Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking from London's Ottolenghi [A Cookbook]

Interesting....How people pick up certain new cookbooks, and immediately fall into two distinct camps. Some rave about it; some immediately start to complain. How can their opinions differ so significantly? "Plenty More" will be one of those books to cause immediate awe or swift disapproval. From working with the book for several months now, I know this book warrants a five-star rating, and that the majority of readers will feel the same. Same as the ratings and reviews for Ottolenghi's book "Plenty": Most will rave, and a few just will not want to--or will not have time to--tackle the chore of dealing with many of the ingredients on fairly long ingredient lists. This book is very much like "Plenty", except Ottolenghi has broadened his experience, looked--and leaped--forward and taken on new flavors and ingredients.Those who criticize will claim that it contains hard-to-find ingredients, some unfamiliar techniques, unusual combinations of flavors, unfamiliar foods and flavors, long ingredient lists....and that will be very true for most home cooks. But those who get excited about this book, those whose hearts will start racing when they browse through the pictures and pages on the "Look Inside" feature on this product page, will ask and declare:Isn't that what a fabulous, ground-breaking, cookbook is supposed to do? Is that not what you should be looking for in new cookbook?" I say, "Yes!" Bring on the new flavors and combinations, expose me to the unfamiliar, help my family to embrace new taste sensations.So I tell myself, and I'll suggest the same to you: Step outside of the box. Get outside of your comfort zone. Start making some outstanding vegetarian dishes.And this great chef, with his great idea-producing staff, will help you take that (sometimes/somewhat) uncomfortable step forward. This book will provide guidance, coaxing, reassurance to help you retrieve your comfort zone, while expanding your palate and taking on new dimensions as a home cook. Practice makes perfect: The first time you look at a recipe, you may see it as a long list of ingredients. The second time you make the recipe, all the pieces fall into place and you realize it was not hard to accomplish. Suddenly, you'll realize you have another fab veg dish under your belt.(On the other hand, if your lifestyle does not allow you to tackle daily trips to the market and long ingredient lists, it may not be the right time for you to indulge in this book. You will either consider the book a challenge, or you will say the book is not right for you right now, and pass it by for the time being.)So, if you choose to take on the challenge, prepare yourself: If you pick up this much-anticipated, worthy, brilliant book, you will be:--getting very cozy with cilantro: Forty-seven recipes in this book use cupfuls upon cupfuls of cilantro. (I know there are a lot of you out there who will have a difficult time with that...)---Working on your produce manager to start supplying basil, dill, tarragon, chervil, all the herbs, year-round, just like he does for parsley and cilantro. This chef uses huge, copious amounts of herbs and a large variety of spices. The spices are easy to find, it's the fresh herbs that you find at the store, two or three sprigs in measly little clear plastic bags for big bucks--that will not do for the recipes in this book. (I'm going to have to beef up the plants in my veggie gardens, but even that will not take care of the dill and basil I will need off-season....)--Going out to search for barberries. (And if you can't find them there are substitutes to use until you convince your produce manager to stock them. (Sometimes sour cherries, or dried cherries or dried cranberries and lime.)) You will also be looking for umeboshi plums at your Asian market.--Finding a greengrocer that is willing to provide you with baby endive, baby plum tomatoes, purple sprouting broccoli (no regular broccoli in this book), black garlic, sorrel, sprouts, seeds and many more. (Maybe you live in an area that has access to this type of produce, but a majority of us do not have that luxury.)--Embracing bitter flavors (not excessively bitter, but complimentary bitter. I don't want to scare you off....It is usually in the form of brassicas, other greens and some root vegetables.)I'm not talking extremism here, because there is a gentleness, a coaxing, involved in these recipes; nothing in excess (well, except the herbs); just an invitation: What can a bit of bitter green hurt you? What can cups of beautiful herb leaves hurt you? What can a new tart berry, or any new ingredient hurt you if it is done as a complimentary flavor? What can bold, lively colors hurt you?Did you like his first book "Plenty"? You will be so pleased with this new one! Ottolenghi got you to get comfortable with veggies in his first book; in this one he helps you own them. He--and his restaurant co-workers--have blossomed, and surged forward, and taken charge of the vegetable world; legumes and beans and eggs, too. They revel in it and cozy up to all the possible flavors--then help you to do the same.Measurements are in both US/Imperial and metric. Page layout is easy for the eyes to follow. Type style and size are easy on the eye. Photos are many and superior (in all ways).There are too many great recipes for me to start calling them out. I suggest you take a browse through the "Look Inside" feature on this product page. It shows you many salad recipes from the "Tossed" chapter of the book. Coming so near to November and American Thanksgiving and everybody's Holiday Season, I could not help but picture so many of these beautiful dishes as part of a Holiday table. Plenty that can be made ahead of time, and they are stunning to behold.Here are more of my notes, if you still can't decide whether or not to add this to your collection: (You know you can stop reading any time, don't you?)Simple, beautiful, luscious:--Celery salad with Feta and Soft-Boiled Egg, with lemon segments, capers, chiles and cilantro.--A touch of fish sauce on pomelo.--Quinoa included in salads: Tart apple and celery root with lemon, chile and cilantro; cannellini beans with parsley, mint, scallions and lemon.Worth the price of the book:--The technique of beginning to caramelize sugar, then adding halved fresh figs, then continuing the process. He does it in a non-stick pan. Does it with oranges, too.**I received a temporary download of this book from the publisher. Having it in hand for the past few months, I will have to let it go now. But I will be putting a book order together soon, and this will definitely be on my list! EDIT: I purchased this book from Amazon, and you can see the "Verified Purchase" tag at the top of this review.

