Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook

For 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!

Every recipe I've made from this cookbook has impressed! They can be a bit involved (generally, a lot of produce prep or multiple components) but they aren't difficult by any means, and the payoff is always worthwhile. Additionally, individual components can be utilized for a variety of other dishes encouraging cooks to be more creative without relying on a recipe. I don't find that they require too many or difficult-to-source ingredients, however, the flavor combinations are unique and interesting and not things I would come up with on my own. I am vegan and most of the recipes in this cookbook are vegetarian or vegan. I don't have much experience cooking on the fly and I find the non-vegan recipes really easy to veganize on my own. As a relative novice and someone who is pretty overwhelmed by cooking more complex dishes, I have also found the recipes to be surprisingly foolproof. One thing I really appreciate is that specific times and temperatures are given for most components. This eliminates a lot of confusion for someone less experienced by not relying on subjective criteria (e.g., Ottolenghi will say to cook shallots for 7 minutes on high heat and then 6 minutes on medium-low instead of simply "carmelize" or "cook until browned and soft" - how brown? how soft? which heat setting? it matters but someone who has never carmelized shallots before has no frame of reference for the temperature or amount of time needed to achieve the desired result). As for the construction of the book itself, I have had no issues with my copy. I 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. I recently purchased about a dozen cookbooks as I'm trying to convenience eat less and incorporate more produce into my diet, and this is the only one with recipes that have stayed on my mind after cursorily flipping through them. Even after marking recipes I'm interested in, I usually need to flip through to decide on something but with this cookbook, I always know what I'm going to cook from it next because it just sits in my head until I do. I would highly recommend this to people looking to eat more produce and ENJOY it (I'm historically an EXTREMELY picky eater and it's gotten me to try and love so many new things!), as well as learn cooking skills and techniques that can be applied to more than just the recipe at hand.

I 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.

Ottolenghi always delivers! I love that most of the recipes are either vegan or easily adaptable, and always packed with flavor. So far, I’ve made the black lime tofu, tomato and plum salad, berebere ratatouille, and flatbreads. All were quick to make and excellent. I’ve flagged many more and especially can’t wait to make the turnip cake. The recipes make large quantities, so when cooking for one, a half-recipe will last me a few days. Some reviewers have commented about hard-to-find ingredients and long preparation times. Ingredients are easy to find on Amazon and many other sites that sell spices, and you can collect them a few at a time. And if you can’t find something, substitute something else. Most of the recipes, including those with multiple steps, are actually pretty simple. While ingredient lists might appear intimidating, it takes only a few minutes to measure out the spices and flavorings. In the back of the book there are lists of 30-minute or 1-hour recipes along with suggestions for meal plans. You can also whip up some “flavor bombs” to keep on hand to dress up just about anything for a quick meal. The chapters on cooking techniques and flavor combinations are very helpful if you take the time to read them and learn how to coax maximum flavor from your ingredients.. If you like veggies and bold flavors, and are either an experienced (and organized) cook or an adventurous novice, you will love this book. But I was a little disappointed to find that I bought the Kindle edition 12 days ago for 14.99 and today it’s 5.99. What’s up with that?

Spectacular book! I’m a home chef and absolutely love experimenting in the kitchen, and this cookbook is pure inspiration. The recipes are creative, colorful, and full of flavor — exactly what the title promises! Ottolenghi has such a beautiful way of combining ingredients that make every dish feel vibrant and alive. The photos are stunning, and even just reading through the pages makes you want to cook immediately. Perfect for anyone who loves real, wholesome, flavorful food made with heart. Truly a masterpiece! 💛🍋

Flavor is a unique entry into the Ottolenghi catalog. The source of that uniqueness seems to be Ixta as well as the Test Kitchen team, whose diversity has greatly influenced Ottolenghi's offerings - for the better! There is a spotlight on ingredients and cuisines that have not been previously touched on in the series, including an array of hot peppers and umami bombs (think miso). Dishes from South East Asian and Mexico make up a significant chunk of the book, as well as some that could be termed general "modern vegetarian" cooking. From what I've made so far I can confidently say that the "flavor" focus is a winning concept. Many of the sauces and marinades can be used as inspiration for other dishes. The intense oil created for the portobello steaks is stunning and worth making extra. And the miso butter was a great answer for gnocchi that needed a quick sauce.

