Are you the kind of home cook who makes meals on the fly, or do you look for inspiration from cookbooks, food bloggers, and celebrity chefs? Currently, my favorite chef and cookbook author is Yotam Ottolenghi. With four cookbooks under his apron strings—Plenty, Plenty More, Ottolenghi, and Jerusalem—and restaurants in London, I can’t get enough of his flavor-filled recipes.
I’m obsessed with Ottolenghi whose cookbooks and recipes feature Middle Eastern flavors with a western twist.
His Cauliflower Cake from Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking from London’s Ottolenghi is to die for.
And the honey roasted rainbow carrots I adapted from the same book are equally scrumptious.
Ottolenghi takes vegetables from so-so to sensational.
My friend Suzanne is even more infatuated with Ottolenghi (is that possible?), and recently, we hosted a dinner party for friends featuring Ottolenghi recipes, including Salmon Steaks in Chraimeh Sauce and Couscous with Dried Apricots and Butternut Squash.
For the dinner party, we looked through Ottolenghi’s four cookbooks and chose seasonal recipes to assign to ourselves and our friends.
Ottolenghi-Inspired Dinner Party Menu:
Butternut Squash & Tahini Spread
Figs with Basil, Goat Cheese and Pomegranate Vinaigrette from Plenty
Couscous with Dried Apricots and Butternut Squash from Ottolenghi
Salmon Steaks in Chraimeh Sauce from Jerusalem
Beef and Lamb Meatballs Baked in Tahini from Ottolenghi
Toffee Brownies from Ottolenghi (that’s Nairi and Suzanne at Liz’s house baking the brownies)
I hosted the dinner and there were a total of five couples, Everyone showed up with a dish and then shared their experience with the recipe. Favorite recipes from the night were the salmon, couscous, fig salad, and brownies.
I love the idea of using a series of cookbooks as a theme for a dinner party. What about you?
wow I need to try these recipes! That cauliflower cake looks awesome! 🙂
Rachel, the cauliflower cake is yummy. The next time I make it I may toss in some fresh thyme to rev it up even more. It’s funny how I chose his cauliflower cake as the first recipe to try from Plenty More. And then when I surfed around on the web, I noticed that a ton of other fans had the same idea. It’s a gorgeous recipe!
I love Yotam Ottolenghi! What a fun idea for a dinner party, I bet the food was amazing. I love how he makes vegetables taste so gourmet!
So I think I need to add another thing to my “to-do” list for today – purchase one of Ottolenghi’s cookbooks! Now the question is, which one to start? I shall be listening to the podcast during my commute today. You guys have the best dinner parties! Such a fun idea!! I want to start something like this with my neighbors
I’d start with Jerusalem and then go to Plenty from there! Have fun listening and let me know which book you buy first!
I have the same obsession with him. I made his lamb and beef meatballs last night from The Jerusalem Cookbook. It was so good
Hi Allie, I’ve made that too. Used frozen edamame vs fava beans and grass-fed beef. Amazing recipe and so family friendly!
Hi Liz, I share your obsession with Ottolenghi’s cookbooks. Great idea of a theme dinner to taste and enjoy many of these inspirational recipes!
If you saw my IG this weekend you know I was cooking up an Ottolenghi storm! Can’t wait to listen to the podcast and hear all about your favorite recipes! I only have Plenty right now but Jerusalem is next on the list to buy.
Deanna, Jerusalem is definitely the way to go. What were you cooking this weekend? I’m dying to know. Until you’ve made an Ottolenghi recipe, it’s hard to relate to the obsession. I just got Janice Jerusalem for Xmas (better late than never), so she too will soon be hooked! Hope you enjoy the show 🙂
Wow these look like amazing cookbooks! Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to find one too 🙂
Ottolenghi has been popping up everywhere lately and I LOVE it! I am definitely on board with this one 🙂 Having that dinner party sounds so fun and those recipes…YUM.
Also a big fan of Ottolenghi, although clearly not as much as you! Love this dinner party idea!
Thanks Jessica. You’re invited next time 🙂
I LOVE Ottolenghi! I just got Plenty More and have been drooling over the recipes ever since. Love the idea of a dinner party, so fun! That cauliflower cake is next on my list!
Alex, let me know if you throw an Ottolenghi dinner party and definitely let me know what you think of the cauliflower cake. Sure wish I thought of it first!!
Liz,
Great seeing you at the dinner party. I enjoyed making the butternut tahini spread. The best part was exploring the combination of our choices for the menu. What a fun adventure to search throughout the collection. It felt like being in a foreign land. You were a wonderful hostess.
Nairi
Nairi, it was great having you and Nick at the dinner party and baking brownies with you and Suzanne. What fun!!
I did a variation of his Grapefruit and Date salad in Plenty More for Christmas. Amazing! Liz you are so cute with all your books. And yes…some weirdness occurred on Twitter…I WAS a follower of MMM. Now I am AGAIN! Thank goodness!!! (:
It looks like you had so much fun and such delicious food! I definitely need to buy one (or all) of these books soon!
Sonali, you’d love his books. BTW, your recipes and blog are awesome!!
After listening to this podcast I hopped on Amazon and ordered Jerusalem: A Cookbook. I can’t wait to receive it and start cooking!
So happy you’re a listener and hope you love the book!
I bought Plenty about a month ago at Costco. I didn’t know about the other cookbooks. I haven’t made anything from it yet, but I have been inspired (by the cover) to get my kids to try pommegranate seeds–a good first step! What a fun idea to use the books for a dinner party.
So glad to hear Ottolenghi is inspiring everyone to try new foods. I love pom seeds 🙂
Ok you have done it again. What a fun and fabulous idea for a dinner party. What fun and how delicious
It sure was fun. Lori, you’re invited next time!
Hi,
I am going to have a dinner party on Saturday and use recipes from Jerusalem. Do you have any favorites from that book to suggest??
Thanks!
Hi Natalie, Janice here. I’ll let Liz, or she who is obsessed with Ottolenghi, to offer suggestions!
Hi Natalie: Many of the recipes I’ve made from Jerusalem are more hearty than summery. I have not made the Chicken w/ Caramelized Onion & cardamom Rice but am planning to make it for a pot luck in two weeks (page 184). The Clementine Chicken is a classic, but clementines are probably no good this time of year. I hear the Watercress Soup is awesome from Jerusalem, and the Na’am’s Fattoush on page 29 would be lovely given all the radishes and other fresh/ spring ingredients. I’ve had the Spicy Carrot Salad and loved it (if you make this, go for a milder harissa if you don’t love spicy food!) as well as the Burnt Eggplant w/ Garlic, Lemon and Pomegranate Seeds Ppage 79). Fresh garlic is the key here. Do you have Plenty? It’s filled w/ salad and vegetable recipes. The best thing I’ve made from Plenty so far is Green Bean Salad with Mustard Seeds and Tarragon. You could probably google it and find the recipe. Do you have a Penzy’s in your area? The Nigella seeds in this recipe are a must! Shoot me an email at Moms @ MealMakeoverMoms.com if you want to chat further.