yotam ottolenghi

A creamy, curried soup from Yotam Ottolenghi that you can make on a weeknight, no sweat. Adjust the curry powder depending on how much heat you want. 

Curried Lentil, Tomato, and Coconut Soup

virgin coconut oil olive oil

onion,

garlic cloves, finely chopped

2½-inch piece ginger, peeled, finely grated

curry powder (such as S&B)

red pepper flakes

red lentils

tomatoes

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

coconut

Lime wedges (for serving)

This recipe calls for medium curry powder, but it’s flexible. If the one you have is mild or very spicy, adjust the heat level with more, or less, red pepper flakes.

Bon Appétit

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium. Cook onion, stirring often, until softened and golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add lentils and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add tomatoes, ½ cup cilantro, a generous pinch of salt, and 2½ cups water; season with pepper. Set aside ¼ cup coconut milk for serving and add remaining coconut milk to saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft but not mushy, 20–25 minutes. Season soup with more salt and pepper if needed.

To serve, divide soup among bowls. Drizzle with reserved coconut milk and top with more cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Do Ahead: Soup (without toppings) can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

The Mejadra recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's Jerusalem: A Cookbook is Tamimi's take on the traditional Arab comfort food combination of rice, lentils, and onions. Here, the rice and lentils are steamed together with a plethora of spices, pilaf style, before adding the pièce de résistance--a smattering of freshly fried onions.

Mejadra from 'Jerusalem' Recipe

250 g green or brown lentils

onions (1 1/2 lb/700 g before peeling)

all-purpose flour

250 ml sunflower oil

cumin seeds

coriander seeds

200 g basmati rice

olive oil

turmeric

allspice

cinnamon

sugar

350 ml water

Salt and black pepper

Place the lentils in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the lentils have softened but still have a little bite. Drain and set aside. 

Peel the onions and slice thinly. Place on a large flat plate, sprinkle with the flour and 1 teaspoon salt, and mix well with your hands. Heat the sunflower oil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan placed over high heat. Make sure the oil is hot by throwing in a small piece of onion; it should sizzle vigorously. Reduce the heat to medium-high and carefully (it may spit!) add one-third of the sliced onion. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until the onion takes on a nice golden brown color and turns crispy (adjust the temperature so the onion doesn’t fry too quickly and burn). Use the spoon to transfer the onion to a colander lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little more salt. Do the same with the other two batches of onion; add a little extra oil if needed.

Wipe the saucepan in which you fried the onion clean and put in the cumin and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat and toast the seeds for a minute or two. Add the rice, olive oil, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat the rice with the oil and then add the cooked lentils and the water. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat, lift off the lid, and quickly cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with the lid and set aside for 10 minutes.

Finally, add half the fried onion to the rice and lentils and stir gently with a fork. Pile the mixture in a shallow serving bowl and top with the rest of the onion.

Basic Hummus Recipe from Ottolenghi's 'Jerusalem'

250 g dried chickpeas

baking soda

water

lemon juice

garlic, crushed

100 ml ice-cold water

salt

The night before, put the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them with cold water at least twice their volume. Leave to soak overnight.

The next day, drain the chickpeas. Place a medium saucepan over high heat and add the drained chickpeas and baking soda. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cook, skimming off any foam and any skins that float to the surface. The chickpeas will need to cook between 20 and 40 minutes, depending on the type and freshness, sometimes even longer. Once done, they should be very tender, breaking up easily when pressed between your thumb and finger, almost but not quite mushy.

Drain the chickpeas. You should have roughly 3 2/3 cups/600 g now. Place the chickpeas in a food processor and process until you get a stiff paste. Then, with the machine still running, add the tahini paste, lemon juice, garlic, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Finally, slowly drizzle in the iced water and allow it to mix for about 5 minutes, until you get a very smooth and creamy paste.

Transfer the hummus to a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. If not using straightaway, refrigerate until needed. Make sure to take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving.

If you’ve given up on stovetop rice methods, you’ll love this hands-off oven technique.

Baked Minty Rice with Feta and Pomegranate Relish

walnuts

pomegranate seeds (from about ½ large pomegranate)

Castelvetrano olives, pitted, coarsely chopped

mint

parsley

pomegranate molasses

garlic clove,

basmati rice

unsalted butter,

feta, sliced ¼-inch thick

molasses

Place a rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 350°. Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, 5–8 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop. Increase oven temperature to 450°.

Toss walnuts, pomegranate seeds, olives, oil, mint, parsley, pomegranate molasses, and garlic in a medium bowl to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine rice, butter, and salt in a 13x9" baking dish, then pour in a scant 3½ cups water; top with mint sprigs. Cover tightly with foil and bake until rice is tender and water is absorbed, 30–35 minutes. Remove from oven; pluck out mint. Fluff rice with a fork.

