Jamie vs Ottolenghi: new cookbooks from celebrity chefs

JAMIE OLIVER, 49

Born in Clavering, Essex, UK, where his parents owned a gastropub, The Cricketers.

Married to Juliette (Jules), they have five children and live on a 28ha Essex property

Oliver is the most recognisable chef in the world

Simply Jamie, his latest publication, is the 28th cookbook in the Jamie Oliver Collection. His first, The Naked Chef, was published in 1999. He is the second best-selling author behind JK Rowling in the UK and the best selling British nonfiction author.

Beyond cookbooks he’s famous for his “Feed Me Better” campaign, a move to get British schoolchildren eating healthier food.

Oliver’s Fifteen story began in 2002 when he launched a restaurant by the same name in London, filling the kitchen with unqualified young people in need of a second chance and the story played out in a popular TV series.

His foray into Italian restauranting kicked off in 2008 when together with friend and mentor chef Gennaro Contaldo, Jamie’s Italian opened in Oxford with branches throughout the UK. The empire collapsed in 2019 leaving a huge debt. But he is never one to give up, and the Jamie Oliver Catherine St restaurant opened its doors in London in November 2023.

In 2023 he was honoured with a MBE (Member of the British Empire) for his contribution to the hospitality industry.

He may be a famous chef and cookbook author but is well known for his unique lingo with words such as: pakka (authentic/delicious), tukka (food), epic (good/delicious), banter (teasing, playful conversation with friends), taking the piss (tease or mock someone), crack on (continue to do something), mates (friends), bonkers (mad or crazy), proper (the real/authentic thing).

Simply Jamie by Jamie Oliver (Penguin Random House)

Rating: 7/10

I'm a huge fan of Jamie Oliver and had the opportunity to meet him in London in 2002 when he was just starting out. I have a groaning collection of his cookbooks which I treasure and use often.

His latest cookbook is just what it is, simple. The recipes are easy, the ingredient lists are accessible with nothing too exotic, yet the mere mention of his name when placing a JO on the table makes people light up. No matter what it is, everyone just loves his take on food.

For me the latest JO cookbook lacks his magic touch or the fun food ideas and beautiful colourful images of his previous best-sellers. That said it’s just as simple as the title and inspiration for tough economic times the world over where food prices are rising steeply. He features some good ideas using canned foods, some quick and easy ideas. There are loads of meatless options and one has to give it to the chef for reading the current trend as it’s a way more down-to-earth publication than his previous cookbooks. What he does do is show how dining in can be just as good as dining out, and his yummy smash burger is a great example of how a homemade burger can measure up to a takeout at a fraction of the price, plus you have the joy of making your own.

SMASH BURGER

When only a burger will do. This Smash & Cook method will have you covered for a fast filthy fix.

Serves 1

12 minutes

¼ of a small onion

125g beef mince

5ml (1 tsp) Cajun seasoning

1 burger bun

tomato ketchup

2 gherkins

American mustard, to serve

1 tomato

1 handful of mixed salad leaves

1. Peel the onion, very finely slice into rounds, then break into rings and cook in a large non-stick frying pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes, stirring regularly, then push to one side of the pan.

2. Squash the minced meat into a rough pattie about ½cm thick and a bit bigger than your bun and place in the pan. Season with black pepper and the Cajun seasoning, then move the onion rings on top and use a spatula to smash the onions into the meat.

3. Cook for two minutes on each side, or until gnarly and cooked through, toasting the halve bun alongside for a minute.

4. Spread the bun base with ketchup, sit the burger on top, slice and layer over one gherkin, squeeze over mustard to your liking and pop the lid on.

5. Slice the tomato and remaining gherkin to serve on the side with the salad leaves, or stuff it all into your bun, the choice is yours.

YOTAM ASSAF OTTOLENGHI, 56

Israeli born British chef, acclaimed restaurateur, food writer and cookbook author. The name Ottolenghi comes from the Italianised name of Ettlingen, a state in Germany where Jews were expelled in the 15th and 16th century.

Married to Karl Allen in 2012, they have two sons and live in Camden, London

Ottolenghi is famous for bringing to the culinary world his Middle Eastern style of cooking, his prodigious exciting use of vegetables without feeling vegetarian and his use of exotic ingredients that have become more freely available. 

Ottolenghi has a bachelor’s degree and Masters in comparative literature. He relocated to London to study French pastry at Le Cordon Bleu and thereafter worked in three London restaurants.

In 2002 he opened Ottolenghi Notting Hill a restaurant/deli with his friend and co-owner Sami Tamimi, an empire which has grown tonine delis famous for their buffet spreads and restaurants in and around London. 

