Cookbook Club with Ottolenghi and a Giveaway

This past weekend, I hosted the third iteration of the Cookbook Club I run with Jan from Family Bites and Mardi from eat.live.travel.write. Our dinner was filled with recipes from Ottolenghi’s first cookbook. Enjoying an entire meal with recipes from one same chef is really a fantastic experience. I often tend not to follow recipes that closely so this has been a real exercise in discipline and I love how much of a feel you get for a cookbook author when you enjoy an entire meal made from his/her recipes.

There are no beverages in Ottolenghi’s cookbook so I concocted a Cardamom and Sage Mango Spritzer that I thought would go well with the meal.

As for the food, here’s what we tasted: our appetizer was a Fennel and Cherry Tomato Crumble Gratin, a unusual and totally delicious mix of sweet and salty with a creamy fennel and thyme base and a sweet, crumbly topping. I loved it (you can find the recipe here).

FennelGratin

We then moved on to the main course for which I made Ottolenghi’s Roast Chicken with Saffron, Hazelnuts and Honey ( a super flavourful saffron, onion and lemon marinated chicken topped with hazelnuts, rose water and honey) which I paired with Couscous with Butternut Squash and Dried Apricots, It was a nice comforting winter meal. The only addition I wished for was a little more sauce on the chicken but all the flavours were otherwise fantastic.

HazelnutChicken

And finally, for dessert, we had Toffee Brownies, which were incredibly indulgent (they are made with both jam and toffee!). Although delicious, they were a little on the heavy side for all of our palates, and would probably make better bite-size treats. The recipe also suggests that banana jam can be used in these brownies. I’ve never tasted banana jam but now I know what’s next on my to-try list!

ToffeeBrownies

All and all, the meal was delicious, and made all the better by enjoying it with a couple of true food-lovers.

And now for a special giveaway! Random House Canada has kindly provided me with a copy of Ottolenghi to send to a lucky reader. To enter the contest, comment on this post and let me know if you’re ever tried an Ottolenghi recipe and if so, which one. You can enter the contest twice by adding a comment on my Facebook page as well. The contest is open to Canadian residents only, and will run until February 28th, at midnight. For another chance at winning the book, make sure to check out Jan‘s and Mardi‘s blog.Good luck!

Neha

February 12, 2014 at 10:21 pm (11 years ago)

I’ve never tried any of Ottolenghi’s recipes, but would love to! Thanks for the giveaway!!

Dana

February 13, 2014 at 12:16 am (11 years ago)

shakshuka

Andrea

February 13, 2014 at 1:11 am (11 years ago)

Never tried any Ottolenghi recipes but am dying to try them!! 🙂

Tracey

February 13, 2014 at 4:40 am (11 years ago)

Your meal sounds delicious especially Ottolenghi’s Roast Chicken with Saffron, Hazelnuts and Honey. I have never tried an Ottolenghi recipe but I hope to soon!

Blair

February 13, 2014 at 8:39 am (11 years ago)

I’ve never tried one of their recipes, but I love to cook and they look amazing!

Jessica

February 13, 2014 at 9:41 am (11 years ago)

I’ve made a couple including chickpea, spinach and sweet potato but then the book was due back to the library. It is a truly amazing book.

SallyBR

February 13, 2014 at 9:43 am (11 years ago)

Please no need to enter me in the giveaway because I already have that amazing cookbook, but I just wanted to say I loved the recipes in this post, although I can imagine the brownies being a bit over the top. Banana jam… now that’s something I look forward to trying!

ikkinlala

February 13, 2014 at 9:52 am (11 years ago)

I haven’t tried an Ottolenghi recipe yet, but I definitely want to – some of them look so good!

Frances

February 13, 2014 at 9:54 am (11 years ago)

I haven’t tried any, but I just took Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem out from the library and would really like to try something from that book. This one looks great too.

Sarah @ Kiwi & Bean

February 13, 2014 at 10:04 am (11 years ago)

Sounds like a great meal! I’ve tried a few recipes from Plenty, including the one pictured on the cover, which to be honest I didn’t love. Yikes. Time to try more…

Sarah H.P.

February 13, 2014 at 10:44 am (11 years ago)

I’ve never tried an Ottolenghi recipe but I would certainly love to!

Deidre

February 13, 2014 at 12:34 pm (11 years ago)

I have tried the cover recipe (available on-line) from the book . I made it for a New’s Eve Party — it was wonderful. Thanks for the chance to win a copy!

yummychunklet

February 13, 2014 at 1:41 pm (11 years ago)

Everything looks very delicious.

Dreena

February 13, 2014 at 5:32 pm (11 years ago)

No, I’ve not tried any Ottolenghi recipes before; I’d like to.
Thanks.

Liz

February 13, 2014 at 8:47 pm (11 years ago)

Wow, what a feast! I’d have to start with those spectacular toffee bars 🙂

Nicole

February 14, 2014 at 12:23 am (11 years ago)

I have never tried any of his recipes but they look and sound delish!

Angele

February 14, 2014 at 9:27 am (11 years ago)

This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try the gratin!

Jen

February 14, 2014 at 4:38 pm (11 years ago)

I have tried Ottolenghi’s spicy black pepper tofu and LOVED it! I’m looking forward to trying more of his recipes. Your cookbook dinner club is a great idea, makes me want to start one.

Steph

February 14, 2014 at 5:00 pm (11 years ago)

I’ve never tried any Ottolenghi recipes, and based on your photos, I can tell this is a wrong that needs to be made right.

The couscous I bet would make a fantastic next day lunch. I think I’d make big batches of it and take it with me in tupperware.