This seminal cookbook is a lover letter to the flavors of the city that chefs (and colleagues) Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi remember from their respective childhoods, a city with a “tapestry of cuisines”. Dishes are complex and vibrant - try Lemony Leek Meatballs or Sweet Filo Cigars. There is a chapter on stuffing - a favorite of ours is the Lamb-stuffed Quince with Pomegranate and Coriander.

Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi are the men behind the bestselling Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. Their chain of restaurants is famous for its innovative flavours, stylish design and superb cooking.

At the heart of Yotam and Sami's food is a shared home city: Jerusalem. Both were born there in the same year, Sami on the Arab east side and Yotam in the Jewish west. Nearly 30 years later they met in London, and discovered they shared a language, a history, and a love of great food.

Jerusalem sets 100 of Yotam and Sami's inspired, accessible recipes within the cultural and religious melting pot of this diverse city. With culinary influences coming from its Muslim, Jewish, Arab, Christian and Armenian communities and with a Mediterranean climate, the range of ingredients and styles is stunning. From recipes for soups (spicy frikkeh soup with meatballs), meat and fish (chicken with caramelized onion and cardamom rice, sea bream with harissa and rose), vegetables and salads (spicy beetroot, leek and walnut salad), pulses and grains (saffron rice with barberries and pistachios), to cakes and desserts (clementine and almond syrup cake), there is something new for everyone to discover.

Packed with beautiful recipes and with gorgeous photography throughout, Jerusalem showcases sumptuous Ottolenghi dishes in a dazzling setting.

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Features & Stories

Author profile: The legend that is Yotam Ottolenghi

Three well-loved titles from Yotam Ottolenghi are now available on ckbk via our new à la carte feature. To mark the occasion, we take stock of Ottolenghi’s incredible influence on the world of food, and get to the hearty of what makes his cookbooks so universally compelling.

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Michelle Peters-Jones

Food writer

What can I say about this book that hasn't been said before? This is one of the best used books in my kitchen and I love that all of the recipes can be easily adapted to suit the tastes of my family. It's one of those cookbooks that is both inspirational and practical, in that it inspires your own twists on those classic recipes, but you can also follow the recipes as they are, if you're in a hurry or you just want a foolproof recipe that works every time. Shout outs for Plenty, Plenty More and Ottolenghi the Cookbook too.

Jenny Whitham and Margaret Carter

Specialist food producer

This book was given to Margaret by her daughter after a conversation with her eyes rolling to the back of her head in despair as we told her about this new chef we were working with, a chap called Otyo-Lenghi. 'OMG' she said 'I love eating at his restaurant and cooking his food' 'Really?' We said, 'is he famous?' If you don't watch TV it takes quite a while for new food trends to reach North Wales which is something that was quite apparent when we first started selling pâté here back in 1982.

Genevieve Taylor

Food writer and stylist

Another book that gives me really itchy feet. Not only is it full of interesting colourful recipes you get a real feel of a place and its often turbulent history. Its a reminder not only that food can be unifying but occasionally divisive too - who knew that hummus caused such arguments? I also love the photos, a gorgeous mix of tasty looking food and brilliant portraits of local people and places.

Sophie Tyrrell

Head chef, 69 Highbury Hill

Fabulous flavours very precisely worked out. Lots of ingredients and some recipes take a bit of time to prepare but it's worth it. When your taste buds need reviving cook from this book. We regularly eat Mejadra , Fish and caper kebabs with burnt aubergine and lemon pickle, lamb meatballs with barberries, braised Quail with apricots and slow cooked veal with prunes and leek (the family favourite).

Caroline Kenyon

Founder/Director of The Food Awards Company

I love the premise of this book which is about the huge coming together of different cultures in Jerusalem. It is visually stunning and one of those books where I am panting from one recipe to another wondering which one to cook first. That he is an Israeli Jew and his business partner an Israeli Arab beautifully exemplifies the unifying nature of food.

Johanna Mendelson Forman

Adjunct Professor in International Affairs

This beautiful cookbook contains some of the tastiest recipes reflecting the borderless nature of cuisine in the Middle East. Of all of Ottolenghi’s cookbooks, this volume has a depth of wisdom, a plethora of good and easy recipes, and a deep sense of place. It is my go-to for such dishes as chicken with clementines!

Sarah Chamberlain

Food writer

Everything I’ve made from this has been delicious, from the weeknight-friendly (chermoula aubergines with bulgur salad) to the dinner party showstoppers (lamb shawarma) to the sweet treats (the wonderful, wonderful spice cookies). If I were only allowed to have one Ottolenghi cookbook, it would be this one.

Kate Young

Blogger and cookbook author

This book is a fascinating commentary on the power of food to unite cultures and people. Ottolenghi introduced me to so many things I had never tasted before, and changed the way I approach new ingredients. I turn to this book regularly, mostly for meat and salad inspiration during summer.

Ally-Jane Grossan

Food Blogger

Ottolenghi is the master of vegetables and this book is full of them. Grab some za'tar and sumac (there's a lot of them in this book) and cook your way through this fascinating regional cuisine. His essay on the politics and tradition of hummus is astonishing as is the recipe that follows.

Rebecca Seal

Food and drink writer and TV presenter

Choosing between Yotam's books is like trying to choose between children - I love them all. This one perhaps inches ahead because (as the author of books which aspire to this style) I love cookbooks which are firmly rooted in the places that their recipes evolved in.

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