4.11.2013

new FAVORITE cookbook :: Jerusalem


When our friends arrived (Jann, of course!) for Easter they had this beautiful cookbook in tow as a gift... (you will make serious and quick friends if YOU bring this as a hostess gift, just a suggestion!). They said that they have been cooking from this book for months now and LOVE it. I quickly dipped into the book and decided that OUR Easter brunch was going to follow Jerusalem!

I got maybe ten pages into the book and already had the meal plan (imagine if I would have made it through the WHOLE book, we could have fed the NEIGHBORHOOD!). We were doing brunch so we made:

Baby Spinach Salad with Dates & Almonds
Shakshuka
Pureed Beets with Yogurt & Za'atar
Turkey & Zucchini Burgers (which we made as meatballs) with green onion & cumin
(there is a beautiful sauce with this one!)

Our favorite part was trying to make each of the dishes look like the beautiful photos in the book! The recipes are simple, while you might think you don't have many of the ingredients, I am sure you will find them - we did in our small town! But Jann did bring the za'atar and some other spices. I am SO mad at myself for not taking photos... but honestly people ate everything SO fast it was gone, and the raves... DELICIOUS!

get the book - Jerusalem a Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

the beet puree has such a beautiful color... I DID take a photo!