Jerusalem: A Cookbook, and why cookbooks still matter

Why do we still bother with cookbooks? It is a question I am asked from time to time, and one I know Gary wishes I would revisit. They take up space, and most of the content is readily available online. Will a dash of history and culture make the meal that more flavorful? Can a physical collection of recipes inspire community in a way a website never will? Does the tactile experience of a book in your hands and on your kitchen counter impact the outcome of the recipe? Every once in a while, a cookbook comes along that reaffirms our faith: cookbooks still matter.

photo by jenn kosar

So why does everybody love the Jerusalem Cookbook?

Jerusalem: A Cookbook, is the perfect example of why we bother with cookbooks. From the first beautiful photograph of the city, you know this is more than a collection of delicious recipes, curated for the purpose of introducing a foreign cook to the cuisine of another culture. Done well, as Jerusalem has, a good cookbook transports you to another place, and even another time. By providing context — the history and personality of the region, the personal anecdotes and stories behind the recipes — we are given more than instructions. We are taught something about a world beyond our kitchens.

Jerusalem has, with remarkable staying power, reinvigorated a sense of cooking as community.  First published in 2012, it is still receiving fresh, rave reviews on Amazon. Its release is credited by The New York Times, at least in part, for the growth of Cookbook Clubs, many of whom are still featuring it as their monthly selection. It joins the ranks of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and The Silver Palate Cookbook for conjuring up the home cook’s desire to “cook their way through it”, i.e., to cook every recipe in the book. This time, social media fuels the fire, with entire Facebook groups and Instagram hashtags devoted to bringing together fans of the recipes from all corners of the world.

photo by jenn kosar

What kind of food does the Jerusalem Cookbook cover?

Jerusalem: A Cookbook is the product of the relationship of the now well-known Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, chefs and business partners from opposite sides of the divided Israel.  At the time of Jerusalem’s release, Ottolenghi and Tamimi, though successful restaurateurs, had hardly cracked celebrity chef status, making the rapid success of the book even more impressive. Neither has lived in Israel for decades, as both now reside in London. Why does their country of residence matter? In my view, their distance from the region provides two critical ingredients to this cookbook’s rapid success. First, they know what appeals to western cooks. While Jerusalem will certainly expand your horizons, it does so in an approachable way. The recipes balance the familiar (hummus, falafel, eggplant, chicken) with the exploratory (shakshuka with homemade harissa, conchigle with hot yogurt sauce, pistachio soup).

Second, they were less bound to the traditional definition of Israeli food, a source of some criticism from the Israeli food community. The authors are straightforward on this point, noting in the introduction that the recipes are a mix of pure tradition, adaptations, and loose inspirations. They don’t claim to cover all of the city’s food, “or even substantial numbers” of it, “nor all of its communities”, reminding us outright that this is downright impossible and better addressed by others with greater first-hand expertise. Rather, they aim to introduce us to the spirit of the place. To give us a sense of their home, its passion, its energy, and yes, its eccentricities, food and otherwise.

photo by jenn kosar

The food of Jerusalem, perhaps more so than any other place I can bring to mind, is the tapestry of its history. The people who call Jerusalem home trace their geographic, and therefore culinary, roots to Greece, Russia, Poland, Tunisia, Libya, France, Britain, Romania, Germany, and Lithuania. The list goes on: Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Ethiopia, Argentina, India, Uzbekistan. Not to mention the countless Americans and Europeans who now make this city their home and influence modern culinary trends. This melting pot could create the absence of local cuisine, but Yotam and Sami’s thesis is that it does quite the opposite. The common elements threading these cultures together — chopped cucumbers and tomatoes, stuffed vegetables with rice or meat, extensive use of lemon and olives — combined with the natural use of locally available ingredients, establishes and defines the food of Jerusalem. Those threads, not surprisingly, appear throughout the recipes.

Is the Jerusalem Cookbook easy enough for a home cook?

Let’s get to my review, stepping through this beautiful book from the beginning. While I love the introductory sections of the book, the cookbook is missing some key elements usually found in the beginning that I, as a home cook, really appreciate. There is a notable absence of recipes listed in the table of contents. In my view, this makes inspiration a little harder to come by. Fortunately, the index is organized principally by key ingredient and/or general dish type (soup, salad, etc.) rather than recipe title, making it more useful. The downside: if you are unfamiliar with the cuisine, you won’t necessarily “find” the more exploratory recipes in a quick scan. For example, “burekas”, a savory cheese-filled flaky pastry, are listed as a separate entry. If you know they are filled with ricotta you will also find them there, but that’s not an easy source of inspiration to try new things.

The recipes are divided into sections loosely by main ingredient, translated roughly into course. Nearly a quarter of the book is dedicated to the first section, Vegetables (although not strictly vegetarian), followed by Beans & Grains and Soups. These collectively are generally starters or light meals. Next section up is the aptly named “Stuffed”, featuring the recipes of the city’s subcultures that share that common culinary thread of stuffing something with something. Usually, it is a vegetable stuffed with seasoned rice and ground meat. Sometimes “stuffed” is a loose definition, like the Open Kibbeh, a nontraditional layered savory cake of bulgur, ground meat, spices and pine nuts that I could gobble up in one sitting.

photo by jenn kosar

Next up, “Meat”. Sticking with western approachability, there is a lot of roasted chicken with local vegetables. And of course, meatballs. We loved the lamb meatballs with barberries, yogurt, and herbs, executed easily with a simple swap of cranberries.  Mostly sweet, a little sour, they are a wonderful way to introduce the whole family to another world of cooking (what kid doesn’t like meatballs with a side of yogurt?). There is a “Fish” section, but just a few recipes, because Jerusalem is a landlocked desert.  These recipes are particularly strong examples of the city’s global culinary infusions, as fish is hardly native. The pan-fried sea bass with harissa and rose conjures up Middle Eastern and African flavors with the addition of sweet cinnamon, honey and rose to balance the heat of the harissa. Do not miss the story of “keeping kosher” from Yotam’s youth, filled with contraband pizza and secret lobster-drenched evenings.

