Penguin Random House is thrilled to announce a new series of OTTOLENGHI TEST KITCHEN books for the busy home cook. All the signature Ottolenghi touches are here – big flavours, veggie-forward dishes, diverse influences – but are distilled to maximise ease and versatility.
The #OTK books will share the Test Kitchen’s tried-and-tested recipes, with ways to tweak and modify them using whatever ingredients you have to hand. Designed in an interactive notebook style, they feature suggestions to adapt, spaces to write notes, and free-flowing Insta-inspired photography.
The first book, OTTOLENGHI TEST KITCHEN: SHELF LOVE, from Yotam Ottolenghi, Noor Murad and the OTK family, will be published on 30th September 2021.
The two-book deal, for world all languages excluding the US, was completed by Ebury MD Joel Rickett and Ebury Press Publishing Director Lizzy Gray with Felicity Rubinstein (Lutyens & Rubinstein Agency). US rights went to Aaron Wehner at Clarkson Potter (Penguin Random House US), and Canadian rights to Robert McCullough at Appetite by Random House (Penguin Random House Canada), both via Kim Witherspoon at Inkwell.
Whether they’re conjuring up new recipes or cooking for themselves at home, the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen team do what we all do: they raid their kitchens. But then they turn whatever they find into approachable, uplifting creations with an ‘Ottolenghi’ twist. This series was inspired by the OTK team’s own experience in lockdown, when we’ve all been standing in front of our kitchen shelves, cupboards and fridges, wondering what to cook with what we’ve got; how to put a can of chickpeas or a bag of frozen peas to good use, instead of taking an extra trip to the shops.
These dishes pack all the punch and edge we expect from Ottolenghi, but with more flexibility to make them our own. There’s the ultimate guide to creamy dreamy hummus, a one-pan route to confit tandoori chickpeas and a not-your-average tomato salad. Packed with tips to get ahead and for switching things up, this is Ottolenghi stripped back, fuelled by the classic Middle Eastern flavours we all love. The #OTK team bring a shared following in their own right of 1.8 million followers on Instagram.
For the first time, the Test Kitchen team welcome us into their creative space. Stunningly designed by Caz Hildebrand with photography from Elena Heatherwick, the format will be as special as the concepts: notebook-style flexibinds with sections to adapt and spaces to scribble on.
Yotam Ottolenghi says, ‘Recent times have created an incredible interest in home cooking (check out Instagram!). Everyone is looking for inventive ways to use much-loved, everyday pantry ingredients to spice up their long days at home. The first OTK cookbook, spearheaded by the very- clever Noor Murad, embraces this challenge with open arms and even wider open cupboard doors. The team here had been busy putting jars of chickpeas to good use, turning bags of frozen peas into Middle-Eastern spreads and simply being creative with whatever they can lay their hands on. The result, I am proud to say, is a collection of very-Ottolenghi recipes, for everyone.’
Noor Murad says, ‘The book was born out of a kitchen raid in which recent times had us (the OTK team) stripping down our pantries, fridges and freezers to create accessible, inspired recipes that very much carry the Ottolenghi ethos. We encourage you to take this book as a notebook, to scribble and take notes on, taking each recipe as a rough guideline and making all the swaps to make these dishes your own – all the while keeping your ovens on and your spirits high.’
OTTOLENGHI TEST KITCHEN: SHELF LOVE (£25 flexibound) publishes on 30th September 2021, edited by Yotam Ottolenghi alongside Noor Murad with recipes from Ixta Belfrage and Verena Lochmuller. The second in autumn 2022 is OTTOLENGHI TEST KITCHEN: STOCK IT UP. This will be all about building up your fridge, freezer and cupboard staples – prepping ahead, reinventing the familiar and cooking flexibly across the week. Each recipe or feast will feature a marinade, dressing, spice mix, salsa, paste, pastry or crumble, to transform future meals.
Joel Rickett, Ebury MD, adds: ‘The #OTK team have helped the world through lockdown by showing us how to make amazing food with whatever we can find in our kitchens. We’re beyond excited about this new creative direction for Ottolenghi, which will sit perfectly alongside Yotam’s standalone books and appeal to a huge audience. What better way to follow the groundbreaking OTTOLENGHI SIMPLE and last autumn’s OTTOLENGHI FLAVOUR, which has dominated bestseller charts around the world.’
‘Ottolenghi’s test kitchen under a railway arch, where he and his team conjure up new recipes, has always felt like my version of Dahl’s chocolate factory, and its spirit inhabits Ottolenghi’s Instagram account. At a time when everyone and their pug is doing Insta-cookalongs, his is still something special.’
Marina O’Loughlin, Sunday Times
Yotam Ottolenghi: A Life in Flavour – UK Tour
Fans will get an exclusive opportunity to hear directly from Ottolenghi himself about his life in flavour, and find inspiration for their own cooking at the Yotam Ottolenghi: A Life in Flavour Tour this September. Yotam will be visiting Nottingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Oxford, Kingston, York and London between the 9th – 28th September 2021.
Tickets and further information available here