Yotam Ottolenghi: Comfort food, Kitchen essentials, Vegetable rehab

Oct 14, 2024

Join celebrated chef Yotam Ottolenghi as he shares his culinary journey and passion for making people happy through food. He discusses the 'Ottolenghi Effect' and the emotional ties between food and memory, showcasing how comfort food connects us to our heritage. Yotam delves into his collaborations and the importance of simplicity in the kitchen, highlighting essential tools and his love for cast iron cookware. Expect inspiration for creating satisfying meals that evoke nostalgia and keep your creative cooking spirit alive!

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Episode notes

Intro

00:00 • 2min

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Nourishing Connections: Food and Memory

01:40 • 19min

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Navigating Success in the Culinary World

20:12 • 3min

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Collaborative Success in Culinary Publishing

23:09 • 9min

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Simplicity in Cooking and Essentials for the Kitchen

32:04 • 5min

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The Timeless Utility of Cast Iron

36:43 • 5min

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Celebrating Comfort Food and Culinary Anticipation

41:37 • 2min

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#20878

• Mentioned in 2 episodes

Plenty

Yotam Ottolenghi

Plenty is a cookbook that highlights Yotam Ottolenghi's unique approach to vegetable dishes. The book includes 120 vegetarian recipes, each centered around a key ingredient and reflecting eclectic influences from the Middle East, South East Asia, and Latin America. The recipes are organized into chapters such as 'Roots,' 'Funny Onions,' 'Mushrooms,' and 'The Mighty Aubergine,' among others. The book is renowned for its stunning food photography and Ottolenghi's original and innovative use of spices, herbs, and other ingredients to create surprising flavors. It is a must-have for both vegetarians and meat-eaters looking to enhance their culinary repertoire.

#18988

• Mentioned in 2 episodes

SIMPLE

Yotam Ottolenghi

In 'Ottolenghi Simple', Yotam Ottolenghi presents streamlined recipes that maintain his signature Middle Eastern flavors while being simple in various ways: made in 30 minutes or less, using 10 or fewer ingredients, prepared in a single pot, using pantry staples, or made ahead of time. The book includes over 130 photographs and is divided into chapters such as Brunch, Raw Veg, Cooked Veg, and Dessert. Each recipe is categorized using the 'Simple' key: S (short on time), I (ingredients: 10 or fewer), M (make ahead), P (pantry-led), L (lazy-day dishes), and E (easier than you think).

Ottolenghi: The Cookbook

Sami Tamimi

Yotam Ottolenghi

This cookbook, first published in 2008, showcases fresh, honest, and bold cooking. It includes 140 original recipes covering meat and fish main courses, healthy salads, quick suppers, and Ottolenghi's famous cakes and breads. The recipes reflect the authors' upbringings in Jerusalem and incorporate culinary traditions from North Africa, Lebanon, Italy, and California. The book has become a culinary classic and a national favorite, praised for its vivid simplicity and inventive yet simple dishes.

#3622

• Mentioned in 8 episodes

JERUSALEM

The Biography

Simon Sebag Montefiore

This book chronicles the 3,000-year history of Jerusalem, from King David's establishment of the city as his capital to the modern-day conflicts. Montefiore brings to life the city's many incarnations through the stories of its rulers, conquerors, prophets, and ordinary inhabitants. The narrative spans various epochs, including the periods of Jewish kings, Persian, Macedonian, Roman, Arab, Crusader, and Ottoman rule. The book draws on extensive research, including new archives, current scholarship, and the author's own family history, to provide a balanced and detailed account of Jerusalem's complex and often tumultuous history.

Comfort, by Yotam Ottolenghi and co-authors, explores the emotional connection between food and personal experiences. The recipes are deeply personal, reflecting the authors' family histories and cultural backgrounds. The book delves into how food evokes memories and provides comfort, moving beyond traditional comfort food to focus on emotional resonance. It features a diverse range of recipes, from classic dishes with a twist to unique creations inspired by global cuisines. Comfort is more than a cookbook; it's a journey through the power of food to connect us to ourselves and our heritage.

First, pinch me time — because we’ve got the REAL-LIFE LEGEND that is Yotam Ottolenghi on the show! If anyone has ever wondered what the celebrated chef, writer, restaurateur, and veggie rehabilitator Yotam Ottolenghi is truly like, this episode is the perfect introduction. You’ll meet a clever, driven, and utterly charming person whose life mission is to make people happy through food.

We dive into a career that began with unexpected fame and evolved into him becoming one of the world’s most influential chefs, with over 11 million books sold globally. We decode the “Ottolenghi Effect”—or why so many of us actually know what sumac and tahini are—and explore the family ties and global collaborations behind the 100 recipes in his latest book, Comfort.

The conversation also touches on the joy and realness of gay parenting, why he created the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen, and his personal take on what "Just Right" means, both in life and in the kitchen. And of course, there are surprises—including the kitchen tools and essentials he uses (and those he doesn’t!).

Above all, this episode will leave anyone hungry—hungry for the comfort food that feels like home and inspired by Yotam’s ability to stay creative under pressure. His secret? Collaborating closely with others. As Yotam says, that’s where the real magic happens.

Comfort, by Yotam Ottolenghi and co-authors Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley is out now.

Guest: @ottolenghi

The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey

Produced and edited by Steve Hankey

The podcast is recorded at 1 Warwick in Soho, a welcoming club for members and visitors alike, and the home of The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey.

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