Recipes

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This chocolate mousse will be the ideal ending to your Easter Sunday feast. It can be made up to two days ahead and kept tucked away in the fridge until ready to serve (just whip the cream up on the day of serving).

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This chicken soup is full of surprising umami notes thanks to the Parmesan rind, and is made even more unctuous with the addition of yoghurt. It can be made a few days in advance up until the pasta is added.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is inspired by a Greek set custard dessert called galaktoboureko made with fine semolina. The spiced peach syrup adds a festive touch. You can make both elements the day before and store them separately, ready for a quick assemble just before serving.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is a play on a traditional Levantine pumpkin kibbeh, where lemony greens are stuffed into a shell of crispy bulgur and pumpkin. This open-faced version makes a great vegan centrepiece.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

You can’t get much more than this tender chicken by way of comfort and pure deliciousness. My favourite bit, though, is the orzo pasta, which drinks in all the chicken juices. Serve this with your favourite savoury chilli sauce, if you like.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is a super simple one dish chicken bake. The recipe is inspired by Turkish Arap Koftesi, (Turkish bulgur koftes), which are usually fried and served in cucumber yoghurt and brown butter. Get ahead by marinating the chicken and making the bulgur dumplings the night before. If you can’t find fine bulgur, then feel free to use instant couscous, adding a tablespoon less water to cook.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is one of those meals you can leave to simmer in the oven while you get on with other things (don't we all need more of these in our lives?). The black chickpeas absorb the warmth of baharat as they cook, with olives adding a briney saltiness and orange slices melting into the sauce. Serve with yoghurt swirled through (or a plant-based alternative to keep it vegan) alongside rice or flatbreads. It's just as delicious hot from the oven as at room temperature, and actually improves with a few days spent in the fridge.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

The garlic butter is the star of this dish, combining mellow, slow-roasted garlic, sweet black garlic and pungent raw garlic. The recipe will make more butter than you’ll need for the flatbreads, but it keeps for up to a week in the fridge and is great spread on toast, melted over steak or stuffed into chicken kievs.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

A cross between a fish finger taco and some sort of tempura wrap. The seaweed flakes and fish seem to be a match made in heaven (the sea?). Once you’ve made it once, you WILL make it again. And again. The tartar sauce can also be doubled up and kept in the fridge for up to a week.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Mushrooms take centre stage here. We’ve used three varieties for roasting, but feel free to use whatever you can find—just ensure they add up to 630g. Be sure to use rolled oats, not porridge oats, as they make all the difference.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This classic Levantine dip can be made in a food processor, but it will lose some of its lovely texture; I'd use a pestle and mortar, if you can. Muhammara keeps well and even improves after a day in the fridge; just don't serve it fridge-cold.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Sweet

Named after the snowy mountain they resemble, Mont Blanc tarts – with their white meringue, whipped cream and tan-coloured chestnut purée – can often taste more fabulous than they look. We wanted to see if we could improve their visual appeal – bring in some more contrast by playing around with the colours, for example – but we were beginning to run out of ideas. But then, at one of our weekly pastry meetings, Helen and Yotam both grabbed an empty shell, filled it with the chestnut spread, spooned over smooth whipped cream and added the element that had been missing – the candied pecans – which brought the crunch and the look needed. There’s a metaphor in there, we’re sure, about climbing mountains, and not giving up, and things tasting all the sweeter when you’ve had to work just that little bit harder to earn them.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

The miso pesto gives this, otherwise classic, pasta dish a delicious umami depth and a hint of sweetness. Simple and quick to put together for a satisfying mid week meal! Feel free to use a different pasta shape, something fairly small like orecchiette, and cook according to the packet instructions.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Though tasting pretty decadent, these pears are surprisingly easy to make. The miso, butter and spices meld together in the oven to create a delicious sauce for the pears - a perfect topping for pancakes (vegan or other), porridge or French toast.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is a twist on a Persian classic that uses smokey burnt aubergines and tomatoes as a base in which eggs are gently set, much like a scramble. Our aubergine and tomato sauce makes this a quick recipe to put together and the urfa brings a gentle heat and quick smokiness. Serve this as an indulgent breakfast or as a side.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Sweet

A three-layered bar with a shortbread bottom, halva in the middle, and a glossy tahini caramel on top. This was a winning combination just waiting to happen. And happen it did, thanks to Paulina Bembel, our head pastry chef. Paulina, who comes from Poland, skilfully uses our Middle Eastern favourites – tahini and halva – to transform the famously cloying millionaire’s shortbread into something so much better, with a slight bitterness and a touch of salt to offset all that sweetness.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This quiche, in canapé form, was one of the most popular items on our catering menu at Ottolenghi a couple of years ago. The combination of a sharp blue cheese alongside the intense sweetness of membrillo creates a wonderfully satisfying drama in the mouth. It’s the one-stop answer to Christmas meals for vegetarians.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

In Malaysia, street food is served in big, open-air complexes. Various stalls prepare cheap, cheerful and incredibly delicious dishes of Malay, Chinese or Indian cuisines. All you need to do is choose. Since everything is so tempting, you often end up with a table piled with delicacies and no stomach capacity. The attraction in this type of dining is that it is both fresh and complex. Many dishes are prepared from raw in front of your eyes, using great ingredients, making it far superior to many western solutions for quick food. This Malay dish takes only a few minutes to make (once you get a little bit of prep out of the way) and is unique in its many layers and depth of flavours.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Although turkey is more frequently associated with a sweet red relish, we serve it here with a lemony sauce of herbs and cumin. It is enormously popular around Christmas and Thanksgiving, as it is both traditional and original. The same sauce would work very well with lamb. You can serve this dish either warm or at room temperature.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

The earthiness of the mushrooms goes perfectly with the chickpeas and tahini. Serve on top of hummus but also perfect on a thick slice of toast or just on it's own.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

These spiced chicken thighs are my kind of barbecue food. All you need alongside are some flatbreads, a green salad and the chakalaka above. If you can, ideally marinate the chicken a day ahead, then cover and chill. An hour before cooking, take it out of the fridge to bring it back to room temperature. I’ve provided instructions for cooking the thighs first on a griddle pan and then in the oven, for when the weather isn’t barbecue-friendly. Just make sure to open the windows and ventilate your kitchen well.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

A classic, easy, one-pot mac ‘n’ cheese, loaded up with broccoli and cabbage because, well, we need some greens to balance all this cheese. The cheese of choice here is Comté (although Gruyère or even a classic cheddar will work wonders too). Comté adds an extra nuttiness, as well as a bit of funk, which marries well with the greens. Great for all ages, best enjoyed with a finishing splash of Tabasco for adults.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Sweet

This is inspired by (but completely different to!) the ‘Louise’ cake: a hugely popular tea time treat in New Zealand. More of a slice than a cake, it’s traditionally made with a thin cakey bottom, a spread of raspberry jam in the middle and a thin layer of coconut meringue on top. We’ve kept the layers theme but rung a lot of changes.