Jerusalem is rounded out with Savory Pastries, Sweets & Desserts, and Condiments. The last section is filled with simple recipes to make these critical additions to your recipes from scratch. I will now always have homemade harissa on hand. The labneh was as easy as it gets, albeit reminiscent of a school science project. Local friends looking for an easier route can check out Hummus Boss. He is usually found at local farmers markets (but is currently on what is hopefully a brief medical leave) selling handmade labneh and other mediterranean goodies. If I recall the story correctly, the labneh is his mom’s secret recipe.

photo by jenn kosar

The Jerusalem recipes are well constructed with easy to follow instructions and helpful tips for dealing with less familiar or hard-to-find ingredients. You won’t find instructional photos, but plenty of beautiful photography to contemplate while enjoying your finished meal. I appreciate that the authors note suggested “serve with” recipes as well as optional variations. While I would not suggest Jerusalem to a novice cook, there is no significant assumption of technique or ingredient knowledge here. I therefore would suggest it as a good step up for a beginner looking to move beyond the basics in a guided manner. My only complaint, and this will not bother everyone, is the ingredients are mostly measured in weight (and metric at that). American volume equivalents are generally provided in the ingredient list, but there was some occasional Googling required mid-preparation for confirmation.

photo by jenn kosar

What are the best recipes in the Jerusalem cookbook?

The Shakshuka was the hands-down winner. Full disclosure: I did not stick to the exact recipe, but Yotam and Sami actually encourage playing around with the ingredients on this one. I swapped some of the fresh tomatoes for red peppers, as tomatoes are at their all-time flavor low in the winter of my recipe testing. I went all in with homemade labneh and harissa to accompany this brunch star, and it was well worth the moderate level of extra effort.

The runner up (only for its condiment status) was the hummus. It seems unfair to call it “basic hummus”, as once you have Ottolenghi’s version, you will refer to the grocery store counterpart as basic. Homemade is not hard, and definitely worth it for the surprising depth of lush flavor and velvety consistency I had never before experienced. The accompanying lamb kawarma was a bit of a letdown. I chalk that up to my insistence on using the exact cut of lamb meat called for in the recipe (neck fillet).  I suspect what I got from my new favorite butcher (John’s Meat Market in Scotch Plains, NJ) is not exactly what Yotam and Sami were contemplating texturally. Next time, I may just use an alternate cut of lamb, as the flavors were at once deeply meaty and savory yet bright and tangy, thanks to the lemon sauce.

photo by jenn kosar

Do I need special ingredients to cook from the Jerusalem Cookbook?

Some ingredients will be challenging. I am fortunate to live and work in an area where ethnic grocery stores and food resources abound, so while I probably could have found everything without substitutions, it would have been logistically annoying.  I am still not sure I will ever find a kohlrabi (some sort of a cabbage). Jerusalem probably would have benefited from a discussion on pantry staples (ingredients common in recipes throughout the cookbook) given that some are not typical in the American kitchen. I’ll help you out: in addition to fresh items you might not routinely buy that you will now (ground lamb, feta cheese, pomegranates, chiles, banana shallots), you will want to have the following on hand:

• Spice cabinet: allspice, sumac, za’atar, turmeric, saffron threads, cardamom pods, whole cumin and coriander seeds
• Oils, vinegars and condiments: tahini paste, tamarind paste, sunflower oil, date syrup, pomegranate molasses, preserved lemons
• Dry ingredients: pine nuts, pistachios, superfine sugar, bulgur wheat, pearl barley, basmati rice, dried chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans)

(note: this is not an exhaustive list and was compiled based on what was “unusual” from the perspective of my own pantry. I don’t do a lot of baking, but the ingredients, unless listed above, seemed like things someone who did would have on hand.)

photo by jenn kosar

should I buy the Jerusalem Cookbook?

I highly recommend Jerusalem: A Cookbook. As The New York Times said in 2013, “some books just manage to fit into their time.” I obviously enjoyed the food, the recipes, and the beautiful photography. The tactile experience transported me to another place and time at every turn. If the mark of a good cookbook is whether it accomplishes what you believe it has set out to do, I am left with little doubt that Yotam and Sami have achieved their goal. My perspective on the food of the region has grown. Perhaps more importantly, I now believe that food may be a neutral, yet powerful starting point for a modern discussion on “ownership” of anything — a favorite recipe, land, an idea. Indeed, Jerusalem: A Cookbook accomplishes far more that you might expect from a simple collection of recipes. And for that, it is certainly worth your attention.

photo by jenn kosar

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You can find Jerusalem: A Cookbook at your favorite bookseller. Links to it and other cookbooks mentioned throughout are to Amazon, where I receive a small (really small) commission if you should decide to purchase. Do it for the convenience if you must, otherwise support your local bookseller, for without your support, we will no longer have those lovely spots to browse cookbooks (and other books) on a quiet afternoon, coffee in hand. My personal favorite is words bookstore in Maplewood, NJ.

Interested in more cookbooks from Yotam Ottolenghi? Vegetarian recipes from the Ottolenghi restaurants were first offered to home cooks in Plenty.  Jerusalem’s popularity sparked the American release of 140 recipes from across his four restaurants, including cakes and breads, in Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. The most recent publication is focused on desserts with Sweet: Desserts from London’s Ottolenghi.

Interested in what I’m reading next? Follow my manuals board on Pinterest for a glimpse of my cookbook shelf and the books on my wishlist.