But this is Ottelenghi and in a bizarre way it sort of goes with the territory. Unusual and non conformist. Just like the food. Yotam Ottelenghi and his partner Sami Tamini were both born in Jerusalem but from opposite sides of the tracks. Sami from the Arab east side and Yotam the Jewish west; but their fateful meeting in 1999 in London of all places, became the launch pad for creative cooking that is Ottolenghi today. It is an outrageous fusion of middle eastern flavours and large dollops of western influences that create highly original dishes that place spectacular demands on your palate. The salads are extraordinary. The sweets delicious. And the breads, outstanding. You wont be in there long, but you’ll enjoy every mouthful.

So you can imagine my delight when I discovered that the magic of Ottelenghi is now written down for all of us to enjoy. Almost like the tablets of Moses, Ottelinghi’s book of recipes lays down the laws for family feasting (well under the circumstances, it seems perfectly appropriate to use such a biblical reference). There is much to discover here, and the sublime photography in the book provides a perfect canvas to reflect the glorious colours in the recipes.

So where does the magic start? In the basic ingredients that are the building blocks of all of their dishes; Sea Salt, Garlic, Lemon, Olive Oil, Fresh Coriander, Mint, Yoghurt, Pomegranates, Tahini, Sumac and Za’atar (mid eatern herbs and spices available in many supermarkets), Maple Syrup, Stock, Feta Cheese, Sweet Potatoes and Passion fruit. So, armed with all these essential ingredients you can begin your own exploration through Ottolenghi’s world.

The book itself is divided up in to four chapters. First the vegetables, pulses and grains that fuel the mighty signature salads; peaches and speck with orange blossom, fennel and feta with pomegranate and sumac, or even char grilled asparagus, courgettes and manouri. to name but three. There are some fine soups in there like grilled aubergine and lemon and Jerusalem artichoke and rocket and some wonderful root recipes including roasted red and golden beetroot and crushed new potato with horseradish and sorrel and my personal favourite, cauliflower and cumin fritters with lime yoghurt.

The magic continues into the next chapter covering lamb, beef, pork, poultry, fish and shellfish. Here are all manner of exotic delicacies including oxtail stew with pumpkin and cinnamon, harissa marinated chicken with red grapefruit salad, fried scallops with saffron potatoes, asparagus and samphire and one I can personally vouch for, meatballs baked in tahini.

The third chapter deals with baking and patisserie and a visit to any of the five restaurants will provide ample evidence of the sheer variety of Ottolenghi baking options. There’s bread and savoury pastries including focaccia with three different toppings, parmesan and poppy biscuits or butternut, carrot and goat’s cheese tartlets; a mouth-watering variety of meringues and macaroons, and a generous spread of tarts cakes biscuits. Check out the plum, marzipan and cinnamon muffins and the white chocolate and raspberry tarts.

The final chapter entitled Larder, is a useful guide to preparing ingredients like tahini or jams, crumble and various pastries.

This is a book that lifts the lid on the magic of Ottolenghi and allows you the chance to create dishes that will be fresh, daring and different. Trust me, you’ll be the envy of all your friends, just don’t tell them the secret!