SIMPLE TOO IS HERE

Life is getting more and more complicated. And yet… in my kitchen, it’s almost the opposite.

It’s thrilling to finally say it out loud: The lemon is back!

Eight years after SIMPLE, it’s time for SIMPLE TOO.

This book - coming out this fall (you can pre-order here) - has been quietly bubbling away for a few years now (four, if we’re counting).

Now we’re sitting with the final proofs and my amazing co-author, Verena Lochmuller, and I have been seeing clear themes, new and old: beans (lots of them!) simply dressed, butter or oil infused with aromatics, black chickpeas, whole meals cooked in one tray start-to-finish, way less washing up, many more sesame seeds, meatballs, za’atar, grilled veg cooling down in vinaigrette, pasta cooking in its sauce, sweet and spicy, sweet and sour, sweet and sweet. There’s just so much.

When we started writing the book, we knew we didn’t want to reinvent SIMPLE, and yet we really wanted to tell the story of what simple means now.

SIMPLE was about flavour without fuss - about making cooking achievable, whatever simple meant to you. SIMPLE TOO picks up where that left off, but with a new awareness of how we’re all actually living: juggling phones, gym, a lengthy commute, and a to-do list that never seems to shrink.

So we asked ourselves: how do you cook when your brain is split between a podcast, a WhatsApp group, and a child’s maths homework? How do you find pleasure in the process when you’re already tired before you’ve begun?

Our answer was to make recipes that work with you, not against you - dishes you can start with half a plan and end with a proper meal.

We also added a new section of Fundamentals. Fifteen recipes for the small things that make big differences - spring onion oil, green salsa, za’atar oil, confit tomatoes, chilli crisp. They will sit in your fridge and salute you every time you open the door because you made them; there to save you on a weeknight when you have nothing and no ideas and no energy left.

Finally, I’d like to finish with two recipes for you to try making. Both are strong contenders for the book. Secretly, we already have one stronger candidate in mind, but we would still love to hear your thoughts, so please share them.

Enjoy,

Yotam

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Butternut “parmigiana”

This take on a classic parmigiana doesn’t have aubergines - it even misses the parmesan! - but it does have the advantage of being made in a fraction of the time and assembled in one tray.

Serves 4
Prep 20 min
Cook 50 min

Ingredients
1 large butternut squash (about 1.3kg), unpeeled, halved lengthways and deseeded
105ml olive oil
4-5 plum tomatoes, grated and skins discarded (380g)
1 tbsp tomato paste
⅛ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground cumin
⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp caster sugar
25g panko breadcrumbs
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp za’atar
4 sprigs oregano, plus a few leaves for garnish
125g taleggio (or brie or mozzarella), thinly sliced
Fine sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C.

2. Cut each squash half into 3 long wedges and arrange them in a large roasting tray. Rub all over with 2 tablespoons of oil, ½ teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Bake for about 35 minutes, until browned and cooked through.

3. In a small bowl mix together the tomato, tomato paste, spices, 3 tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons of water, ½ teaspoon salt and sugar. Set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the panko, garlic, ½ teaspoon za’atar and 1 tablespoon of oil.

5. Remove the squash from the oven and pour the tomato sauce around the squash and nestle in the sprigs of oregano. Lay the cheese evenly over the squash, sprinkle with the panko mixture and drizzle over the remaining tablespoon of oil. Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes, until golden and bubbly. Sprinkle over the remaining za’atar and oregano leaves and serve.

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Green bean, potato and egg salad

This is a kind of vegetarian nicoise. Make in advance and take to a picnic, or enjoy as part of a larger lunch spread.

Serves 4 as a side
Prep 15 min
Cook 20 min

Ingredients
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
½ banana shallot, peeled and finely sliced into 2mm rings
400g fine green beans, trimmed
15g basil, picked and finely chopped
15g parsley, picked and finely chopped
2 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
2 tbsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
1 waxy potato, yukon gold or similar (270g), peeled, quartered and cut into 5mm slices
4 large eggs, fridge cold
2 tbsp pitted black olives, roughly torn
1 tsp za’atar
Fine sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Mix the shallots with the vinegar in a small bowl and set aside to pickle.

2. Place a medium saucepan of well salted water over a high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the beans and cook for 4 minutes until tender, then remove with a slotted spoon (keeping the water in the pan) and transfer to a bowl. Cool under running water, then strain and roughly chop. Transfer back into the dry bowl and mix with the herbs, capers, mustard, oil and a good grind of pepper. Set aside.

3. Next cook the potatoes for 6 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon, allowing any liquid to steam off, then gently mix into the beans, along with the vinegar from the shallot mixture, leaving the shallots separate.

4. Boil the eggs for 7 minutes, then run under cold water, peel and halve.

5. To serve, spread the bean mixture on a large plate, top with the eggs, olives and pickled shallots, and sprinkle the za’atar on top.