Cookbook Review: Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi

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I first heard of Yotam Ottolenghi when I bought Jerusalem: A Cookbook, which he co-authored with Sami Tamimi, the head chef of Ottolenghi’s eponymous restaurant in London. I purchased the cookbook as a gift for my father, who is a bit of a foodie. I decided to make the lemony leek meatballs from that cookbook one day, and they were delicious. When I saw Ottolenghi’s newest cookbook, Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi, I knew I had to try it. This cookbook explores vegetarian dishes that have their roots in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food traditions. Ottolenghi grew up in Jerusalem, and his experiences there, especially in food and cooking, have had a large impact on his style of cooking. As he explains in the introduction to Ottolenghi, he was “exposed to the multitude of vegetables, pulses and grains that are celebrated in the region’s different cuisines” (7). The process of cooking and prepping three dishes form this cookbook not only resulted in a delicious meal, but also raised questions of identity, convenience, and responsibility, as related to Warren Belasco’s food triangle.
Of all of the recipes in Plenty, I decided on the leek fritters and Itmar’s bulgur pilaf. From their ingredient lists, these seemed to be foods that I would enjoy eating and, from the directions, seemed to be ones that could make with the cooking skills that I have. Some dishes, such as the lemon and goat cheese ravioli, seemed too labor-intensive and time-consuming, though they looked delicious. Other recipes seemed too far outside of my current level of cooking, such as the goat cheese soufflés with vanilla-poached pears, even though, again, the recipe and accompanying picture made my mouth water. I also considered money...

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...ly because of the very high quality of the book, which had many full-page color photographs and a sturdy, hard cover. I would not have bought Plenty had I not been able to use my parents’ money to buy it. The target audience, then, is made up of people who have the ability to cook using more advanced techniques and are willing to exert the effort that Ottolenghi’s style of vegetarian cuisine requires. However, if people fall into these categories, I believe they will find Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi a worthwhile and tasty investment.

Works Cited

"About Us." Ottolenghi. Ottolenghi, n.d. Web. 04 May 2014. .
Belasco, Warren. Food: The Key Concepts. New York: Berg, 2008. Print.
Ottolenghi, Yotam. Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle, 2011. Print.

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