Recipes

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Eat this zingy slaw al fresco, with a spicy curry alongside, though it’s also just as great on its own. Doubling up the turmeric cashews won’t hurt either; they’re super-duper special and will keep for up to a week in a sealed container (though we doubt they’ll last that long)

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is the lentil stoup (or perhaps it’s a stew?) I’ll be making again and again this winter - and not just because it keeps so well for batch cooking. Sweet fennel and nutty parmesan make the lentils feel even more comforting, and if you have a couple of parmesan rinds lying around, swap them in for the 20g piece for extra flavour. Serve it as is, or with chunks of rustic bread for dunking- either way, it’s nourishing, hearty, and super satisfying.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Dotting these bars with halved raspberries before baking gives them a dramatic appearance, but the berries do tend to weep into the curd the longer they sit, so I suggest doing this only if you are serving them on the day (and remember, they need four hours to chill). If you make the bars a day ahead, leave the raspberries out until the end and top the lemon bars just before serving.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

We've never been shy about our love for lemons. How to maximise the lemony-ness of a lemon cake, however, was where the ‘lemon-everything’ truly came to life: from a triple layered, lemon-syrup-soaked sponge, to fragrant burnt lemon powder and delicate dehydrated lemon pieces. This cake truly embraces our favourite citrus in every single one of its many forms. That being said, we recognise this cake as a weekend project - one to attempt when you have plenty of time, a cause for celebration, and many mouths to feed!

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

My previous life must have been somewhere in old Persia. I am absolutely convinced of this. I am completely infatuated by the richness of Persian cuisine, by its clever use of spices and herbs, by the ingenuity of its rice-making, by pomegranate, saffron and pistachios, by yoghurt, mint and dried limes. It seems that my palate is just naturally honed for this set of flavours. Unfortunately, I have never been able to travel to Iran but my love affair with its food has been abundantly fed in recent years by the inspirational books of Najmieh Batmanglij. These are where I go to for a peep into a sweet, yet forbidden, culinary world. This heart-warming thick soup, called ash-e reshteh, is the Iranian answer to minestrone. It is wonderfully wholesome and nourishing and leaves a real smile on your face. I found reshteh noodles at an Iranian grocer near me but linguine would do the job just as well. You can also dispense of the noodles all together if you like. There is plenty going on, body-wise, without.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Chances are you’ll have leftover Christmas cake for days to come…this is one of our favourite ways to use it up!

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Batbout is a stuffed flatbread - a semolina dough that puffs up when pan-fried, creating the perfect pocket for spiced lamb and leeks. The filling is full of Moroccan flavours (ras el hanout and lots of fresh coriander) and gets better if you make it a day ahead, to let the spices settle in. Use two pans to speed things up, and if you end up with extra filling, it's brilliant stuffed into flour tortillas later. Serve these hot with a squeeze of lemon or tahini sauce.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

The recipe for this Swedish classic comes courtesy of Eva Räng. It's comfort food taken to the extreme: purists spoon over loads of extra melted butter as they eat it with Swedish crispbread, a leafy salad and a glass of beer.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is the Middle Eastern equivalent of shepherd’s pie, with a tahini crust standing in for the layer of mashed potato. It’s a rich and comforting dish, making a star of both the tahini and the stewed lamb. The stew can be made well in advance – a day or two ahead, if kept in the fridge or frozen – ready for the tahini sauce and baking. Serve with bulgur or rice.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

New-season lamb shoulder, cooked pink, is the perfect platform for a mixture of fresh and cooked herbs.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Jerusalem proudly boasts its own indigenous Hebrew vocabulary, made up of random words that substitute the common names for words like liquorice, piggyback, lollypop and others. The flatbread referred to in the city as ‘esh tanur’ (burning furnace) is the carb of choice for encasing shawarma, slices of spiced meat and fat arranged on a large spit that rotates continuously near a hot grill, regularly ‘shaved’ with a large knife for passing customers. As well as meat, the flatbread includes chopped salad, tahini, fries, pickles and amba, a mango and fenugreek sauce originally from India that has been adopted into the Jewish version of shawarma via Iraqi immigrants.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

