"Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love: Recipes to Unlock the Secrets of Your Pantry, Fridge, and Freezer: A Cookbook"--by Yotam Ottolenghi--from the New York Times bestselling author and his superteam of chefs, this is Ottolenghi, unplugged: 85+ irresistible recipes for relaxed, flexible home cooking that will bring the love to every shelf in your pantry, fridge, and freezer (see my review)

  

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love: Recipes to Unlock the Secrets of Your Pantry, Fridge, and Freezer: A Cookbook

Led by Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad, the revered team of chefs at the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen gives everyday home cooks the accessible yet innovative Middle Eastern-inspired recipes they need to put dinner on the table with less stress and less fuss in a convenient, flexibound package. With fit-for-real-life chapters like "The Freezer Is Your Friend," "That One Shelf in the Back of Your Pantry," and "Who Does the Dishes?" (a.k.a. One-Pot Meals), Shelf Love teaches readers how to flex with fewer ingredients, get creative with their pantry staples, and add playful twists to familiar classics.

All the signature Ottolenghi touches fans love are here--big flavors, veggie-forward appeal, diverse influences--but are distilled to maximize ease and creative versatility. These dishes pack all the punch and edge you expect from Ottolenghi, using what you've got to hand--that last can of chickpeas or bag of frozen peas--without extra trips to the grocery store. Humble ingredients and crowd-pleasing recipes abound, including All-the-Herbs Dumplings with Caramelized Onions, Mac and Cheese with Za'atar Pesto, Cacio e Pepe Chickpeas, and Crispy Spaghetti and Chicken.

With accessible recipe features like MIYO (Make It Your Own) that encourage ingredient swaps and a whimsical, lighthearted spirit, the fresh voices of the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen will deliver kitchen confidence and joyful inspiration to new and old fans alike.

“Every recipe offers full-on flavour: bold and vivid in the way we have come to recognise as distinctly Ottolenghian” —Nigella Lawson

MY REVIEW: "Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love: Recipes to Unlock the Secrets of Your Pantry, Fridge, and Freezer: A Cookbook", by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi, was born of necessity from the challenges of cooking during the food shortages and uncertainties of a global pandemic. Nurtured with love, and strengthened and supported by the "skills and solutions" of the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Team, this collection of 85 Middle Eastern-inspired recipes, cooking insights, and kitchen wisdom will elevate humble ingredients into memorable meals prepared with comforting ease. Beginning with basics such as hummus and pita bread, you will also find sections featuring legumes and grains, vegetables, meat, seafood, and dairy, nuts and seeds, vegan fare, and veggie and non-veggie mains. The desserts are tempting and varied. Beautiful color photos showing cooking techniques and finished dishes are interspersed with cooking tips and helpful hints. The three recipes I tried: "Cheesy Polenta and Tomato Sauce"--familiar, favorite flavors combined for a satisfying veggie main (can also be served as a side dish); "One-Pan Crispy Spaghetti and Chicken"--everyone loved this dish; and "Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies"--packed with all the good stuff you want in a cookie, and then sandwiched together with an indulgent cream cheese filling. The Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Team obviously had a lot of fun putting together this cookbook, and you will have just much fun reading the book and cooking up some wonderful food.

Disclosure: "I've received a free copy from Clarkson Potter in exchange for a free and unbiased review."

 

Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad

 

About the Author

 

The Ottolenghi Test Kitchen includes Yotam Ottolenghi, the seven-time New York Times bestselling cookbook author; Noor Murad, crowned the queen of Middle Eastern feasts; Verena Lochmuller, the human search engine to every baking question; Tara Wigley, the in-house word wizard; Chaya Pugh, who adds heaped spoonfuls of spicy personality to the brew; and Gitai Fisher, the man who keeps everyone in check while making sure they stay out of trouble.

Yotam Ottolenghi is the restaurateur and chef-patron of the four London-based Ottolenghi delis, as well as the NOPI and ROVI restaurants. His cookbooks have sold over seven million copies worldwide. Amongst several prizes, Ottolenghi Simple won the National Book Award and was selected as a best book of the year by the New York Times. Yotam is a weekly columnist for the Saturday Guardian and a regular contributor to the New York Times. His championing of vegetables, as well as ingredients once seen as "exotic," has led to what some call "the Ottolenghi effect": meals full of color, flavor, bounty, and sunshine. Yotam lives in London with his family.
 
Noor Murad is a Bahraini-born chef whose international work experience eventually brought her to the Ottolenghi family in 2016. She developed recipes for the books Falastin and Ottolenghi Flavor, as well as for Ottolenghi's MasterClass series and other online Ottolenghi publications. Her Bahraini roots have a strong influence on her cooking, with Arabic, Persian, and Indian flavors making a prominent appearance in her recipes. 

 

https://ottolenghi.co.uk/about-us