Yotam Ottolenghi
I have been following Yotam Ottolenghi for years. My first exposure to him was through one of his cookbooks gifted to me by my son. is an Israeli-born British chef, restaurateur, and food writer. Alongside Sami Tamimi, he is the co-owner of nine delis and restaurants in London and the author of several bestselling cookbooks, including Ottolenghi: The Cookbook (2008), Plenty (2010), Jerusalem (2012), Plenty More (2014), Simple (2018) and most recently Comfort (2024). Though not completely plantbased he is plant forward in his cooking approach. What I like even better and why I gravitate to his recipes is the way he combines ingredients and his unique blending of herbs and spices which are so different from my American palate. Yes, all of his recipes may have non plant based ingredients or contain oil. But most of us have found workarounds for those. Sauteing with vegetable stock or replacing dairy yogurt with plant based yogurt. Since becoming a plant based eater I revel in new recipes and ingredients. I am always on the lookout for ingredients and techniques to enhance flavor in my dishes. What herb, what technique can I use to make my dishes more flavorful? This is where Yotam comes into the mix. Years ago you had to special order obscure herbs and spices. I am lucky enough to live near some great supermarkets and I am able to find harissa or sumac. I have begun to toast and grind my herbs/spices. This extra step infuses so much flavor into dishes it is so worth the extra effort. I share one of his recipes that I hope you find as wonderful as I do using fall root vegetables.