Ottolenghi: The Cookbook was his first cookbook published with Sami Tamimi in 2008 and he has gone on to author 10 more cookbooks, his more recent series are a collection of cookbooks including his latest Ottolenghi Comfort a collaboration with cooks/chefs put together in the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen.

Ottolenghi has won many awards for his food writing, most recent was the James Beard Award “Cooking from a Professional Point of View” for Nopi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully from their acclaimed London restaurant of the same name.

Ottolenghi is famous for introducing cooks to using Middle Eastern and other exotic ingredients and it is one of the reasons they have become more easily available on our supermarket shelves. Here are some of the those he has made famous through his food writing: 

Black limes — sun dried lime that has lost all its water content and crushed, used as a spice in Middle Eastern dishes

Gochujang — Gochu is Korean for chilli and jang is a fermented paste and sauce.

Nigella seeds — tiny jet black seeds from the nigella plant used as a spice in Indian, Middle Eastern and north African cuisines.

Pomegranate Molasses — a syrup made from concentrated pomegranate juice and sugar used in both savoury and sweet dishes

Sumac — Tiny dried fruit seeds that have a tang of lemon

Za’atar — Middle Eastern herb blend used in bread baking 

Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley

Ebury press

Rating: 9/10

Another compilation from the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen featuring a beautiful modern design with brilliant colourful graphics and gorgeous pictures, which are captivating and bang on trend. The food styling and pictures make you want to dive into the feasts and get one cooking as all the Ottolenghi cookbooks do to me. There are lots of mouth-watering veggie ideas that make me, the carnivore, feel ever so virtuous because not eating meat but salivating of greens made so good. Think aubergine omelette and a savoury puffed up pancake baked with oven roasted tomatoes. Yum. I enjoyed the format of the book, like a restaurant menu breaking it down into sections peppered with step by step images to help in the making and glorious helicopter spreads of crowds around a huge table tucking into a selection of dishes featured in the book.

This dish is of dinner party standard, but a great supper, yet so simple to put together. Add a salad, some crust bread and you have a meal of gourmet standards.

PUTTANESCA-STYLE SALMON TRAYBAKE

Serves 4

If you make the tomato anchovy oil a day ahead, you can then delight in the fact that a midweek supper can be on the table within 20 minutes. The fuss-free cooking method — all had the traybake — plus the dialled-up flavours — all hail puttanesca — makes such a winning combination;

200g fine green beans, trimmed

6 spring onions, cut widthways into thirds

6 salmon fillets, skin on, about 720g (or use other firm fish fillets of choice)

Salt and black pepper

Tomato anchovy oil

85ml (1/3 cup) olive oil

8 anchovies, finely chopped

2½ tbsp tomato paste

5ml (1 tsp) chilli flakes

10ml (2 tsp) coriander seeds, lightly bashed in a mortar

8 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced

2 preserved lemons, flesh and pips discarded, skin finely chopped

10ml (2 tsp) maple syrup

Salsa

60g pitted Kalamata olives, halves

60g capers, roughly chopped 

1 preserved lemon, flesh and pips discarded, skin thinly sliced

10g basil leaves, roughly chopped

10g parsley leaves, roughly chopped

30ml (2 tbs) olive oil

10ml (2 tsp) lemon juice

1. First make the tomato anchovy oil. Put the oil, anchovies and tomato paste into a small sauté pan and place on a medium heat. Once the mixture starts to simmer, cook for five minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the chilli flakes and coriander seeds and cook for another minute, until fragrant. Remove from the heat and add the garlic, preserved lemon and maple syrup. Stir to combine, then set aside to cool.

2. Preheat oven to 220°C fan. Place the beans, spring onions and tomatoes on a large, parchment-lined baking tray. Drizzle over three tablespoons of the tomato anchovy oil, along with ¼ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Toss to combine and place in the oven for 12—13 minutes, until the beans and tomatoes are starting to soften and taking on a little colour.

3. Meanwhile, arrange the salmon fillets on a plate and, using a spoon, drizzle the remaining tomato anchovy oil (as well as all the solids) evenly over the fillets. Once the beans and tomatoes have had their time in the oven, nestle the salmon fillets among them and bake for a further eight minutes. Set aside for five minutes, out of the oven, to rest.

4. While the salmon is baking, mix all the ingredients for the salsa in a small bowl and season with a good grind of pepper. Spoon half the salsa over the salmon and serve the fish warm (or at room temperature, which works just as well), with the rest of the salsa in a bowl on the side.