Ottolenghi Simple Page 7
Cauliflower, pomegranate, and pistachio salad
It was a little moment of revelation, I remember, when I first combined roasted cauliflower and raw grated cauliflower in the same dish. So different from one another, but working so well combined. This is lovely as it is, served as part of a spread, or spooned alongside some roast chicken or lamb. Don’t throw away the leaves of the cauliflower here. They’re delicious to eat, roasted and crisp, or grated raw as you would the rest of the cauliflower. If you want to get ahead, roast the cauliflower up to 4–6 hours in advance. Keep at room temperature and then just combine with the remaining ingredients when ready to serve.
Serves four
1 extra-large cauliflower (1¾ lb/800g)
1 small onion, roughly sliced (¾ cup/130g)
⅓ cup/80ml olive oil
salt
1¼ cups/25g parsley, roughly chopped
½ cup/10g mint, roughly chopped
½ cup/10g tarragon, roughly chopped
seeds from ½ medium pomegranate (mounded ½ cup/80g)
⅓ cup/40g shelled pistachios, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1½ tbsp lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Coarsely grate a third of the cauliflower and set aside in a bowl. Break the remaining cauliflower into florets, roughly 1¼ inches/3cm wide, and add these to a separate bowl with the cauliflower leaves, if you have any, and the onion. Toss everything together with 2 tbsp of oil and ¼ tsp of salt, then spread out on a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for about 20 minutes, until cooked through and golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Once cool, put the roasted vegetables into a large bowl with the 3 tbsp/50ml oil, the grated cauliflower, and parsley, mint, tarragon, pomegranate seeds, pistachios, cumin, and lemon juice, along with ¼ tsp salt. Toss gently, just to combine, then transfer to a platter and serve.
Mustardy cauliflower cheese
This is the ultimate comfort dish, looking for a roast chicken, some sausages, or a pan-fried steak to go alongside. Veggie options also work well—just some hearty brown rice, for example, and a simple salad with a dollop of yogurt and a wedge of lime. This can be made up to the point of baking and stored in the fridge for 1 day.
Serves four
1 large cauliflower, broken into roughly 1½ inch/4cm florets (7 cups/700g)
2 tbsp/30g unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely diced (1 cup/120g)
1½ tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp medium curry powder
1 tsp mustard powder
2 green chiles, seeded and finely diced
¾ tsp black mustard seeds
¾ cup plus 2 tbsp/200ml heavy cream
4¼ oz/120g aged Cheddar, coarsely grated
salt
⅓ cup/15g fresh white breadcrumbs (from about ½ slice, crust left on if soft)
¼ cup/5g parsley, finely chopped
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Steam the cauliflower over boiling water for 5 minutes, until just softening. Remove and set aside to cool slightly.
Put the butter into a 9-inch/24cm round casserole pan or ovenproof dish of a similar size and place over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 8 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the cumin, curry powder, mustard powder, and chiles and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mustard seeds, cook for 1 minute, then pour in the cream. Add 1¼ cups/100g of Cheddar and ½ tsp of salt and simmer for 2–3 minutes, until the sauce slightly thickens. Add the cauliflower, stir gently, and simmer for 1 minute before removing from the heat.
Place the remaining ¼ cup/20g of Cheddar in a bowl and add the breadcrumbs and parsley. Mix, then sprinkle over the cauliflower. Wipe the top inside edge of the pan clean (with a spatula or cloth)—any cream there will burn—and place in the oven. Bake for 8 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cauliflower is hot. Turn the broiler to high and keep the pan underneath for 4 minutes, or until the top is golden and crisp. Keep an eye on it so that it does not burn. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little—just for 5 minutes or so—before serving.
Roasted whole cauliflower
Keep all the leaves on the head of cauliflower—they are deliciously crisp and tasty when roasted. I like to serve this in the center of the table, for people to share with drinks at the start of a meal. We break the cauliflower apart with our hands, dipping the individual florets and crispy green leaves into the green tahini sauce and sprinkling with salt. If that sounds a bit odd or messy (which it’s actually not, surprisingly), you can always cut the cauliflower into four wedges and serve on individual plates, to be eaten more traditionally with a knife and fork! Either way, the tahini sauce is entirely optional. I love it, but just a squeeze of lemon or a dollop of crème fraîche also work very well.
Serves four
1 jumbo cauliflower, with all leaves intact (2¾ lb/1.3kg)
3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp olive oil
flaked sea salt
1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
Green tahini sauce (optional; recipe follows)
Using a pair of scissors, lightly trim the leaves at the top of the cauliflower, so that about 2 inches/5cm of the actual cauliflower head is exposed.
