Jerusalem: A Cookbook

by Yotam Ottolenghi

Hardcover, 2012

Status

On Loan -- South Bend Collection

Call number

TX725.M628 O88

Genres

Collection

Cookbooks

Publication

Ten Speed Press (2012), 320 pages

Description

"A collection of 120 recipes exploring the flavors of Jerusalem from the New York Times bestselling author of Plenty, one of the most lauded cookbooks of 2011. In Jerusalem, Yotam Ottolenghi re-teams with his friend (and the co-owner of his restaurants) Sami Tamimi. Together they explore the vibrant cuisine of their home city--with its diverse Muslim, Jewish, Arab, Christian, and Armenian communities. Both men were born in Jerusalem in the same year--Tamimi on the Arab east side and Ottolenghi in the Jewish west. This cookbook offers recipes from their unique cross-cultural perspectives including Charred Baby Okra with Tomato and Preserved Lemon, Braised Lamb Meatballs with Sour Cherries, and Clementine and Almond Cake. With five bustling restaurants in London and two stellar cookbooks, Ottolenghi is one of the most respected chefs in the world; Jerusalem is his most personal, original, and beautiful cookbook yet"--… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Polaris-

In lieu of a proper review, I just wanted to point out that I have never previously considered myself a cook at all. This book makes me want to cook. Why? Well that's obviously because the dishes are so amazingly delicious.

I lived in Israel for some seven years during the 1990s and have never

really come to terms with the fact that where I live now I can't easily get hold of burekas, or a plate of winter warming phool (fava beans), or a satisfying bowl of fresh hummus scooped up with a hunk of tasty challah. So I realised that I'd have to make it myself, and after seeing Ottolenghi's recent TV series in the UK on Mediterranean food I realised that this book might be a good place to start.

So far I've made felafel, tehini sauce, harissa paste, tehini (halva) cookies, and a supremely satisfying pearl barley risotto with a caraway marinated feta topping. ALL of them have been delicious - even if I say so myself - with the possible exception of the cookies being too sweet for my taste (easily remedied next time!).

The instructions are clear, the photography is stunningly colourful and beautiful, and the more in-depth explorative passages on the cultural histories or significances of various foods are both fascinating and really well written. All in all an excellent cookbook I will return to again and again.

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LibraryThing member msprint

I have already reviewed Ottolenghi's Planty (his vegetarian book) and this is just as good. It is interesting to read and makes you want to rush to the kitchen and start cooking. The recipes turn out just as pictured. A well stocked pantry will have most of the ingredients listed in his book. He is

generous with advice on alternative ingredients and what he writes about his background and where the recipes originated provides and extra dimension to the book.. I am sorry I waited so long to discover him and I missed him on our local TV program thinking it would be just another 'cooking program' how wrong I was. A must have book.

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LibraryThing member NellieMc

Similar flavors to his other cookbooks - Mideastern spices, lots of vegetables, lemon, cilantro, parsley, cumin - with wonderful notes about cooking and living in Jerusalem

LibraryThing member maximeg

This Lovely cookbook such a great story behind it too the History is so interesting and most importantly the food the recipes and stories behind them are great a wonderful read will be a go to book in this household!! Highly Recommend

LibraryThing member simchaboston

Attractive and informative look at the cuisines of the co-authors' home city. Ottolenghi and Tamimi do a good job presenting the text -- I found I understood the instructions, even if many are too complicated for me to ever try -- and providing background for both the recipes and the cultures of

Jerusalem in general (and how the intersection of those cultures make it difficult, if not impossible, to pin down the origin or authentic form of a given dish). My major criticism concerns the pictures; though they are uniformly gorgeous, they're not always useful, as many are of street scenes rather than food and arent accompanied by captions. And there is one photo of a meat market (in both senses) that is in rather poor taste -- not offensive enough to make me stop reading the book entirely, but certainly enough to give me pause, and glad I didn't buy it for my coffee table.

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LibraryThing member dinu

Very innovative cooking of Israeli/Arab inspiration. Some of the dishes are complex but with the very innovative favor combinations that Sami and Yotam are well known for.

LibraryThing member SandyAMcPherson

I keep hoping to explore more of this second Ottolenghi book, so I haven't an in-depth analysis of the recipes to provide a balanced review. Overall, I find my pantry never seems to have enough of the ingredients on hand, yet I can always improvise with the Turkish and East Indian counterparts, not

a fair evaluation of Jerusalem's recipes. I liked 'Plenty' much better, so perhaps that has coloured my view.

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LibraryThing member overthemoon

Recipes easy to follow and the results packed with flavour - encouraging me to use up all that zaatar and sumac in my spice cupboard - plus fabulous photography and fascinating background stories. Eating my way through this (and so glad I found it in my favourite second-hand bookshop). It might

even encourage me to give beetroot a chance.

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