Heat broiler. Arrange feta over rice. Broil until rice around edges of pan is browned and crisp and feta is starting to brown, 8–10 minutes. Spoon pomegranate relish over.

As Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi write in the introduction to Na'ama's Fattoush in Jerusalem: A Cookbook, there is no escaping chopped salads in Jerusalem. Some are simple amalgamations of tomato, cucumber, onion, and lemon vinaigrette, while others, like Arab fattoush, contain a cornucopia of vegetables mixed with leftover pita bread.

Na'ama's Fattoush from 'Jerusalem' Recipe

large stale Turkish flatbread

oz/100 g radishes, thinly sliced

Lebanese

green onions, thinly sliced

oz/15 g fresh mint

oz/25 g flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

60 ml olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

cider wine vinegar

black pepper

sumac

If using yogurt and milk, start at least 3 hours and up to a day in advance byplacing both in a bowl. Whisk well and leave in a cool place or in the fridgeuntil bubbles form on the surface. What you get is a kind of homemade buttermilk, but less sour.

Tear the bread into bite-size pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Addyour fermented yogurt mixture or commercial buttermilk, followed by the restof the ingredients, mix well, and leave for 10 minutes for all the flavors tocombine.

Spoon the fattoush into serving bowls, drizzle with some olive oil, and garnish generously with sumac.  

“Muhammara is a spicy Levantine dip of red capsicum and walnuts. It keeps in the fridge for 3 days, so double the recipe, if you like. It’s as lovely spooned into a cheese sandwich or served with grilled meat as it is as a dip. I’ve left the skins on the capsicums for ease, but remove them if you don’t want the texture. The mash can be made 3 days in advance – keep in the fridge in a separate container and bring back to room temperature before serving” - Yotam Ottolenghi. This is an edited extract from
Ottolenghi SIMPLE (Penguin Random House, RRP $49.99). On sale now.

Butterbean mash with muhammara

garlic (skin on), lightly crushed

thyme

(850 grams) red capsicums, quartered, seeds and stalk discarded

tbs olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

garlic cloves,

tbs picked thyme leaves

tsp sweet smoked paprika

tsp chilli flakes

tsp balsamic vinegar

walnut halves, lightly roasted, roughly chopped

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Use store-bought meringues and skip the first step, if you prefer.

Strawberry Pomegranate and Rose Petal Mess

crème fraîche

mascarpone

water (optional)

hulled,

strawberry

pomegranate molasses honey

pomegranate seeds

rose petals (optional)

Sumac

Preheat oven to 200°. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat egg whites until foamy, about 1 minute. With mixer running, gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to beat until meringue triples in volume, is shiny, and holds medium-stiff peaks, 8–10 minutes. Add powdered sugar and beat just to blend.

Spoon 2 heaping tablespoonfuls of meringue onto a parchment-lined baking sheet; repeat to fill baking sheet, spacing 1" apart. Bake until dry, about 4 hours.

DO AHEAD: Meringues can be baked 5 days ahead. Keep airtight at room temperature.

Whisk crème fraîche, mascarpone, powdered sugar, and rose water, if using, in a medium bowl.

Arrange meringues, crème fraîche mixture, strawberries, and scoops of sorbet in a large bowl. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses and top with pomegranate seeds, sumac, and rose petals, if using.

“This is the dish Patrick Dempsey’s character tells Renée Zellweger’s Bridget Jones that he would have brought her on their imaginary second date in Bridget Jones’s Baby. ‘From Ottolenghi,’ says Dempsey, ‘delicious and healthy!’ And easy, we might add! What sounded like a bit of product placement on our part was, in fact, no such thing. The recipe didn’t even exist on our menu, so this is a retrospective acknowledgement” - Yotam Ottolenghi. This is an edited extract from Ottolenghi SIMPLE
(Penguin Random House, RRP $49.99). On sale now.

Bridget Jones's pan-fried salmon with pine nut salsa

currants

(500 grams) salmon fillets (skin on), pin-boned

celery

pine nuts, roughly chopped

(about

good pinch (1/4 tsp) saffron threads,

parsley, roughly chopped

lemon

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Not your ordinary side of rice. Two types means more textures to layer with crunchy nuts and tender beans.

Rice Salad with Fava Beans and Pistachios

wild rice

Kosher salt

Iranian lime (optional)

fava beans (from about 1 lb. pods)

dill

½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

pistachios

lemon zest

½ teaspoon Iranian lime powder lime zest

Iranian

Cook wild rice in a medium pot of boiling salted water until tender and grains start to split, 35–40 minutes. Drain; let cool.

Meanwhile, combine basmati rice, lime, if using, and 1½ cups water in a medium saucepan, season with salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Cover; let sit until water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Let cool; discard lime.

