Proof of the pudding is in the eating. That’s what I did with Orli’s recipes -A book review

Cook In Israel: Home Cooking Inspiration

By Orli Ziv

Photographs by Katherine Martinelli

Hardcover 245 pages $35.00

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Reviewed by Judy Shapiro 

I like this cookbook. It's both a beautiful book and one which is pleasant to read and whose directions are clear and easy to follow. Every recipe on the left page has a full-page photograph of the finished product on the right page, and a few recipes even have photos of the process of creation.

"Don't judge a book by its cover," I was taught, so before writing this review, I tried a few of the 100 recipes and tasted them, as "proof of the pudding is in the eating." I was not disappointed.

A clinical nutritionist for many years, Orly Ziv formed her company, Cook in Israel, in 2009, giving culinary tours around Israel and cooking classes in her home in Ramat Hasharon. Orly believes "that one of the best ways to learn about a place and its people is through the food they eat." Her Mediterranean and Middle Eastern meals are filled with the flavors and colors of Israeli food and include both unique and familiar recipes for all Jewish holidays.

The idea for the cookbook was initiated by Orly's three children who encouraged her to write it. Not having any of her Sephardic-Greek mother's and grandmother's recipes written down, Orly decided to leave a culinary inheritance to her family by presenting them with a book of recipes and memories of the flavors of home. They include meals with the "international spirit of Israeli cuisine". 

The book is arranged in a homey sort of way. The photographer, who wrote the foreward, spent many hours at Orly's house and writes that she became part of the family. Orly herself wrote the introduction and a short biography including her cooking philosophy: improvise and switch vegetables, herbs and spices. "There is no such thing as failure in the kitchen, only learning experiences." Use healthy ingredients: base your meals on fruits and vegetables, fish, grains, legumes and olive oil. Don't be intimidated; make your own salad dressings, dough and bread from scratch.

Orly includes tips and tricks, "nuggets of wisdom", that she has learned in her many years in the kitchen to make cooking as easy as possible. The recipes are healthy, natural and very much homemade. All are kosher and almost all are vegetarian. These are recipes her family knows and loves, and she is sure that you will too.