Ticking all the boxes
"There's more than one way to get a meal on the table and everyone has a different idea of which way is simple." Yotam Ottolenghi
So here I am at the end of my little series on Yotam Ottolenghi's book Simple. Sorry to have gone about it so much, but there seemed to me to be a few things to think about. We tend to take for granted words like 'simple' without analysing what we really mean so it's been a useful exercise and not one that Ottolenghi has necessarily been entirely honest about. He obviously can't easily cut down the number of his ingredients, and those ingredients are rarely absolutely simple and basic. You almost always have to go and buy something special or make up a spice mix, or raid the back of your store cupboard. But I admit that there are very few recipes in this book that are actually difficult. Just not necessarily what you would call simple.
So which recipes in his book tick all of his boxes? Assuming that is that if all the boxes are ticked then it must be really, really simple. Simple to make, few ingredients, and possible to make in advance too. Well there are only three that fit the bill. Whether they fit your idea of simple is a different thing. I know mine would be quick, easy in terms of technique and everything I need to hand. And here they are.
It would be interesting to make these because there doesn't seem to be much to hold all the herbs together - a few ground nuts and some breadcrumbs, plus eggs. Lots and lots of herbs. They look delicious - but - you would need to have lots of herbs to hand - I do, but others might not. Barberries? To be fair he does say you can substitute currants, but currants are not all that common these days either. And I really think I might worry that they would all fall apart in the cooking. They'd make a good first course though if they work. I think I'd test them out beforehand.
No picture for this one - none in the book and none in the Guardian post that includes the recipe and nobody else seems to have made it. Which is a tiny worry. Almost always with Ottolenghi - and others too - you will find that somebody has had a go at making it and posted pictures. This one is probably not one for me - I don't like chestnuts. And you do need to have the za'atar. It also uses shallots which I would normally have to buy especially. It's not something I have in my store cupboard.
This one is a sort of pasta puttanesca really and pretty simple to make - but again - you would have to have the rose harissa in your cupboard. Rose harissa - not even ordinary harissa. And incidentally Jamie Oliver has a recipe for rose harissa. So yes, pretty easy and quick if you have the ingredients.
So I think my conclusion from all of this is that I love the book and the recipes are mostly pretty simple but I think you need to reassess your pantry if you are going to truly define the dishes in the book as simple. He simply cannot resist putting in things you may well not have - or can find. If you are looking for simple in the usual sense you are probably best to stick with some of Delia and Jamie and Donna Hay - even some of Nigel Slater, Robert Carrier and Elizabeth David who is probably the simplest of the lot. She rarely does complicated or difficult. Well there are lots of cooks who do simple better. Or just follow your instincts and make something up with what you've got in your fridge.
I have to be simple tonight because I have very little time. So it's steak and asparagus and boiled potatoes tossed in butter and herbs. I might make his blueberry and almond cake though. My sister has arrived from England and we should therefore have some kind of dessert. That cake was pretty simple - and relatively quick too.
