Recipes

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

These make for a lovely light lunch, starter or snack. If you’ve got any other crunchy spring vegetables that need using up, feel free to use them instead of (or as well as) the asparagus – the likes of Tenderstem broccoli, sugar snap peas and carrots all work well

Yotam Ottolenghi

This is lovely with grilled mackerel or sardines and a crisp, green salad.

Yotam Ottolenghi

There’s minimum effort and maximum flavour in this traybake main. If you have the time, leave the lamb to marinate overnight, because the flavours will only improve

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

The generous amount of ricotta in these helps make them the most tender of meatballs. Pile them into a soft submarine roll or serve them on top of tagliatelle. The meatballs can be made and cooked up to a day ahead, if you like, and their flavour will only improve with time

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

These get their influence from all over. The style is Swedish, the peanuts and spicing from West Africa, and the salad from south-east Asia, where the habit of “smacking” cucumbers means that any flavours you pair them with really sink in. Serve with rice

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

Start a day ahead, so the chicken has time to take on the flavours of the marinade. To save myself a battle with a whole fresh coconut, I often use the prepared fresh coconut flesh you can buy in some supermarkets

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

This is a quite brilliant dish. The paste, sauce and coconut crunch can all be made well in advance. These quantities will make more of both the paste and sauce than you need here, but they both freeze well and are wonderful tossed through noodles and a few stir-fried vegetables. Serve with jasmine or Thai sticky rice

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

If I ever had a favourite spring pasta, it would be this one. It’s adaptable, too, so you can swap the broccolini for any other crunchy spring vegetables, such as peas or asparagus. To make it vegetarian, swap the anchovy for miso and use a hard, parmesan-like vegetarian-friendly cheese instead

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

Play around with the type of vinegar you use, if you like: red-wine vinegar works as well as white, balsamic makes it sweeter, while cider vinegar makes it fruitier, for example. My take is light on the sugar, though, so the natural sweetness of the spring vegetables can sing out

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

I’ve gone chipotle-heavy in this mole-inspired recipe. The chilli mellows a bit during the cooking, but if you prefer less heat, just reduce the amount of chilli to taste. Serve with rice, slices of ripe avocado and soured cream, if you like

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

This is our take on rajas con crema, a Mexican dish that uses charred fresh poblano peppers. They’re hard to get hold of in the UK, so we’ve used green bell peppers instead (although by all means use poblanos if you can find some). Serve the peppers on a heated serving dish, so they don’t cool down too quickly

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

This is a perfect companion for roast chicken, though I could easily eat it on its own with just a few dressed green leaves on the side; it also makes a great brunch dish

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

Make the most of the fact that alliums come in all shapes and sizes, because, in combination, the clash of appearance looks great in a finished dish. Stick to just two or three of the four types suggested, if you like, but make sure the total net weight stays about the same

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

Tinned smoked oysters feel as if they should be my guilty secret, but I feel no guilt and there is no secret. In fact, there was a time when I easily got through at least a tin a week, usually just piled on to toast, but sometimes more involved, as with this recipe. If you aren’t a fan of them, use another tinned smoked fish of your choice

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

Crostata, or Italian pies, are usually associated with sweet, jammy fillings, but they also work as savoury dishes, too. Double carbs and a tin of fish: happy days. Use whatever tinned fish you have to hand: this is equally delicious made with mackerel, anchovies or tuna. Serve with a crisp, green salad.

Yotam Ottolenghi

This is derived from the Goan ros omelette, which is often served at street food stalls with a soft roll for breakfast. Here, I’ve used parathas to mop things up, but use whatever bread or flatbread you like. It’s also great with prawns, fish or tofu

Yotam Ottolenghi

This is inspired by mfarakeh, a Levantine courgette and egg dish that’s usually made with courgettes or a mixture of potatoes and courgettes. In this version, I have separated the potatoes to keep them crunchy; if you prefer, omit them altogether to shorten the cooking time

Yotam Ottolenghi

This dish crosses countries (Italy and America) and crosses seasons (late-summer tomatoes and basil with the autumn-facing seafood). It also manages to feel like a dish that has been bubbling away on the stove for hours, despite being ready in less than 15 minutes

Yotam Ottolenghi

Lapsang souchong tea might seem like a bit of a niche ingredient here, but it’s actually a bit of a secret flavour hack and so is useful to have in the cupboard. It’s so smoky, in fact, that, added to all sorts of dishes, it brings all the benefits of the smoke without any need for the fire

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

This bombay mix is a take on the version served at the Regency Club in Edgware, and it’s so addictive that I now want it alongside just about every curry

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

This curry also takes some inspiration from Rajasthani and Kerala, and uses poppadoms as an ingredient

Yotam Ottolenghi

To experience this Basque-inspired stew at its very best, use shell-on prawns – they really are worth the effort

Yotam Ottolenghi

There are many reasons we should all be eating lots of beans and peas. The one that motivates me the most, however, is quite how tasty they are – as with this two-bean salad

Yotam Ottolenghi · The Guardian

This is light, comforting and makes a great standalone soup, but if you want to give it more heft, serve with some fluffy white rice on the side. Play around with the ingredients, too, and use up whatever you have around