Jerusalem-born chef Yotam Ottolenghi on his latest cookbook

YOTAM Ottolenghi is taking a very, very different tack with his latest cookbook - and he knows it. It's called Simple, and no, he's not being ironic. He's the man who's taken Middle Eastern cooking mainstream in Britain and single-handedly had us all knocking the seeds out of pomegranates with wooden spoons and stocking up on ruby jars of spicy harissa - and he knows what we all say about him behind his back: Why so many ingredients? Who the hell owns sumac? What even is black garlic? Why so many steps when we just want to eat?

Until fairly recently, simplicity just wasn't something the Israeli-British chef even considered in the kitchen. "It never crossed my mind," Ottolenghi confesses, with a good-natured laugh. "Recipes were always things that I cooked and made sense to me in a particular way; those kind of requirements (simplicity, easiness) were not something I was even thinking about."

Then a few years ago, The Guardian - who he writes a weekly column for - requested that he put together a series of simple, seasonal recipes for a supplement. Despite "scratching my head and thinking, 'Oh gosh, how do I do simple?'", the outcome was a success and became something of a series. Eventually, developing a whole cookbook of simple Ottolenghi recipes made sense.

Of course, some things don't change. In the introduction, you are knowingly urged to invest in ten 'Ottolenghi' ingredients, including rose harissa, black garlic, tahini and sumac. "It is a compromise between what is familiar to most cooks, and what is the 'Ottolenghi' worldview, which is slightly less familiar," explains the chef, 49. "So we meet somewhere in the middle with these recipes."

It means that, alongside za'atar, barberries and preserved lemons, Simple also features ingredients the everyday home is likely to already stock, like potatoes and pasta, although he "tried to think a little bit differently with them". So, an Ottolenghi jacket potato it turns out, comes stuffed with spinach, gorgonzola and walnuts, rather than a mound of beans and cheese, and his oven chips aren't crinkly, they're topped with oregano and feta.

What was crucial in writing this book was figuring out what people actually mean when they say 'easy' or 'simple'. "It really does vary from one person to another and from one occasion to another," says Ottolenghi. "Something you would perceive as simple or easy for a weekday, you could push it a little bit further on the weekend, when you can make slightly more effort; that's about time and peace of mind."

It's also a matter of what kind of cook you are. For instance: "Some people really love to have everything made in advance, and to just put it together at the very last minute, or defrost or warm up; while some people are very happy to cook fresh and serve it straightaway."

The different types of cooks are catered for in Simple, with recipes labelled accordingly, using the acronym: S - short on time, I - 10 ingredients or less, M - make ahead, P - pantry, L - lazy, E - easier than you think.

"In life, you have to be very flexible," he says, "otherwise it's just too hard."

Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi with Tara Wigley and Esme Howarth, photography by Jonathan Lovekin (Ebury Press, £25)

Charred tomatoes

(Serves four as a starter or mezze)

350g cherry tomatoes

3 tbsp olive oil

¾tsp cumin seeds

½tsp light brown sugar

3 garlic cloves, finely sliced

3 thyme sprigs

5g fresh oregano (3 sprigs left whole and the rest picked, to serve)

1 lemon halved (finely shave the skin of one half to get 3 strips, and finely grate the other half to get 1tsp zest)

350g extra thick Greek-style yoghurt (such as Total), fridge-cold

1tsp Urfa chilli flakes (or ½tsp regular chilli flakes)

Flaked sea salt and black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.

2. Place the tomatoes in a mixing bowl with the olive oil, cumin seeds, sugar, garlic, thyme, oregano sprigs, lemon strips, half a teaspoon of flaked salt and a good grind of pepper. Mix to combine, then transfer to a baking tray just large enough to fit all the tomatoes together snugly. Roast for 20 minutes, until the tomatoes are beginning to blister and the liquid is bubbling. Turn the oven to the grill setting and grill for six to eight minutes, until the tomatoes start to blacken on top.

3. While the tomatoes are roasting, combine the yoghurt with the grated lemon zest and a quarter of a teaspoon of flaked salt. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

4. Once the tomatoes are ready, spread the chilled yoghurt on a platter (with a lip) or in a wide, shallow bowl, creating a dip in it with the back of a spoon. Spoon over the hot tomatoes, along with their juices, lemon skin, garlic and herbs, and finish with the picked oregano and chilli flakes. Serve at once, with some bread.

Plum friand

"Serve with custard, vanilla ice cream or cream. The fruit can be played around with, depending on the season."

Ingredients

(Serves six, generously)

200g blackberries

4 ripe plums, stones removed, cut into 1cm wide wedges (360g)

1tsp vanilla extract

60g caster sugar

3 fresh bay leaves

1tsp ground cinnamon

60g plain flour

200g icing sugar, sifted

120g ground almonds

8tsp salt

150g egg whites (from 4-5 large eggs)

180g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1. Place the blackberries and plums in a bowl with the vanilla extract, sugar, bay leaves and half a teaspoon of cinnamon. Set aside for 30 minutes. Don't be tempted to leave them sitting around for longer than this, as the fruit will become too juicy.

2. Preheat the oven to 190°C fan.

3. Mix the flour, icing sugar, ground almonds, the remaininghalf a teaspoon cinnamon and salt in a separate large bowl. Set aside.

4. Lightly whisk the egg whites by hand for 30 seconds, so they just start to froth. Stir into the flour mixture, along with the melted butter, until combined.

5. Tip the batter into a 20 x 30cm parchment-lined baking dish and top evenly with the fruit and juices. Bake for 40 minutes, covering the dish with foil for the final 10 minutes, until the batter is golden-brown and the fruit is bubbling. Set aside for 10 minutes before serving.