I actually like Simple a lot (probably more than most Ottolenghi fans) because of the day-in, day-out nature of cooking for a family (especially after the grind of doing so during the pandemic). And I do love the Milk Street books, and rely on them a lot. Also going to throw in another name - Melissa Clark. Her Dinner cookbook is probably my most used book, with tons of dog eared pages and post it notes.
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Love the layout of Milk Strret books. Also Dinner In One is a favorite
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I think Simple may be the least rewarding / most diluted of the Ottolenghi books if you already have a full spice cabinet and are not daunted by a long list of ingredients.
The techniques in any of his books are not complicated, though he does tend to fuss it up for seemingly no reason (you’ll be able to cut through that).
ETA: I added a few links on the 20 years of Ottolenghi thread; this one may be of interest:
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I love some Ottolenghi recipes. But yeah, I think they can be overly fussy sometimes.
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These sound enticing!
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I have been enjoying Hannah Che’s Vegan Chinese Kitchen - a few favorites off the top of my head: Spicy Dry-fried Potato, steamed tofu skin with a bunch of toppings, multiple eggplant recipes.
Speaking of eggplant, my son expressed an interest in learning to make a few easy Indian-ish dishes he could cook at home. So naturally I checked out Indian-ish from the library. Amazingly, there are zero recipes in there for eggplant.
Bainghan bharta is always on my order!
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My vegetarian friends always order this at my nearby Indian restaurant. They rave …
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660 Curries has more if it’s available at your library.
Or here’s a good online collection of recipes.
(It’s interesting, Indian vegetarians have mixed feelings about eggplant – it’s considered too meat-like by some.)
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A vegetarian restaurant in my neighborhood has some kind of eggplant gyro that I’ve been told is very good. That must explain it.
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All of them are very good (with a exception of Simple - which I found too basic/simple). I think Plenty and Plenty More are great starting points for vegetarian dishes and Jerusalem for dishes which can also include meat/fish
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Ottolenghi’s cookbook, Simple, was a Chowhound Cookbook of the Month in 2019 when I was still participating in those. I cooked quite a few items and still have a list of “make someday” appealing-sounding recipes from the book, which I checked out of the library. We enjoyed the unusual flavor combinations but it took some shopping for ingredients not in my pantry.
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I would say that the first two on the Food52 List, Ottolenghi and Jerusalem, are my most used. The two Plentys also (both vegetarian) have some very good dishes too, Simple is on the shelf but Ive not cooked from it - I paged through it when I think it may have been a COTM but nothing struck me as special.
I really dont find the recipes fussy, mostly they are technically simple though ingredient filled and the flavors are mostly very much worth it.
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I’ve been watching this book too. Can’t stand an ebook unfortunately.
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That is interesting, did not know that! I have plenty of great Indian food recipes for 
but was surprised that Priya‘s book did not have a single one. But she was raised in a vegetarian household so perhaps that explains it
I don’t think her book is really representative of much (she has one chicken dish) 
(My mom’s vegetarian family loves eggplant and has plenty of dishes in their repertoire, my SIL’s family never cooked it, so it varies by region and by religion as well.)
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I just bought ”Six Seasons” and ”Holiday and Celebration Bread in 5 Minutes a Day”. They are both kindle deals today.
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I wasnt going to do it but then some bakers already posted their bakes from BAKING SNACKS by Yossy Arif so i pulled the trigger and then to get free shipping i bought SWEETER FROM THE VINE also by her. My collection grows
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Bread in five is very good
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Thanks for the tip on Six Seasons - just bought it!
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