Fantastic book! I have four of Ottolenghi's books, and I’d have a terrible time picking a favorite. This and Plenty are vegetarian. Jerusalem and Ottolenghi are omnivorous. All are wonderful. He’s absolutely the best with produce.Pictured below:1) Pink Grapefruit and Sumac Salad – p20. This is such a crisp and refreshing salad. This was supposed to be an even showier pink and purple dish, but my grocer doesn’t carry purple Belgian endive. Maybe you’ll be luckier. Penzey’s carries sumac if your store doesn’t.2) Eggplant with Black Garlic – p158. This is my favorite in the book so far. So deliciously earthy and rich. If you haven’t bought black garlic before, the head feels very soft, similar to when you roast it. You want soft, but not defeated feeling.3) Fava Bean Spread with Roasted Garlic Ricotta – p222. Divine spread! The fava beans take some mindless time to skin, but it’s not difficult at all.4) Tomato and Roasted Lemon Salad – p54. This is fabulously fragrant! The lemons are blanched and then tossed in olive oil, a little sugar, salt, and chiffonaded sage, and roasted a bit. The pairing of that lemon with tomatoes, pomegranate, onions, and herbs is absolutely magical. I adore this salad.5) Tomato and Watermelon Gazpacho – p90. Such a refreshing combination! I never would have thought about pairing those, but it makes sense. I always put a pinch of sugar in my marinara to balance the acidity.6) Carrot and Mung Bean Salad – p169. The beans are flavored with a cumin, caraway, fennel oil, with garlic and vinegar. The carrots are slightly sweetened and caramelized. The sharpness of the feta rounds it out so nicely. Great salad!

After his ground-breaking, veggie-centric "Plenty," which to me was one craveworthy veggie, grain, and/or fruit dish after another, I would never have thought that Ottolenghi could do it again, but he did! His delight in the abundance of opportunities that veggies and other non-meat ingredients offer is apparent in his colorful and insightful headnotes. Unlike "Plenty," which was organized by veggie type, this one is organized by cooking method: we progress from "Tossed" through "Sweetened" with nine techniques in between. I find the recipes highly accessible for we home cooks: some have lots of ingredients, but they're just a teaspoon of this and that: he loves to cook veggies simply. The vast majority of ingredients are also accessible, with the possible exception of sorrel (unless it grows in your garden), umeboshi puree and "buna-shimeji (brown beech) mushrooms." Substitution suggestions would be appreciated for these as well as marrow squash, Medjool dates, one pandan leaf, and orange blossom water. Also manuka honey, which I found on Amazon (expensive!). Panch phoran, no problem, I found it on Amazon, and it's incredibly inexpensive! All recipes are given by volume AND weight. Kindle format review: almost all recipes with color photos. Clickable TOC, index, embedded recipes, so 5* for Kindle formatting as well as content: I'm writing this on a Tuesday, and I can't wait for my Farmers' Market on Saturday so that I can begin to try the recipes.

Great book for culinary knowledge and idaes

A beautiful book with very usable recipes and photos that make you want to try everything! I'm not really a vegetarian but using these recipes, could easily become one.

Great book which offers a bunch of new recipes which taste great. My family say I’m a great cook but the truth is that I buy good quality ingredients and follow the instructions in books like this.

The cookbook is fabulous and it was delivered within two days of my order being placed. Wonderful service

I have a few Ottolenghi cook books, but this one is probably the most inspiring. Ever wondered how to take vegetables from an obligatory side dish to a star component - this is the book you need

Very useful, easy to a