Recipes

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is a pretty substantial dish, full of wonderful meaty and sweet-spiced aromas. Save it for a Sunday lunch, as an alternative to the traditional roast.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

No, the 15 garlic cloves isn't a typo - once scorched, they add a mellowing sweetness to an otherwise piercingly sharp dressing. The ricotta isn't essential, if you'd rather keep this dairy-free, but it also helps balance the acidity.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is a quick way to get a very comforting meal on the table in a wonderfully short amount of time. It’s a dish as happily eaten for brunch, with coffee, as it is for a light supper with some crusty white bread and a glass of wine. The leeks and spinach can be made up to a day ahead and kept in the fridge, ready for the eggs to be cracked in and braised.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is delicious with crusty white bread for dipping. To braise the eggs, cover the pan after breaking them in; they will cook relatively quickly, in five minutes or so. The downside is that the yolks in the finished dish will be obscured by a thin layer of opaque, cooked white. If the sight of bright, yellow-orange yolks is important to you, cook the eggs uncovered, and for longer, on the lowest possible heat, while at the same time taking care that the sauce doesn’t catch.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Serve with rice or flatbreads for a vegetarian main course; leave out the feta for a vegan version. Soaking the chickpeas is necessary to achieve the right degree of cooking, so don’t be tempted to skip this stage.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Beyond a large saucepan or wok, a roll of tin foil and a good ventilator (or open window), you don’t need any special equipment to smoke food at home. It’s not for everyone, though, so skip this stage if you like. And in recipes like this, where only half the stock reduction is called for, the remainder can be frozen and used as the base for another sauce or soup, or added to the braising liquid for a dish. The glaze here is also great for marinating other things: barbecued chicken wings, for example, or cubes of tuna or tofu before they’re chargrilled.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

These carrots bring a touch of sweet, boozy magic to the holiday table. The ginger in the glaze adds warmth and the citrus keeps them bright and fresh. Roast the carrots and make the glaze ahead, then toss in the glaze at the last minute.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

An actual salad is about as likely as finding a reasonable phone signal at a festival, so here's all your vitamin requirements in the form of a proper Bloody Mary instead. It's the style we serve at our delis, which means enough Worcestershire sauce to wake the dead and warming spices – I use both Aleppo and Urfa chilli – to give it depth without overwhelming heat. Serve it all in one jug with celery sticks bristling out like a bouquet and plenty of glasses on the side.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Inspired by the classic Thanksgiving green bean casserole, this version ditches the canned soup for cream, mustard, parmesan, caramelised onion and crispy onion - all things to be thankful for. Make the beans and onions ahead if you like; the rosemary fried onions are also brilliant sprinkled over salads or even hot dogs.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is meant to be enjoyed like tacos, where you pile the fish and condiments into tortillas. The fish on its own, with its deep-flavoured, black garlic marinade, will also work a treat with only a squeeze of lime for company, but the dipping sauce is so good, and easy, it would be a shame not to make that, too. In fact, you may well end up hooked on the stuff and find yourself wanting to eat it with all sorts.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Don’t be afraid to really char your chicken thighs here (making sure to ventilate your kitchen well!) – this’ll add an intense flavour alongside the vibrant dressing and make for a very punchy eating experience. That said, you can also grill your chicken thighs in the oven, or swap them out for chicken breasts, if you prefer. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to help you easily remove the bones from the thighs, or ask your butcher to do this for you, making sure to keep the skins intact. Feel free to swap out the clementines for orange segments in the dressing; it’ll work just as well.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Sweet