I love the way lamb shanks break down during the long, slow cook - the meat becomes incredibly tender and the bones add a richness you just don't get with other cuts. Like any proper chilli, this tastes even better the next day.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

These patties are lovely as a snack or as part of a feast at a barbecue. If you want to make them into a more substantial meal, however, just serve them with some rocket leaves tossed with olive oil, lemon juice and shaved Parmesan. The yoghurt sauce can be made the day before. The patties will keep in the fridge for 1 day uncooked, or they can be cooked up to 6 hours in advance, ready to be warmed through for 5 minutes before serving. Leftovers are also good the next day, at room temperature or warmed through.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

The star of this recipe is the pilpelchuma: a Libyan pepper and garlic condiment. A shining example of an ‘extra good thing’ as it is wonderfully versatile, adding heat and unctuousness to rice dishes, eggs, or in this case meat. You can sub out the chillies here for red pepper flakes if you prefer less heat. Double up the pilpelchuma recipe if you like, as it will keep in the fridge for a week.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Lahmacun literally means 'meat with dough'. If you want to get ahead, prepare the meat topping in advance – the flavours only intensify. And if you have any veggies leftover, they are make the best lunchtime salad.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

We’ve been making labneh the same way for years - yoghurt spooned into a tea towel-lined sieve and left overnight. Nothing more than time and gravity. Once you've spread it across a plain, flat plate, make a well in the centre for the tomatoes, letting the glossy oil spill over the edges. If you're feeling organised, make double the tomatoes and blitz half with their juices for an instant pasta sauce that keeps beautifully in the fridge.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Try your hand at turning yoghurt into a luxurious Middle-eastern cheese. It may seem a bit technical but it isn't really, providing you get started a day ahead. Serve the labneh with minimum graces: spoon inside chunks of good crusty bread and top with tomato.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Cheesecake is not, traditionally, a dessert eaten in Palestine, but all the ingredients are: the labneh and filo, for example, the nuts and floral orange blossom. The base was Noor’s idea: blitzing up the sheets of filo to make crumbs. Mixing this with the nuts calls baklava to mind. The result, we think, is distinct and special.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This tipple is all about the tartness of the kumquat citrus, whose sharp flesh and sweet skin make for an incredibly refreshing drink. This is a cocktail with both the gentle punch of tequila and the delicacy of rose water. It’s essentially a margarita, NOPI-style. We serve it in a rocks glass but you can serve it in a martini-style glass, if you like. You’ll make more syrup than you need for this recipe but it can be frozen for future cocktails or stored in the fridge, where it will keep for up to 2 weeks, to have at the ready to pour over muesli, ice cream or yoghurt. With thanks to Niall Downey, whose creation this is.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Serve this salad together with a hearty veg tart or a roasted chicken or fish. Or as a refreshing starter.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This dish is a love letter to three pretty related comfort foods: Indian keema rice, Middle Eastern mejadra, and Egyptian kosheri. It borrows the warming spices from keema rice, the caramelised onions and lentils from mejadra, and that sharp vinegar bite from kosheri to brighten everything up at the end. The onions take the longest (about 35 minutes of slow caramelising), so you can make them up to two days ahead if you want to get organised.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

In this recipe, crunchy chickpeas replace classic Caesar croutons. Be sure to bake them for an hour; it's what gives them that irresistible crunch. With any leftover chickpeas, consider using them to garnish your hummus, butterbean dip, or any of your favourite salads.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

We set ourselves a challenge with this recipe. Could we make it as rich and comforting as jacket potatoes tend to be – largely due to the amount of grated Cheddar and butter they have in them – at the same time as keeping it vegan? Thanks to tahini, we could! It’s such a naturally ‘creamy’ sauce: a real friend to those who want a rich addition to vegan food. There is something of a sabih about this – the pita sandwich filled with roasted cubes of aubergine that Yotam grew up on – which doubles down on the comfort.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Yotam has been told off by Irish friends in the past for tinkering with Irish stew, but we just can’t help ourselves. Every time we make it, we end up adding something extra at the last minute. Please feel free to add or omit as you see fit.