They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but sometimes a cover, with so little, says it all. A lemon. Not a realistic or detailed one, but the minimal yellow silhouette of a lemon in the center of a white, clean, elegant cover. A single gesture that suggests everything: acidity, freshness, color, simplicity.

That's Simple Cooking, the book by Yotam Ottolenghi.
A cookbook that is also a way of seeing life: cooking as an act of pause, as an intimate moment, as a choice to care (for others and oneself) through taste and attention.

Ottolenghi doesn’t write recipes. He creates scenes.
You imagine him speaking to you with patience, as someone who knows what they're doing but is in no hurry. He tells you what to turn on first, what to cut next, when to prepare the sauce. As if he were beside you, with hands in the dough and heart on the table.

The structure of the book is designed with a very specific key:
S.I.M.P.L.E. Each letter represents a way of cooking:
S: Sophisticated but easy
I: Important pantry staples
M: More is less
P: Procrastination (the good kind: dishes that cook themselves)
L: Made ahead
E: Express

This is not just a visual resource, it's an invitation to find your own way of cooking without stress, without endless lists, without sacrificing flavor.

Among my favorite recipes there's one I always repeat: Warm cherry tomatoes over cold yogurt. The texture, the contrast of temperatures, the fragrance of the spices, za'atar, sumac, a touch of chili, and the vibrant color of the dish on the table make it a simple and memorable gesture.

It's not just about what to cook, but for whom. Who sits at the table, what we want to share, how to transform something everyday into a valuable moment.

Because, as Ottolenghi says, there are many ways to cook without complicating things. And they all have something in common: the desire to do things with love, even if it's with what we have on hand.

That too is living the experience.