Ottolenghi, now a household name when it comes to cooking, is back with Comfort, alongside fellow Ottolenghi team and test cooks Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley.
Ottolenghi has changed the way many people approach cooking. Bringing a plethora of ingredients to people’s households he has influenced how we think about salads, vegetables and the ingredients we work with. He has made tahini and pomegranate molasses staples in many a pantry. With the backing of Helen, Verena and Tara, Comfort is a true odyssey of different cultures, food and flavour.
Through the different backgrounds of the ‘four hungries’, we are taken through a journey of pastas, soups, curries, traybakes, noodles, comfort veg, pies, bread and sweet things. This leaves you with many dishes of the east and west, balancing harmony and taste.
You also might be thinking, how does one define comfort food and isn’t it different for everyone? They define it by four key components: who we eat with, why we eat, what we eat and how we eat. Summarised perfectly in Comfort they hope, ‘the recipes become for you what they are for us: reassuring on one hand but revitalising on the other; nostalgic and novel at the same time; creative and comforting.’
My personal favourites include the white poached chicken with Chinese cabbage and peanut rayu, a sumptuous blend of Asian flavours and spices, the quick ramen noodles with mushroom and the crispy roast potatoes with rosemary and za’atar.
Overall, another staple cookbook to add to your collection, proving that Ottolenghi rarely misses and always keeps food exciting and different.
Reviewed by Robert Bromhead
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yotam Assaf Ottolenghi (born 1968) is an Israeli-born British chef, restaurateur, and food writer. He is the co-owner of seven delis and restaurants in London and the author of several bestselling cookery books, including Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Plenty, Jerusalem and Simple.
0 Comments