This is the tenth Ottolenghi cookbook and it is full of delicious recipes created in the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen.
I still have Ottolengi (2008) his first cookbook, and well remember how excited we were to discover this new chef whose inventive, mainly plant based Middle Eastern recipes, became our go to for special dinner parties.
The emphasis in Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things is once again on Mediterranean flavours. But increasingly his team is embracing the rest of the world and have given a very inventive twist to recipes from cuisines such as Korea, Japan, India, Indonesia, and Argentina.
What is so clever about this book, and makes it incredibly useful, is that to each of the flavoursome dishes, a little bit extra has been added: a sauce, a sprinkle, or a pickle. These are intended to add pops of texture, colour, acidity and heat. Such magical flavour bombs make a good meal great. And as each of these extras can also be used alongside many other meals, there are endless opportunities for mixing and matching
I dived right in and cooked up a storm including:
Whole roasted carrots with sweet and sour dressing. The dressing, which included raisins, cider vinegar, maple syrup and blanched almonds, turned this humble vegetable into a stylish dish. It can also be poured over lightly blanched greens and other roasted roots.
Shawarma cauliflower with green tahini.
The spicy bite sized cauliflower florets were roasted and partnered with a delectable green tahini sauce made from parsley, garlic, lemon rind and tahini. This would also make a great dip for crudites.
Sweet potato with goma dare and crispy tofu.
Tofu can be very bland and boring. But here it was grated and baked with an Aleppo chili and then tossed briefly with soya sauce. These little crunchy nuggets were so scrumptious I found it impossible to resist nibbling away at them before dinner. The goma dare is made from Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise, so loved by children, with just a little soy sauce, rice vinegar, and maple syrup added.
Chicken wings with banana ketchup
The banana ketchup, which has been used both as a marinade and a sauce for chicken has Filipino roots. To be honest, it was just a little too sweet for my taste.
Dreamy pasta and beans with halloumi and rocket pesto.
I never thought that I would use words like simple and quick to describe any Ottolenghi recipe but in this one he and his Test Kitchen have nailed it!
This super easy one pot weeknight dinner comes together, as Ottolenghi puts it ‘magically in under an hour!’ It has been made extra special with the addition of finely grated halloumi that looks like a fluffy cheese cloud when grated. It’s the kind of comfort food we’ll happily come back to again and again.
In his earlier cookbooks some of his ingredients were hard to source for which he remained unapologetic.
‘If I didn’t use more unusual ingredients people wouldn’t read me’ he was once quoted as saying. ‘Every era has its list of ingredients that are considered exotic and then, 15 years later they are not.’
And he has been proved right. Ingredients such as za’atar, sumac and pomegranate molasses are readily available in our supermarkets now but not Rose Harissa, so he has provided a recipe for that in this book.
Coffee Mousse with Tahini Fudge.
The Ottolenghi desserts are legendary and there are some showstoppers at the end of the book including this mousse for coffee lovers. The tahini fudge which is layered on top is suitable for vegans. Any leftovers can be slathered on toast (which was breakfast sorted in our house for a couple of days!)
I can’t wait to try more of his recipes with alluring names like Cheesy baked crepes with orange rayu, Green frittata with burnt aubergine and pomegranate salsa and Brown sugar meringue roulade with burnt honey apples!
Reviewer: Lyn Potter
Ebury Press