Recipes

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This turkey, dark and intense from its chilli paste, makes a dramatic Thanksgiving focal point. You can make the paste up to three days in advance and keep in a sealed container in the fridge. This goes really well with the charred braised beans and roast carrots.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This works well as a part of a mezze-style spread of salads, or as a side for fish or chicken. The pickled onions keep in the fridge for a good week, so it’s worth making double to ensure you have plenty left over: a spoonful is a welcome addition to all sorts of salads or piled into a cheese sandwich.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This salad-cum-salsa works as well alongside roast chicken or any white fish as it does with the lamb. It’s also great served just as it is, as a fresh, light lunch, ideally with some crusty bread. Replace the anchovies with capers, if you prefer.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is loosely based on the Middle Eastern red pepper dip muhamarra. The addition of feta makes it creamy and more complex, and I amplify this even further with chopped fresh lemon and olive salsa. It’s delightfully not for the faint-hearted. Serve with bread or crudite, as a starter or as part of a meze spread.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

These roast potatoes might just disappear before they even reach the dinner table. With a golden crunch on the outside and a fluffiness within, they’re tossed in a vibrant green sauce, soaking up its tangy notes while maintaining their delightful crunch. And when drizzled with tahini sauce, they take on a creamy richness.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

If possible, use perfectly ripe peaches for this; if you can’t get any, add a few tablespoons of water to the pan when roasting the fruit. If you can’t get fresh makrut lime leaves, don’t substitute them with freeze-dried ones: the finely shaved skin of one lime (about six strips) is a much better alternative.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This almost all-in-one recipe is a great centrepiece for the Easter table. The potatoes and fennel absorb all of the lamb juices greedily, which makes them extremely flavourful and nearly more the stars of the show than the lamb. Get ahead by marinating the lamb and prepping all the veg the day before. Just make sure to bring the lamb to room temperature at least one hour before roasting.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Discovering a new way to roast a chicken – the ultimate home cooking comfort food – always feels like a joy. Serve this with those roasted carrots (see page 106) or any other root veg. Some buttered Savoy cabbage is also a lovely accompaniment.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Every home cook needs a few good tomato pasta recipes up their sleeve. Especially if they need to satisfy those little eaters. There's a lot of flavour going on in the sausage sauce, so leave out the pesto if you prefer: the dish works beautifully topped with pecorino shavings instead.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Think of this as a savoury baked cheesecake, only not as rich. It's brilliantly light, in fact, and would make a wholesome lunch with a leafy salad. To give it a little extra oomph, fold in some grated potent goat's cheese along with the onion.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

These are essentially deconstructed mashed potatoes. Ricing the spuds with the butter and cream, rather than mashing them, makes them light and airy, and gives you a completely different experience. And get everything ready first, because you need to work very quickly once the potatoes are cooked.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Feel free to make this your own by swapping the red rice for a different rice or grain, or by using whatever mix of mushrooms or leafy green you can get your hands on.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Red lentil soup is one of our cold weather favourites. Many versions are smooth, ours has different consistencies from caramelised red onions, chopped rainbow chard, and coriander. Serve with some crusty bread and a green salad, if you like.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Crunchy red cabbage meets hibiscus-pickled onions, with their sharp tannic tang weaving through the bowl. A touch of pomegranate molasses brings sweetness, tying everything together into a bright, punchy slaw that sits happily alongside roasted or barbecued meats, fish or veggies.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Seasonality in winter doesn't have to mean sleep-inducing, stew-like, starchy casseroles. As a light alternative, this sweet-and-sour version of remoulade is a starting point for creatively playing with raw winter vegetables, especially now that their season is coming to an end. Try it with kohlrabi, beetroot, turnip or cabbage, too, or a combination. The main thing to remember is to slice or shred the veg very thinly (use a mandolin for the best results). Most soft herbs would suit, and don't forget acidity from citrus juice or vinegar to lighten it up.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Few things bring me more pleasure in the kitchen than taking a set of familiar ingredients and seeing them in a new light. It’s one of the many reasons I love aubergines: they’re so versatile and can be cooked in such different ways to yield such different results. Serve the stew either as a hearty starter or a side, or else as a main, served with any grain you like. The stew can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in the fridge – just warm through and add the oil, chilli flakes and oregano before serving.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Yes, there’s a long list of ingredients here, but we're ready to be extra-kind and allow you to adapt the recipe, to use commercial Thai curry paste instead of having to schlep and get all the individual items. This ‘dry’ variation of a green curry makes one of the most satisfying supper dishes for the late winter and early months of spring.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Winter squash are best for this soup: their consistency is firm and their flavour has a depth which is similar to sweet potatoes. You can also make it with summer squash (of which pumpkin is one): the flesh will just be a bit more fibrous and watery. You can make both the soup and pumpkin seeds in advance, if you like: the soup will keep in the fridge for 3 days, or can be frozen for up to 1 month, and the pumpkin seeds will keep well in a dry, sealed container for a good week.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

We believe a dish can comfort with familiarity and delight with surprise. This surprise might come from sumac on scrambled eggs or sweet-sour barberries in a frittata or salad. But the ultimate flavour bomb is preserved lemon skin, chopped or sliced. It pairs well with oily fish, grilled meats, or roasted vegetables. Experiment with it, but beware—it’s addictive. We store ours in Kilner jars, which are easy to find. Once you start, you'll always have a batch ready. The preserving process takes weeks, but preserved lemons have boundless potential.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

We aren’t the first to combine lemon, garlic and chicken – and we won’t be the last – but sometimes it’s good to be reminded that the classics are classics for a reason. Roasting a chicken is the ultimate simple dish: it’s easy, and quick, fills the house with delicious smells and everyone loves the result. You can prep the chicken 4–5 hours in advance if you like, and then just place it in the oven when ready to cook.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Think potato dauphinoise meets quiche, wrapped up in pastry. When asked why she created this pie, Verena responded, ‘I like pastry, I like potatoes and I like cheese, need I say more?’ That answers that, then. This rich and creamy pie is the perfect portable picnic food. It is quite generous, but rest assured that leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 2 days. Just bring it back up to room temperature before eating, or heat in the oven if you prefer it warm.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Here, eggs are baked nestled inside a giant rösti with a crisp bottom, giving you a perfect brunch combination. Try to stick to ½cm batons for the vegetables and not grate them, because you won’t get the crispness you’re after. You can do this with a sharp knife or, more conveniently, a mandoline or a food processor with the appropriate attachment. Be sure to source a good-quality gochujang (a fermented Korean red pepper paste), because they’re much punchier than most supermarket brands.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

It’s hard to describe the unique flavour of black garlic in comparison to its sharp and pungent raw form, but it’s sort of like a balsamic-­liquorice­-flavoured jelly baby, if such a thing existed. Here it’s transformed into a dramatic-looking puree, which elevates this spring salad to wonderful heights.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Pot barley takes longer to cook than pearl, but an overnight soak in water will speed things along. It's a robust grain that, if overcooked, won't collapse but will become more tender. This recipe is like rice pudding with texture, for those who don't mind using their teeth to eat pudding. It's also totally delicious.