Fill a pan (that is large enough to fit the cauliflower in) three-quarters full of salted water. Bring to a boil, then carefully lower in the cauliflower, exposed head down—don’t worry if the base is sticking out a little. Return to a boil, cook for 6 minutes, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the cauliflower into a colander, exposed head down. Set aside for 10 minutes to drain and cool.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Mix together the butter and oil. Place the cauliflower on a medium baking sheet, exposed head now facing upwards, and spread the butter-oil mix all over the cauliflower, followed by 1¼ tsp of flaked salt. Place in the oven and roast for 1½–2 hours, basting the cauliflower with the oil five or six times during cooking, until the cauliflower is really tender and dark golden brown and the leaves are crisp and charred.
Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes, then cut into wedges (or pull it apart with your hands!). Serve with the lemon wedges and a little sprinkle of salt, or the green tahini sauce below.
Green tahini sauce
This is a delicious sauce to serve with the cauliflower, but is totally optional. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
This makes enough sauce for one cauliflower, to serve four
rounded ¼ cup/80g tahini
¾ cup/15g parsley, roughly chopped
1 small garlic clove, crushed
⅓ cup/80ml water
3 tbsp lemon juice
flaked sea salt
Pour the tahini into the small bowl of a food processor along with the parsley and garlic. Blitz for about 1 minute, until the tahini is green, then pour in the water and lemon juice and season with ¼ tsp of flaked salt. Continue to blitz until you have a smooth green sauce with the consistency of heavy cream. Add a touch more tahini if it’s too thin, or a splash more water if it’s too thick.
Curried egg and cauliflower salad
Pictured with Roast cabbage with tarragon and pecorino (this page)
This is what Coronation chicken would taste like if you replaced the chicken with cauliflower and hard-boiled egg. An introduction that possibly makes no sense until you eat it for yourself. If you are missing the chicken side of the equation, then you could do worse than serve this with said bird, roasted on the weekend.
Serves four to six
1 medium cauliflower, trimmed and broken into 1¼–1½-inch/3–4cm florets (5 cups/500g); keeping the tender leaves
; 1 onion, peeled and cut into ½-inch/1cm wedges (2 cups/180g)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp mild curry powder
salt and black pepper
9 large eggs
6 tbsp/100g Greek-style yogurt
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp Aleppo chile flakes (or ½ tsp other crushed red pepper flakes)
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and roughly crushed
2 lemons: 1 squeezed to get 1 tbsp juice, 1 cut into 4–6 wedges, to serve
½ cup/10g tarragon, roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 475°F.
Mix the cauliflower florets (with any young leaves attached) in a large bowl with the onion, oil, 2 tsp of the curry powder, ¾ tsp of salt, and plenty of pepper. Once combined, spread out on a large parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, until soft and golden brown but still retaining a bite. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Fill a medium pan with plenty of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-high, then carefully lower in the eggs and boil gently for 10 minutes, until hard-boiled. Drain the eggs, then return them to the same pan and fill with cold water to stop them cooking. Once cool, peel the eggs, place them in a large bowl, and break them roughly with the back of a fork to form large chunks.
In a separate small bowl, mix together the yogurt, mayonnaise, the remaining 1 tsp of curry powder, half the chile flakes, the cumin, lemon juice, and ¼ tsp salt. Add the sauce to the eggs, along with the cauliflower and onion and the tarragon. Mix together well, spoon the mixture onto a large plate, then sprinkle with the remaining chile flakes and serve, along with the lemon wedges.
Chickpeas and Swiss chard with yogurt
Pictured on this page, left
This is comfort food at its best, served with some steamed rice. Don’t worry if you don’t have cilantro at home already—it’s a nice little garnish but the dish holds its own perfectly without. Make this up to 6 hours ahead if you like, up to the point before the lemon juice and yogurt are added. Assemble before serving and serve at room temperature or just warmed through.
Serves two
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into ¾-inch/2cm pieces (1½ cups/200g)
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
salt and black pepper
1 large onion, finely chopped (1¼ cups/180g)
1 tsp caraway seeds
1½ tsp ground cumin
7 oz/200g Swiss chard leaves, sliced into ½-inch/1cm strips
1 (15.5 oz/440g) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1¾ cups/240g)
5 tbsp/75 ml water
1 lemon: juice half to get 1 tbsp and cut the other half into 2 wedges, to serve
¼ cup/70g Greek-style yogurt
¼ cup/5g cilantro, roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Mix the carrots with 1 tbsp of oil, ¼ tsp of salt, and a grind of pepper. Spread out on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes—they should still be a little crunchy.
