Is Nopi home cook friendly?
We’ve had some questions from customers about the new cookbook from Ottolenghi, all of which boil down to just one main concern: Is Nopi home cook friendly? Our resident foodie Chris Gordon investigates.
If you are considering purchasing Nopi, the lush new cookbook from Yotam Ottlenghi and Ramael Scully, I already know you are one of two types of people.
Either: 1. You are a qualified chef, or 2. You are, like me, an armchair traveller cook. If you’re of the latter variety, you’re well aware of The Book’s power to transport you anywhere in the world, even as you reside in the comfort of your own worn couch and trackie daks. Cookbooks are especially ideal for such journeys; Nopi, for example, takes us over the seas to London, and into the famous restaurant which inspired this cookbook’s recipes.
I’ve heard from my colleagues that some of you have some doubts about whether Nopi is going to be too hard for us home cooks. I’m with you my friends. However, as with most cookbooks, this one can be tackled with a simple four-step plan.
Here it is, with my notes along the way.
Step one: I invited my friends to a dinner party.
A dinner party is different to asking your mates over for a bite to eat. For a dinner party, you will be creating an experience. The table will be set and the cloth napkins folded, just so.
Step two: I selected my menu.
Do not be frightened by the recipe headings; remember that it’s fashionable to deconstruct every ingredient now. For example you might decide to start with ‘Chargrilled asparagus with romesco sauce and apple balsamic’ (pg. 18). Or, what I like to describe as ‘Barbequed asparagus with a fancy Italian tomato sauce’.
Step three: I gathered my ingredients together.
Ottolenghi has a penchant for obscure ingredients. Luckily, here in Melbourne we have many markets to supply our needs. It was at one such market that I purchased the right truffle oil, the appropriate goat’s cheese, the exact cut of meat and the ripest of berries. I did spend quite a lot of money. Still, fellow armchair traveller cooks, this is cheaper than a return fare to London.
Step four: I cooked.
This meal took me around 6 hours to cook. I only cried once though.
Here’s the menu I devised for my dinner party…
- ‘Coriander and ginger martini’ (pg. 292): Serve this one as soon as your friends arrive as this will help cover any mistakes you may have made further down the line.
- ‘Pea soup with rolled goats cheese croutons’ (pg. 33): This recipe was easy to make, although my croutons looked suspiciously like pale insipid logs.
- ‘Butterbean mash with rosemary and garlic’ (pg. 84): Easypeasy.
- ‘Baby carrots and parmesan with truffle vinaigrette’ (pg. 79): Also easy (though it’s also expensive) and as a bonus, it sounds so impressive.
- ‘Lamb rump with vanilla, braised chicory and sorrel pesto’ (pg. 155): The hardest part of this dish was slicing the meat thinly, but having now consumed it I can confirm it was worth every drop of sweat.
- ‘Strawberry and rose mess’ (pg. 284): It is true I brought the sorbet and the meringues, but by that stage of the evening no one even asked if I had made it.
And if I can go from making ANZAC biscuits one day, to successfully pulling off this menu the next then I have confidence you can too.
