Jump to content

  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Ottolenghi "Flavor"

heidih

By heidih
in Cookbooks & References

 Share

Recommended Posts

blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted

I pre-ordered the UK edition so I've had it in hand for a few months but haven’t done much cooking from it yet.  His last book, Simple, was kind of Ottolenghi-lite.  This one returns to the imaginative use of flavors and longer ingredient lists of his previous books.  He describes it as a continuation of his vegetable focus from Plenty, divided into chapters on individual vegetables to Plenty More, chaptered based on cooking technique to this book that adds essays that fall into 3 flavor - boosting categories:

Process - charring, browning, infusing, ageing

Pairing -  sweetness, fat, acidity, chili heat

Produce - mushrooms, alliums, nuts & seeds, sugar (incl fruit & booze)
and divides up the recipes accordingly.  

 

It's certainly worth a read so do ask your library to order it.  I'm interested to see how it compares with Nik Sharma's Flavor Equation.  The latter is not vegetarian but I’m not sure what other differences there will be.  


For those who don’t own Plenty and Plenty More, I might start with this one first, just because of the explanatory essays are more informative of his recipe development process than the previous books, though both the others have a lot more recipes. Flavour has a photo for each recipe, which was not the case for the other 2.

I've already got all his other books so I didn’t need this one but it will be the January book in the Food52 cookbook club I participate in and I always put those books through a workout so I’m looking forward to that.  

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted

For others interested in the book, there's a healthy sample, including several recipes available via Amazon's Look-Inside feature:  Flavor (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

I like that all the recipes appear on a single page, with the list of ingredients on the left and the header notes and step-wise recipe instructions on the left.

Ingredients and quantities are printed in a bold font with substitutions or pre-prep instructions (like peeled, pitted, thinly sliced, roughly chopped, etc.) in a non-bold, maybe slightly smaller font.

I find the index (which can also be viewed via Amazon's Look-Inside) quite easy to read compared with some other books.

 

Just small things but they can make a book annoying to use or a pleasure, depending on the choices made. 

 

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
heidih

heidih

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)

Yes that is quite a generous "Look Inside" - thanks for noting it. I am inspired to pay. I have a pump eggplant.  Ha I meant to type play but typed pay - the unconscious mind? Just edited.

Edited by heidih (log)
  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

I've already got all his other books so I didn’t need this one but it will be the January book in the Food52 cookbook club I participate in and I always put those books through a workout so I’m looking forward to that.  

I hope to enjoy your workout vicariously. It occurred to me as I read the sample and checked out a few recipes through Google that if I were younger I might take the opportunity to dump my pantry and start afresh. I would challenge myself to play with just those 20 ingredients listed and some nice vegetables.  

  • Like 2

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted

 

I love onions. I love them just about anyway you can imagine. When I came across this  recipe from Flavour that called for only three ingredients, I knew I had to see if I could make it. 
 

F4767A0E-7C1C-4916-B241-C9234A6D34C4.thumb.jpeg.ef7260f4ad98aa87f5d2c82a3a00bdea.jpeg

 

Even served over some not very exciting squishy white bread these were tasty. 

  • Like 7

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites
heidih

heidih

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
21 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 

I love onions. I love them just about anyway you can imagine. When I came across this  recipe from Flavour that called for only three ingredients, I knew I had to see if I could make it. 
 

 I saw that one elsewhere and was curious about the amount of water but the total cook time may have needed the liter.  I enjoy the

 the miso/butter combo. Good to know that it worked well as written with the onions. Crusty bread and those sound like a meal.  The Guardian site was being sluggish for me so here is an alternate link in case https://food52.com/recipes/84162-miso-butter-onions-recipe

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alex

Alex

Posted
Posted
On 10/16/2020 at 1:07 PM, heidih said:

A book I think I would ask library to order. To peruse and get ideas. Anyone have thoughts.?   https://www.amazon.com/Ottolenghi-Flavor-Cookbook-Yotam/dp/0399581758

 

My library system has already ordered two copies. A reservation has been made.

  • Like 1

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

A king can stand people's fighting, but he can't last long if people start thinking. -Will Rogers, humorist

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
23 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I put a hold on Flavor some while ago but there are still five people ahead of me.  Not sure how many copies we are getting.

 

Tried so very hard to resist. Honest. But I now have the Kindle version. 

  • Haha 3

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alex

Alex

Posted
Posted

Yesterday's WaPo had an article about one of the recipes in the book: Za'atar Cacio e Pepe

  • Like 1

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

A king can stand people's fighting, but he can't last long if people start thinking. -Will Rogers, humorist

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted

So I bought one. Pretty fair price, $20 on Amazon.

 

Very pretty book.  Looks like one costing twice as much. Good paper,  many high quality photos.

 

Nice sections on how he thinks about cooking and flavor. Perhaps some of it is basic stuff for an eG reader, but its mostly worthwhile.

 

Lots of recipes most with photos. For me, the flavor combinations were instructive and interesting. Lots to ponder.

 

Too much eggplant though.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, gfweb said:

Too much eggplant though.

Yup. Even one is one too many. 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites
liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted
On 10/18/2020 at 4:32 AM, Anna N said:

When I came across this  recipe from Flavour that called for only three ingredients, I knew I had to see if I could make it. 

 

Typical! Only three ingredients and one of them I can't get!

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Typical! Only three ingredients and one of them I can't get!

Wow. I’m guessing it must be miso. But I might be willing to give up my access to miso if I had your access to such a variety of mushrooms and fresh vegetables without end. Oh, and fruits that I can only dream about. 

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites
liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted (edited)
7 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Wow. I’m guessing it must be miso.

 

Yeah, miso. I've searched and searched but no joy.

I was thinking just the other day that if I had to leave here for any reason, what would I do without even my corner shop having 8 different types of mushrooms! And many more in markets and supermarkets.

Edited by liuzhou (log)
  • Like 3

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

Amazon's price went down to $14.99 for the hardcover so I ordered.  I hope I don't kick myself as I did after buying Simple.  I hear at least that Flavor has pretty pictures.

 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dtremit

dtremit

Posted
Posted (edited)

Thanks for the heads up, @JoNorvelleWalker — I have a library copy that's due back and at $14 I coudn't resist!

I haven't actually made anything from it yet but I have a long list of "want to try" recipes. We are trying really hard to center vegetables in our eating and the ideas here really help me get in the right mind set.

Edited by dtremit (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites
dtremit

dtremit

Posted
Posted
On 10/20/2020 at 10:47 AM, liuzhou said:

 

Yeah, miso. I've searched and searched but no joy.

I was thinking just the other day that if I had to leave here for any reason, what would I do without even my corner shop having 8 different types of mushrooms! And many more in markets and supermarkets.

 

Obviously not a universal substitute, but for something like this could huang dou jiang (黃豆醬) be close enough?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
DanM

DanM

Posted
Posted

I have been cooking my way though the book, 2 recipes or so every week. So far, as with all of "his" books, the recipes are solid. That said, Ottolenghi is becoming a brand. He admits in the book that most of the recipes are created by his staff in his test kitchen.

 

If you do not have a variety of ethnic markets in your area, be warned. Kefir lime leaves, curry leaves, white miso, gojuchang, mexican chiles, and other less common ingredients play a role in this book. 

  • Like 1

"Salt is born of the purest of parents: the sun and the sea." --Pythagoras.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...