Place the remaining 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan, over medium heat, and add the onion, caraway, and cumin. Fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Add the chard, cooked carrots, chickpeas, water, ½ tsp salt, and a good grind of pepper and mix through. Cook for 5 minutes, until the chard leaves are soft and hardly any juice is left in the pan.
Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, top with a generous spoonful of yogurt, a sprinkle of cilantro, a drizzle of oil, and a wedge of lemon and serve.
Slow-cooked runner beans in tomato sauce
Pictured on this page, right
Serve this with some brown rice for a dish that manages to be both summery and light, comforting and hearty. It’s lovely, also, as part of a mezze spread. It can be made up to 2 days in advance, if you like—the flavors only improve. You can then either warm it through before serving or take it out of the fridge 30 minutes or so before eating to have it come to room temperature.
Serves four
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, roughly chopped (1¾ cups/240g)
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp cumin seeds
1½ tsp hot paprika
¾ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 lb 2 oz/500g runner beans, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal into ¾-inch/2cm pieces
6 medium tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped (2½ cups/500g)
2 cups/500ml vegetable stock
salt and black pepper
½ cup/10g cilantro, roughly chopped
Put the oil into a large sauté pan with a lid and place over medium-high heat. Add the onions and fry gently for 8 minutes, stirring from time to time, until they are starting to color and soften. Add the garlic, cumin, paprika, and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 2 minutes, stirring. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 1 minute, then add the beans, tomatoes, stock, ¾ tsp of salt, and some black pepper. Decrease the heat to medium, cover the pan, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the sauce is thick and the beans are completely soft. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Tofu and haricots verts with chraimeh sauce
This is a lovely veggie main, served as it is or with some rice. Chraimeh is a piquant sauce from Libya. It keeps well in the fridge for at least 1 week (or can also be frozen and kept for 1 month), so make double or triple the quantities. It also works as a sauce for chicken or fish or just as a dip with bread before supper.
Serves four
1 lb/455g haricots verts, trimmed
1 tbsp sunflower oil
14 oz/400g firm tofu, cut into 1-inch/2½cm cubes and patted dry
salt
¾ cup/15g cilantro, roughly chopped
CHRAIMEH SAUCE
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp hot paprika
1 tbsp caraway seeds, lightly toasted and crushed in a pestle and mortar
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp sunflower oil
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp sugar
2 limes: juice 1 to get 1 tbsp and cut the other into 4 wedges, to serve
salt
1 cup plus 1 tbsp/250ml water
Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and place over high heat. Once boiling, add the green beans and boil for 5–6 minutes, until they are cooked but still retain a slight bite. Drain, refresh with cold water, drain again, and set aside.
Put the oil into a large sauté pan and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the tofu and a rounded ¼ tsp of salt and fry for 4–5 minutes, turning throughout so that all sides are golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
To make the chraimeh sauce, mix the garlic, paprika, caraway, cumin, cinnamon, and oil in a small bowl. Return the large sauté pan to medium-high heat and, once hot, add the garlic and spice mix. Fry for about 1 minute, then add the tomato paste, sugar, lime juice, and ¾ tsp of salt. Stir to combine, then pour in the water to make a thin sauce. Once bubbling, stir frequently for about 2 minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken. Return the green beans to the pan and continue to cook for another 1 minute, until the sauce is thick and the beans are hot.
Remove from the heat and gently stir in the tofu and cilantro. Divide among four shallow bowls and serve, with a wedge of lime alongside.
Avocado and fava bean mash
You can look at shelling fava beans two ways: either as a great big bother not worth doing, or as something wonderfully therapeutic to do with the radio or music on. It’s also a job very eas
y to outsource, if anyone is offering to help. Either way, the resulting dish is wonderful—lighter than an avocado-only guacamole and all the more lovely for it. The mash can be made in advance, if you like; it keeps in the fridge for a couple of days.
Serves four as part of a mezze plate
9 oz/250g podded fava beans, still in their shells but not in their pods (fresh or frozen)
1 large avocado, peeled and roughly chopped (1¼ cups/190g)
1 lemon: finely shave to get 1 long strip, then juice to get 1½ tbsp
¼ cup/60ml olive oil
salt
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Fill a small saucepan with salted water and bring to a boil. Blanch the beans for 2 minutes, then drain, refresh, and drain again. Peel off and discard the skins of the beans, then set aside ⅓ cup/50g. Put the rest of the beans into a food processor with the avocado, lemon juice, 2 tbsp of oil, and ¼ tsp salt and blitz until almost smooth.
Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat, then gently fry the green onions and lemon strip for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the reserved fava beans and a pinch of salt.
Spread the avocado and fava bean mash over a plate creating a natural rim around the edge. Spoon the green onion mix into the middle just before serving. The lemon strip does not normally get eaten, but it looks nice as a garnish.