“More” Will Make You Love Vegetables Again
Welcome to Cookbook of the Week. In this series, I highlight cookbooks that are unique, easy to use, or just special to me. While searching for a specific recipe online serves a quick purpose, flipping through a truly excellent cookbook has its own magic.
I get attached to certain cookbooks. My cookbook of the week this week is Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi. As with the book I chose for last week ( Hershey’s Most Favorite Recipes ), we have a history with this book. That’s hope, isn’t it? When you buy a cookbook for yourself or as a gift for someone else, you hope that they will build a relationship with it, use it for years, and form fond memories every time they cook with it. That’s exactly how I see this cookbook: each recipe is a nod to the great dishes that have been shared over the years.
Of course, it helps that every recipe is damn right.
A little about the book
The subtitle of Plenty More is “Colorful vegetable dishes from London’s Ottolenghi”, and that says a lot. For starters, you should know that Ottolenghi is also the name of the chef’s chain of high-end delis across London. I say upscale because the price is a bit steep, not because the food or atmosphere is unavailable. It’s actually very cozy inside. I’ve been to two places in London and happily gave them all my money because the food is so good it makes me cry, laugh or get angry. And you can have some of this emotional roller coaster at home.
A great cookbook for vegetable lovers.
Another clue to this subtitle is the “colorful vegetables” part. Yes, I gave you a vegetarian cookbook. No, don’t roll your eyes at me. What they do with vegetables in this cookbook is nothing short of magical. As someone who eats meat, I can honestly say that you don’t even think about meat or wonder for a moment whether a recipe would be better with meat.
Each recipe is hearty and satisfying. Even salads have a strong taste. One of my favorite things is the way Ottolenghi uses amazing ingredients where I forgot they could exist. Why not add juicy lemon wedges to your salad or walnut halves to your pasta?
This is a great cookbook choice for anyone trying to eat more vegetables or who is bored to death of the same vegetable recipes. How many times do you have to roast carrots and cauliflower before you or your kids start thinking that maybe they just hate vegetables? Plenty More shakes up the concept of vegetarian cuisine with unexpected combinations.
However, this book is probably best suited to those familiar with cooking; This isn’t exactly a beginner’s cookbook. Ingredient lists can be long and potentially unusual, and a wide variety of preparation methods are used. What I love about Ottolenghi’s recipes is that he often incorporates ingredients from different cultures, such as an Iranian vegetable stew with dried lime. A newbie might be put off by Iranian limes or barberries in a recipe and not consider substituting them as ingredients.
Recipes You Can Expect
The recipes in this book are divided by cooking method. You’ll find sections like steamed, sautéed, fried, roasted, etc., which is quite nice because it creates some variety. Something “tossed” doesn’t have to mean a leafy green salad (they have those, too), but perhaps a hearty eggplant dish with a rich dressing.
The method for each recipe is contained in three to six paragraphs, and while the author assumes you know how to recognize certain cooking steps (processing the nuts to a paste, for example, is something I know will take some time and some cleanup) , the steps are clear without being too wordy. Recipes always come with great pictures, which are easy on the eye but also helpful if you’re not sure how you want a dish to turn out.
I have my favorite books in this book, but this week I decided to try something new. I made cauliflower pie and was not disappointed. Like every recipe in this book, the eponymous vegetable turns out great.
It’s a savory pie that uses red onion for both flavor and color, cauliflower for volume and creamy texture, plus eggs and a heaping helping of grated Parmesan. The cake was baked fluffy, and the slightest addition of turmeric gave the crumb a warm yellow hue. This is one of those recipes that will make your whole kitchen smell amazing. The sesame seed and nigella seed rind add flavor and a little wow factor. I’ll bookmark this for the future.
How to buy
Even if you only like cookbooks because they’re pretty, this is a great choice. It’s a hard cover with a gorgeous dark photograph on the front. When you touch it, you will realize that it is pleasant, soft. Not like a hardback children’s book (but not like that either). You will have to feel it for yourself. My copy was a gift from a friend, but you can buy it online for about $20 or in physical bookstores for about $30. If you like this, check out Ottolenghi’s newest book, Comfort , which will be released in the US on October 8th of this year.