These look splendid when iced – destined for top ranking on any tiered cake stand – but also work un-iced, in the cookie tin, for grabbing on a whim. They’ll lose their slightly chewy edge after the first day or so, but still taste great. Blueberries or raspberries can be used instead of the blackberries. Don’t use strawberries, though: they are too watery.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Although black glutinous rice was a staple of Scully’s childhood breakfasts, Yotam got hooked on the rice during his travels in Malaysia. The rice is, contrary to what its name suggests, a very deep burgundy colour and gluten-free. It tastes nutty, looks striking and has a texture which is both starchy and slightly al dente at the same time, with each grain retaining its identity when cooked. For the best results, soak the rice overnight and stir often while it’s cooking to help release the starch and increase its creamy softness. Pandan leaves are also used widely in both sweet and savoury Southeast Asian cooking, infusing dishes with a coconutty, almost grassy, fragrance. If you can't find them, they can be substituted with a vanilla pod – slit open and seeds scraped.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

You will definitely surprise yourself with this one. It is an extremely delicious dish that’s quick and straightforward to make, but looks as if it’s been prepared at a top Chinese restaurant. It is fiery, both from the chillies and the black pepper; you can moderate this by reducing their quantity a little. However, the whole point is spiciness so don’t go too far.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This display of the season’s best can double up as a light dessert or as a brunch centrepiece. You can make your own labneh but it requires draining the yoghurt for a good 24 hours, or you can make everything easily on the day using shop-bought labneh or some Greek-style yoghurt mixed with a little double cream. The berries you use are totally up to you, depending on what’s good and not too expensive. You can use fewer types, or some frozen berries, if you like, especially for those which get blitzed in the recipe. You’ll make more oil than you need; store it in a glass jar to drizzle over salads or lightly cooked vegetables.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

This is a great side dish as part of a feast or to accompany roast or grilled meats. The nori almonds are very addictive. Make double the recipe if you like and store in airtight jars to use as a topping for salads or to snack on. If you would like to get ahead, cook and marinade the beetroot the day before. Just make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

All this needs is a bowl of plain rice alongside.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

With tacos, I like to pile all the various elements on a big platter, so everyone can make their own. You can make the pickle a day or two ahead.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

These wonderfully smoky and aromatic short ribs are actually cooked a day in advance (mind, it takes four hours or more), marinated for 24 hours and then barbecued and warmed up briefly just before serving. You can take the meat off the bone, as in the instruction, for easy grilling and eating, or leave on for the wholesome look. Serve with crispy lettuce salad and roasted potatoes.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

It’s not a pizza, insisted Noor, when referring to this baked polenta, which does in fact look like a giant pizza. It ended up with multiple names at the Test Kitchen such as: ‘polenta-pizza’, ‘polizza’ or ‘polenta not-a-pizza’. It really is a happy-looking pie, with its yellows and reds and wonderfully golden edges. Serve with the chicory salad or anything leafy and green. You can keep this gluten-free by swapping out the flour for gluten-free flour, if you like.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Cooking rice perfectly is one of those things that shouldn’t be complicated but can be surprisingly difficult, for some, to get right. Baking it in the oven, on the other hand, as I do here, is a completely foolproof method (and one that worked, incidentally, when feeding 700 people over two sittings at Wilderness festival in 2017!). This is such a great side to all sorts of dishes: roasted root vegetables, slow-cooked lamb or pork. To get ahead, the salsa can be made a few hours in advance and kept in the fridge.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

Halloumi and whole slices of lemon baked until golden, soft and squidgy, lifted with the bright, tangy punch of our preserved lemon and honey dressing. The dressing acts as a connector to the halloumi and lemon, creating a simple and effortlessly satisfying dish that balances salty, citrusy, and herbal notes in perfect harmony. Serve with lots of crusty bread to soak up all the pan juices.

Yotam Ottolenghi · Ottolenghi.co.uk

I've become slightly obsessed with this dish lately - partly because it's so ridiculously simple, but mostly because of what happens to the oregano in the oven. Those leaves turn into these crispy little chips that are just so good. The halloumi does its usual magic, going golden and soft, and if you happen to have some ripe peaches or good tomatoes lying around, throw them in too. The carob syrup is lovely here, but don't worry if you can't find it - honey works just fine.