One of the food trends that never seems to go away is the 30-minute meal. Sixteen years ago, when Food Network was still focused on cooking, Rachael Ray brought quick, weeknight meals to our TV screens. Over the ensuing years as Americans lives have gotten busier and busier, the trend morphed and spawned a run of cookbooks from bloggers and celebrity chefs alike.
In 2016, Alton Brown published Alton Brown EveryDayCook featuring everything from simple cocktails to peanut butter cookies and spaghetti and meatballs. Deb Perelman brought Smitten Kitchen Every Day in 2017. British chef Yotam Ottolenghi is set to bring his everyday approach to bookshelves with Ottolenghi Simple (Ten Speed Press; October 16, 2018) this fall.
With Simple, it’s not just about time. Ottolenghi is giving readers the ability to choose which of three ways fits their definition of simple cooking. The catalog description tells us the book offers, “a collection of flavor-forward dishes that are packed with his signature nuanced flavors that can be made easily in one or more ways: in 30 minutes or less, with 10 or fewer ingredients, in a single pot, using pantry staples, or prepared ahead of time for easy weeknight meals.” Ottolenghi Simple features 130 recipes, from brunch favorites to vegetables, meats, and desserts, with dishes including Roasted Baby Carrots with Harissa and Pomegranate and Spring Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemon.
Ottolenghi will tour the US beginning October 21 with booksignings/talk stops in cities including New York, Washington, DC, San Francisco and Seattle. The Book Larder event in Seattle is already sold out, but tickets are still available for his event at the Stroum Jewish Community Center in Mercer Island. He also has Canadian dates in Vancouver and Toronto.
Pre-order Ottolenghi Simple at Amazon |iBooks
Update 10/1/18: The Ottolenghi Simple excerpt features a recipe for Hot, Charred Cherry Tomatoes with Cold Yogurt (and it’s delicious!!)