Renowned Chef Yotam Ottolenghi Bringing His 'SIMPLE' Philosophy To Chino Farm

I'm Maureen Cavanagh. Internationally renowned chef Yotam Ottolenghi when asked about his food philosophy has answered I want drama in my mouth. But apparently some of his popular cookbooks were also causing some drama in the kitchen as readers struggled with page long ingredient lists the tastes may have been remarkable but the preparation too daunting for some home cooks. Now Ottolenghi has removed those obstacles with a new cookbook featuring recipes made in 30 minutes or less with 10 or fewer ingredients in a single pot or prepared ahead of time. The new cookbook is called simple and chef Ottolenghi joins me now by Skype. Chef welcome to the program. Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. How can home cooks achieve the same kind of incredible international flavors you're famous for with fewer ingredients. Well I guess it depends on the recipe they're cooking and how it ventures they want to be in the book I've tried to assemble put together recipes that really have something but something special going on and that is how I use ingredients that I love using like Harris like preserve lemons like pomegranate molasses things like Zatanna or sumach. So those are kind of flavor bombs that really give a lot of intense flavors in it to inject flavors into dishes and those are the things that I like to use so even if there is maybe slightly fewer ingredients you'd find my regular recipes are still quite a lot out there. And if you if you follow the recipes and you cook with all those dishes you'll see that yeah you do get those flavors. Now in the introduction to the book you describe different people's ideas of what it means to prepare a simple meal. What are some of those ideas. Well what I was trying aiming at is that more simple for me is not necessarily what is simple for use. People have different ideas what what it is to cook easily in the kitchen. So I've spoken to various people about the subject was I was quite intrigued. And people said different things some people said I want to something that I can cook within half an hour. Other people said it was something that I could prepare well advance even a day ahead. So when people come over and I feed them it's all just ready to be tossed together or heated up. So I'd like to cook without going shopping so I like to cook for my pantry for my cover and kitchen cupboard. So all those different ideas about simple cooking I tried to explain in the book but each recipe what kind of simple cook it works for so if you're make ahead kind of person. Then there are recipes that work for you. Certain for instance certain roast vegetable dishes you can roast all the vegetables in advance and then toss them with the dressing at the very last minute. If you're if you are someone who wants to cook very quickly or you and your time sensitive and then there will be an indication that we'll say Ash s short on time if someone was to go to a cupboard will say paid for pantry so these indicate how easy it is. Can it can be for you to cook easily. Assuming you were you're that kind of of of Cook now it is simple your new cookbook you have what you called Ottolenghi ingredients ingredients like sumac Zander the black garlic preserved lemons. What is it about those ingredients that make you come back to them again and again. Well it is that they really managed to kind of turn the whole dish on its head if you like. So yes something like preserved lemon it's a lemon but it's so much more than that. So there's some acidity there and sharpness that we associate with lemons. But it also got a real sense strong aroma that comes from the maturing over time. That's also true for black garlic like garlic is essentially garlic that has matured over a couple of weeks and turned intensely black and almost licorice and flavor really is beautiful and sweet and lost most of the acrid flavor that you find in fresh garlic. So those ingredients are intense and beautiful and are offering more than what you'd think. One ingredient can give you. That's why I chose ten ingredients that I offer people I said to the readers if you buy those 10 ingredients you don't need to buy all of them but if you if you get them they're inexpensive. They would take the long way through this book. They'll enable you to cook quite a few of the recipes in this book and and really enjoy those intense intense flavors that people are looking for. Now you were born in Israel and you've spent most of your cooking and restaurant career in Britain. You're quoted as originally finding English food in comprehensible. That was the word. What was it about the food that was so strange to you. And how have you changed that. Well I think what I found really intriguing is that the balance of power on the plate. So there would have been tremendous amounts of meat and very little vege if any at all. If you don't count potatoes that age then you end up with really like meals that would have hardly any vegetables and someone who's grown up in the Middle East where we always had lots of vegetables in every meal you know chopped salad and something with lentils or other pulses roasted vegetables or salads of all kinds of types. It was really weird not to see all those vegetables represented on plates. I mean that was the main the main issue for me. And over the years I've been operating as a chef I'd say almost 20 years in Britain I've just tried to show people really not to convert anyone to into anything but just show how wonderful vegetables are and how much you can achieve with vegetables and I'm not talking about the traditional European ways of cooking vegetables and mostly boiling them but really doing all sorts of exciting things roasting them as spicing them and and grilling in a particular in a particular way. Those are all ways that make vegetables taste really really good and if anything change I think over the years is that people appreciate and enjoy vegetables much more than than they ever did. You think vegetables are kind of irony overlooked as delicious meals in and of themselves less or less so. But yeah this was the trend. I mean I think now nowadays you go to all sorts of places and you see that vegetables are at the top of menus and it's really very wonderful to see that. Even years ago you'd go to a top restaurant and at the very end of the meal it would be if the ever returned option which will be some kind of you know eggplant stack or some risotto or something. There was no imagination no enthusiasm for the poor vege and now I go to restaurants all over the world and all of a sudden the menu starts with the vegetables and people do wonderful things that seem like substantial and beautiful and and really kind of appreciative of the of the vegetables I think they were actually turning a corner in many in many ways with vegetables. Now you'll be in San Diego this weekend to sign copies of your book Simple. How is the new book being received. Oh my God it's being received so well I'm just you know I'm just completely bowled over by the reception that I'm getting. I mean this is the book. You know this book has got breakfast lunch dinner. It could be the for celebration you can cook desserts from it. Good got everything for everyone but it really things what how what it's like to cook this food. How much effort goes into it and tries to make the work a bit easier for you. The biggest compliment I got from a sister my sister was always a reluctant cook cook my recipes. Was not too complicated I've got three kids I've got to feed them got to go to work. I don't have time to cook your food. And when I told her about this book she said finally I'll be able to cook your recipes so getting this from my sister is a pretty good going for me. Chef Yotam Ottolenghi will be in North County's Chino farm on Saturday afternoon as part of chinos the good earth great chefs serious chefs. Thank you so much for your time.