If using fresh fava beans, cook in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain; transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain and peel. (If using frozen fava beans, cook 2 minutes; transfer to a bowl of ice water, then drain.)

Toss wild rice, basmati rice, dill, parsley, pistachios, oil, lemon zest and juice, lime powder, and fava beans in a large bowl; season with salt.

DO AHEAD: Fava beans can be cooked and peeled 2 days ahead; cover and chill. Wild and basmati rice can be cooked 2 days ahead; cover and chill.

“This is called a chocolate fridge cake, but it should be seen as a bit of a larder cake as well, using what you have to hand – which is why this is a pantry recipe. All
sorts of different-flavoured chocolate (ginger chocolate, chilli chocolate and so forth), biscuits, nuts, dried fruit or alcohol can be used, instead of what’s listed here, depending on what you have in your pantry and what you like. The cake can be stored in the fridge, in a sealed container, for up to a week” - Yotam Ottolenghi. This is an edited extract from
Ottolenghi SIMPLE (Penguin Random House, RRP $49.99). On sale now.

Ottolenghi's mint and pistachio chocolate fridge cake

mint-flavoured dark chocolate, roughly chopped into 3cm pieces

dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped into 3cm pieces

golden syrup

sultanas

digestive biscuits,

pistachios, chopped

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This hearty dish is inspired by moussaka, but simpler to prepare. Everything is baked in one roasting pan, with the different elements added in stages. The topping cuts wonderfully through the richness of the eggplant and lamb.

Ottolenghi's eggplant, lamb and yoghurt bake recipe

onion (about 200 grams), thinly sliced

garlic cloves, thinly sliced

eggplants (about 750 grams), roughly cut into 3cm cubes

lamb mince

tbs cinnamon

tomato paste

tbs oregano leaves, roughly chopped

Massel Chicken Style Liquid Stock

tbs parsley, roughly chopped

Greek-style yoghurt

tbs plain flour

parmesan, finely grated

feta, roughly crumbled

(40 grams) pine nuts

Salt & black pepper

garlic cloves, crushed

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Give it as an edible gift this holiday season, or simply keep it all for yourself. Either way, it's all good!

This recipe is an edited extract from Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh (published by Penguin, RRP $55). On sale now.

Saffron and pistachio brittle

(150 grams) flaked almonds

saffron

brown sugar

unsalted butter, chopped

tsp bicarbonate of soda, sifted

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Un poulet rôti terriblement savoureux, parfumé au pastis, aux clémentines, à la moutarde et au fenouil. A tester absolument !

Poulet rôti aux clémentines et à l&#39;arak de Yotam Ottolenghi

cL d’arak (ou de tout autre alcool anisé (pastis, ricard, ouzo, anisette))

cuil. à soupe d’huile d’olive

cuil. à soupe de jus d’orange fraîchement pressé

cuil. à soupe de jus de citron

cuil. à soupe de moutarde en grains

cuil. à soupe de cassonade

bulbes de fenouil (environ 500 g)

clémentines non épluchées (environ 400 g)

cuil. à soupe de thym effeuillé

2,5 cuil. à café de graines de fenouil légèrement concassées

sel et poivre noir

persil plat ciselé

Fouetter l’arak, l’huile, les jus d’orange et de citron, la moutarde et la cassonade dans un grand saladier.

Top 13 yotam ottolenghi recipes from across the web

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Top Tags

Curried Lentil, Tomato, and Coconut...

Mejadra from 'Jerusalem' Recipe

Basic Hummus Recipe from Ottolenghi...

Baked Minty Rice with Feta and Pome...

Na'ama's Fattoush from 'Jerusalem' ...

Butterbean mash with muhammara

Strawberry Pomegranate and Rose Pet...

Bridget Jones's pan-fried salmon wi...

Rice Salad with Fava Beans and Pist...

Ottolenghi's mint and pistachio cho...

Ottolenghi's eggplant, lamb and yog...

Saffron and pistachio brittle

Poulet rôti aux clémentines et à l&...

Top 13 yotam ottolenghi recipes from across the web

The most viewed yotam ottolenghi recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Curried Lentil, Tomato, and Coconut...

Mejadra from 'Jerusalem' Recipe

Basic Hummus Recipe from Ottolenghi...

Baked Minty Rice with Feta and Pome...

Na'ama's Fattoush from 'Jerusalem' ...

Butterbean mash with muhammara

Strawberry Pomegranate and Rose Pet...

Bridget Jones's pan-fried salmon wi...

Rice Salad with Fava Beans and Pist...

Ottolenghi's mint and pistachio cho...

Ottolenghi's eggplant, lamb and yog...

Saffron and pistachio brittle

Poulet rôti aux clémentines et à l&...

The most viewed yotam ottolenghi recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine