Ottolenghi Simple Page 11
This can be made up to 3 days in advance, up to the point of the yogurt being added. Keep in the fridge until needed.
Serves four as a starter or side or two as a main
4 eggplants, pricked a few times with a knife (2 lb 6 oz/1.1kg)
10 oz/300g cherry tomatoes
¾ cup/160g Puy lentils (or 4⅔ cups/350g ready-cooked lentils, if you want to save time)
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
1½ tbsp lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, crushed
3 tbsp oregano leaves
salt and black pepper
6 tbsp/100g Greek-style yogurt
Preheat the oven to 475°F or as high as your oven will go.
Place the eggplants on a baking sheet and roast for 1 hour, turning them over halfway through, until the flesh is completely soft and slightly smoky. Remove from the oven and, once cool enough handle, scoop the flesh out into a colander. Set aside, in the sink or over a bowl, for 30 minutes, for any liquid to drain away. The skin can be discarded.
Place the cherry tomatoes on the same baking sheet and roast for 12 minutes, until slightly blackened, split, and soft. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, if starting with uncooked lentils, fill a medium saucepan with plenty of water and place over high heat. Once boiling, add the lentils, decrease the heat to medium, and cook for 20 minutes, until soft but still retaining a bite. Drain, then set aside to dry out slightly. If starting with ready-cooked lentils, just tip them into a large bowl and add the eggplant flesh, tomatoes, oil, lemon juice, garlic, 2 tbsp of oregano, ¾ tsp salt, and a good grind of pepper. Mix well, then spoon into a large shallow bowl. Top with the yogurt, swirling it through slightly so there are obvious streaks. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp of oregano over the top, drizzle with a little oil, and serve.
Brown rice with caramelized onions and black garlic
This rich rice dish is a lovely accompaniment to lamb or pork, but also works well as it is, with a plate of fresh or steamed veg. It’s also a great introduction to black garlic if you’ve yet to shake hands. The balsamic-licorice flavor and squidgy texture of the cloves makes them easy to slice or blitz, and they’re an even easier way to add a ton of flavor to all sorts of dishes. Don’t be afraid to really caramelize the onions—the darker the color, the sweeter the flavor. The onions can be made the day before you need them and kept in the fridge.
Serves four as a side
¼ cup plus 1 tsp/65ml sunflower oil
2 large onions, cut into ¾-inch/2cm wedges (5 cups/500g)
salt
1 lemon: peel finely shaved, plus 2 tbsp juice
1 cup/200g brown rice, rinsed
2 cups/500ml water
10 black garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ cup/150g Greek-style yogurt
½ cup/10g parsley leaves, roughly chopped
Pour 3 tbsp/50ml of oil into a large sauté pan with a lid, and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onions, along with ¼ tsp salt, and fry for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they don’t burn. Add the lemon peel and cook for another 12 minutes, continuing to stir from time to time, until the onions are dark and caramelized. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp of oil to the pan, then add the rice and ½ tsp of salt. Fry for 1 minute, stirring continuously, then pour in the water. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to medium-low. Cover the pan and simmer for about 45 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from the heat and stir in the onions, lemon juice, and black garlic. Serve at once, topping each serving with a generous spoonful of the yogurt and a sprinkle of parsley; alternatively, you can serve the yogurt in a bowl on the side.
Baked mint rice with pomegranate and olive salsa
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 during two sittings at Wilderness Festival in 2017!). This is such a great side to all sorts of dishes, such as roasted root vegetables or slow-cooked lamb or pork.
To get ahead, the salsa can be made a few hours in advance and kept in the fridge.
Serves six
2 cups/400g basmati rice
salt and black pepper
¼ cup/50g unsalted butter, melted
3⅓ cups/800ml boiling water
1½ oz/40g mint sprigs
SALSA
⅓ cup/40g pitted green olives, thinly sliced
seeds from 1 small pomegranate (⅔ cup/90g)
½ cup/50g walnut halves, lightly roasted and roughly broken
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 small garlic clove, crushed
½ cup/10g mint leaves
¼ tsp salt
5¼ oz/150g feta, crumbled into ½–¾ inch/1–2cm pieces
Preheat the oven to 475°F, or as high as your oven will go.
Place the rice in a high-sided ovenproof dish, measuring 8 x 12 inches/20 x 30cm. Season with ¾ tsp of salt and plenty of pepper, then pour in the butter and boiling water. Top with the sprigs of mint and cover the dish tightly with foil so that the rice is well sealed. Bake for 25 minutes, until the rice is light and fluffy and all the liquid has been absorbed.
Meanwhile, make the salsa: place the olives, pomegranate, walnuts, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, garlic, mint, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside.
Take the rice out of the oven and remove and discard the foil. Pull the leaves off the mint sprigs—the stalks can be discarded—then place these back on the rice and sprinkle with the feta. Just before serving, spoon the salsa evenly over the rice. Serve hot.
Thai sticky rice with crispy ginger, chile, and peanuts
Sticky rice is brilliant as it is, served alongside all sorts of fish and meat dishes, but the addition of a crispy topping makes it even more wonderful. I like to serve this with the whole roasted sea bass (this page) or fried tofu, as part of an Asian-style feast. Get all your chopping done before you start here—you want everything to be ready to chuck into the pan when it’s hot, rather than slicing things into matchsticks at this stage.
Serves six as a side
2 cups/400g Thai sticky rice
salt
2½ cups/600ml water
1½ tbsp peanut oil
2-inch/5cm piece of ginger, peeled and julienned (5 tbsp/40g)
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 red chiles, julienned
1½ cups/30g cilantro stems, cut into 1¼-inch/3cm lengths
3 tbsp salted and roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges, to serve
Put the rice into a medium saucepan with a well-fitting lid, along with ½ tsp salt and the water. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside, still covered, for 5 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, put the oil into a medium frying pan and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the ginger, garlic and chiles and fry for 3–4 minutes, stirring frequently, until just starting to brown. Add the cilantro, peanuts, sesame seeds, and a generous pinch of salt and continue to fry for 1–2 minutes, until golden brown. Spoon over the rice and serve, with the wedges of lime alongside.
Baked rice with confit tomatoes and garlic
This was my go-to side for a good few months, working well with pretty much anything else on the table. There’s also enough going on, flavorwise, for it to be lovely as it is, as a main.
Peeling so many garlic cloves won�
�t win me any “simple” brownie points, I know, but, once done, the simple joy of this dish is that the rice is baked in the oven rather than on the stove. For those who find creating perfectly cooked rice in a pan of simmering water strangely difficult, this will be a revelation. Just make sure the foil is sealed tightly over the dish—you don’t want any steam to escape in the oven.
Serves six as a side or four as a main
1¾ lb/800g cherry tomatoes
12 large garlic cloves (or 25 small), peeled (⅔ cup/85g)
4 large shallots, cut into 1¼-inch/3cm pieces (1 cup/220g)
1¼ cups/25g cilantro stems, cut into 1½-inch/4cm lengths, plus ½ cup/10g leaves, roughly chopped, to serve
3 tbsp thyme leaves
4 small cinnamon sticks
7 tbsp/100ml olive oil
salt and black pepper
1½ cups/300g basmati rice
2½ cups/600ml boiling water
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Arrange the tomatoes, garlic, shallots, cilantro stems, thyme, and cinnamon sticks in a large high-sided casserole dish, about 8 x 12 inches/20 x 30cm. Pour in the olive oil, add ½ tsp of salt and a good grind of black pepper, and place in the oven for 1 hour, until the vegetables are soft. Remove from the oven, sprinkle the rice evenly over the vegetables, without stirring them together, and set aside.
Increase the oven temperature to 450°F.
Sprinkle ½ tsp of salt and plenty of black pepper over the rice and then carefully pour the boiling water over the rice. Seal the dish tightly with foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes, until the rice is cooked. Remove from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes, still covered. Remove the foil, sprinkle with the cilantro leaves, stir these very gently into the rice, and serve.
Rice noodle salad with cucumber and poppy seeds
For anyone who thinks that this list of ingredients looks suspiciously long for a book of simple recipes, I’m actually feeling quite pleased with how I’ve managed to get the list down. My ability to buy up half the stock in an Asian shop when making noodle salads has been well documented in letters from some of my readers over the years, written to the Guardian.
All the elements can be made a few hours in advance—the onion and ginger can be made the day before—and just assembled when ready to serve.
Serves six to eight
¼ cup/60ml apple cider vinegar
2½ tbsp/30g sugar
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (mounded 1 cup/120g)
2-inch/5cm piece of ginger, peeled and julienned (5 tbsp/40g)
5¼ oz/150g flat rice noodles, broken into roughly 6-inch/15cm pieces
3 tbsp olive oil
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced into 1∕16-inch/2mm-thick pieces (¾ cup/120g)
1 large English cucumber, unpeeled, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out, and flesh cut into long, thin strips (2½ cups/250g)
2 red chiles, seeded and julienned
¾ cup/15g mint leaves, torn or roughly chopped
¾ cup/15g tarragon, torn or roughly chopped
1 tbsp poppy seeds
salt
Whisk together the vinegar and sugar in a medium bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Add the onion and ginger and stir to coat. Set aside for about 30 minutes, stirring a few times, to soften.
Place the noodles in a large bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover them. Set aside for 15–20 minutes, until the noodles are soft, then drain well. Mix with 1 tbsp of oil and set aside in a large bowl to cool down.
Add the apple, cucumber, chiles, mint, tarragon, and poppy seeds to the noodles, plus the pickled onion, ginger and juices, the remaining 2 tbsp of oil, and 1½ tsp salt. Mix together well and serve at once.
