspire and challenge me to cook plant-centric meals.
Top reviews from other countries
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Alfonso MartinezReviewed in Mexico on August 26, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Formidable
La cocina de Y Ottolenghi es fabulosa. Dus recetas son exactas. Es un autor muy honesto
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elizaReviewed in Italy on November 22, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars non delude
Ottolenghi flavor è pieno di ricette interessanti. tutte nel suo stile. vegetariane. ho provato già diverse e sono rimasta soddisfatta.
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BISSERBEReviewed in France on May 5, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent livre
Excellent livre de cuisine veg sophistiquée .. et délicieuse
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in Belgium on February 8, 2024
4.0 out of 5 stars Good ideas inside
Very interesting recipes.
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DorisReviewed in Germany on February 24, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Hervorragend, excellent
Hervorragende Rezepte, ausgefallene Kombinationen und viele neue Anregungen. Allerdings nichts für Anfänger. Man sollte (wie bei anderen Kochbüchern auch) in der Lage sein, die Rezepte an seinen eigenen Geschmack anzupassen.
Die Kritik, dass ausgefallene Zutaten verwendet werden, verstehe ich nicht. Wer nur Senf, Salz und Pfeffer verwenden möchte, sollte Oma Emmie's Kochbuch für deutsche Küche kaufen! Alle Zutaten - wenn nicht schon vorhanden - sind in DE zu bekommen (manche online).
Mein einziger Kritikpunkt ist, dass sehr wenig frische, knackige Rezepte zu finden sind. Trotzdem volle Punktzahl.
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As I bought the English version, here are my comments in English:
Excellent recipes, unusual combinations and many new suggestions. However, nothing for beginners. You should (as with other cookbooks) be able to adjust the recipes to your own taste.
I don't understand the criticism that unusual ingredients are used. If you only want to use mustard, salt and pepper, you should buy Granny Emmie's cookbook for German cuisine! If not already in stock, all ingredients are available in Germany (some online).
My only criticism is that there are very few fresh crisp recipes to be found. Still, five points.