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. More to the point, this is not a vegan cookbook nor even fully vegetarian (though almost every recipe can be adapted to either). Nor is it marketed as such, so reviewers complaining about that are not paying attention. (My favorite Ottolenghi story, possibly apocryphal, is that he made his mark writing a vegetable column for the *Guardian* (UK) but annoyed some doctrinaire vegetarians by pointing out that, say, a particular fava bean dish would be delightful with lamb.) Like his classics *Plenty* and *Plenty More,* this book is strongly vegetable-forward but not vegetarian, and so perfect for me. This particular book has been transformative not only because so many of the dishes are outstanding but also because they entirely please my carnivorous husband, not as side dishes but as the main event. While we used to eat vegetarian maybe 1 night a week, now we can easily do so 2 or 3. As well, it must be said that Ottolenghi is known for big flavors (not for those who don't like garlic!) and that most of his recipes are not designed for people who need to have dinner on the table in 30 minutes, or who don't enjoy/don't have time for hunting out novel ingredients from around the world. I have made probably 1/3 of the recipes in the book and most are rock stars. Particular hits include the olive oil flatbread with 3 garlics; asparagus pancakes; iceberg wedge with crunchy bits; bkeila, potato, and butter bean stew; herb and charred garlic soup, and (my new favorite meal) oyster mushroom tacos. Yes, it makes a difference if you make your own tortillas--as noted above, this is not a book for those who have limited time to cook--but do you have to? Of course not. Even I don't make all the "suggested toppings" along with the mushroom tacos. The tacos are especially good with the divine salad made of 2 types of radish (daikon + regular) and chipotle peanuts. The eggplant with herbs and crispy garlic is also just divine. For those who like to entertain, many of these admittedly complex recipes can be made largely, or even fully, in advance. The eggplant, for instance, is served at room temperature. Ottolenghi's previous book *Simple* would be a good start for less experienced cooks (or those w/o a lot of time.

What more can I say, I have yet not liked a cookbook authored by Ottolenghi. I have about 4 other of his books and I use them quite often, especially when I am cooking for a dinner party and I want to impress my guess. The recipies are easy to follow, some are more labor intensive but worth the outcome, ingredients are mostly easy to find, but there is always amazon. My only complaint is not the book but the way Amazon handles their packaging and shipping of their books, this one came creased at the corners because it was stuffed in a box to small. Pity. I think I might start ordering my books from a smaller company who cares. Other than that you can't go wrong with a Ottolenghi book!

It came without plastic protective cover so all the white cover was dirty stained

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. ------------------------------------------ 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.

Ottolenghi flavor è pieno di ricette interessanti. tutte nel suo stile. vegetariane. ho provato già diverse e sono rimasta soddisfatta.

Excellent recipes. Wonderful pictures. I read cookbooks like novels since I don't cook much. I have a very small kitchen. Everyone lives happily ever after in this one.

This is an inspiring book, not only from a methods perspective but combinations of ingredients and why didn’t I think of that moments, aubergine dumpling parmigiana, such a great idea, I’m doing that today with regular meatballs too....dumpling roulette! Swede I tend to mash and roast only but now will definitely be making the steak and gnocchi. I’m growing celeriac and now have 3 new recipes that I can’t wait to make! Spookily I had purchased mushroom growing kits earlier this week before the book came out, so glad I did! Lots of new recipes for mushrooms, baked ragu looks amazing. I am also a massive onion fan and to have new recipes I have not tried (and I have tried a lot) is great. I really like how this book is organised as quite often you find yourself fancying something smokey or charred or acidic or sweet, to have the recipes organised this way really helps. I really liked that at the end of the book there is a guide to which recipes can be done quickly, for a dinner party, in one pan etc so you can go straight to something you need and the flavour bomb guide to take you back to some of the dressings and sauces quickly, there are several dressings from previous books that we do all the time....so to have the quick reference is really helpful. I will come back when I have tried more of the recipes, the problem I am having is which to do next, so many I like the look of! So I have tried the aubergine parmiagana, and the comment was “the best tomato sauce ever” and I have cooked a lot of tomato sauces! The ingredients were roughly the same as other sauces I have tried, the method wasn’t, so must have made the difference. I have now also used this same tomato sauce recipe for pizza topping and a pasta salad, by stopping after first stage of the tomato sauce...3 for 1 recipe, inspired by the method, it works really well. Spicy potatoes with the tahini dressing were a big hit, and I used the dressing again with the cucumber salad. I chucked in an avocado as there was one in the fridge which was not in the recipe, but it went well, I might throw in some microherbs next time too. The roasted cauliflower in chilli butter was delicious, the method of roasting the cauliflower worked better than other recipes I have tried. I like the suggestion of roasting a chicken with this butter too, that is next on the to do list.