Soba noodles with lime, cardamom, and avocado
Scraping the seeds from 12 cardamom pods and crushing them might feel like a bit of a fiddle, just for ½ tsp, but it’s a few minutes well worth spending. Unleashing the fruity, floral, and citrusy spice into the dish makes it really quite distinct.
I like to eat this either as it is, for a quick lunch or light supper, or with some shrimp or tofu stirred in just before serving. It also works well served alongside some pan-fried salmon or topped with a soft-boiled egg.
Serves four
7 oz/200g buckwheat noodles (or green tea soba)
12 green cardamom pods
1½ cups/30g basil leaves, roughly chopped
1½ cups/30g cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
½ cup/70g shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
3 limes: finely zest 2 to get 1 tsp, then juice 2 to get 3 tbsp; slice the final lime into 4 wedges, to serve
3 tbsp peanut oil
1 green chile, seeded and thinly sliced
2 ripe avocados, cut into ¼-inch/ ½cm slices
salt
¼ tsp nigella seeds or Urfa chile flakes, to sprinkle (optional)
Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package (they vary from brand to brand). Once cooked, refresh under cold running water and set aside in a colander to drain well.
With the flat side of a knife, crush the cardamom pods to open them up. Scrape the seeds out into a pestle and mortar and discard the outer husks. Crush the seeds—you should get about ½ tsp—and place in a large bowl with the noodles. Add the basil, cilantro, pistachios, lime zest, lime juice, oil, chile, avocado, and ½ tsp salt. Mix everything together well, then divide among four bowls. Spoon any avocado, nuts, and herbs left in the bowl on top. Sprinkle with the nigella seeds and serve with a wedge of lime alongside.
Seaweed spaghetti and sesame salad with tahini dressing
Seaweed spaghetti has a similar texture to rice noodles but brings with it a salty kick. Nanami togarashi is an Asian chile condiment that works really well here, but regular chile flakes are a good alternative.
This is lovely as it is, for a light lunch or starter, or served alongside some sticky rice to bulk it out. It also works well with oily fish—pan-fried mackerel or salmon—or grilled shrimp.
Serve this as soon as you’ve mixed it together. The cucumber will make it watery if it sits around for too long. The dressing can be made up to 2 days in advance.
Serves four
Tahini dressing
1 tsp honey
1½ tsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1½ tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp peanut oil
1¾ oz/50g seaweed spaghetti
1 large English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out, and flesh cut into long, thin strips (2½ cups/250g)
2 tbsp/20g white or black sesame seeds, or a mixture of both, lightly toasted
¾ cup/15g cilantro leaves
salt
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or nanami togarashi, if you have it)
To make the dressing, put the honey, vinegar, mirin, mustard, soy sauce, tahini, and peanut oil in a small bowl, whisk well to combine, then set aside.
Put the seaweed spaghetti into a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then decrease to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, until al dente. Drain, refresh under cold running water, pat dry, and set aside. Place in a large bowl, along with the cucumber, sesame seeds, cilantro, dressing, and ½ tsp of salt. Mix together, then divide among the bowls (or arrange in a large serving bowl), sprinkle with chile flakes and serve at once.
Pasta alla Norma
After a day in the test kitchen, eating all day, there are just a handful of dishes I’m happy to cook and eat once I get home. This is one of them. If you’re getting organized and into batch cooking, double or triple the recipe for the tomato sauce so that this is all ready to go. It keeps in the fridge fo
r 5 days and also freezes well. The eggplant, once roasted, is also happy to sit around (either at room temperature or in the fridge) for 1 day, if you want to get ahead with this too.
If you see any ricotta salata, do get it to try instead of the pecorino romano. It’s a variation of ricotta that has been pressed, salted, and dried—its flavor is both salty and nutty. It’s firmer than standard ricotta and works really well shaved over spaghetti.
Serves four
3 eggplants (2 lb/900g)
½ cup/120ml olive oil
salt and black pepper
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1–2 mild dried chiles (seeded if you don’t want the heat)
2 (14.5 oz/400g) cans whole peeled plum tomatoes with their juice
5 large oregano sprigs
1 tsp sugar
10 oz/300g spaghetti
1½ oz/45g mature pecorino romano (or ricotta salata), shaved
1 cup/20g basil leaves, torn
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Using a peeler and working from top to bottom of each eggplant, shave off long alternating strips of peel so that they look striped, like zebras. Cut crosswise into ½-inch/1cm slices and place in a bowl with 5 tbsp/75ml of oil, ¾ tsp salt, and a generous grind of pepper. Mix well, then spread out on two large parchment-lined baking sheets. Roast for 30–35 minutes, until dark golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Put 2 tbsp of oil into a sauté pan and place over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and chiles and fry for 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the garlic is golden brown. Add the tomatoes and their juice, oregano, sugar, ½ tsp salt, and a grind of pepper. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick. Remove the oregano sprigs and stir in the eggplant. Set aside.