• Eat Your Books

  The page numbers in the US edition of Plenty More are each 12 lower than in the indexed UK edition (the page is in the Notes for each recipe).

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Baked mint rice with pomegranate and olive salsa

  • jaelsne on November 25, 2018

    I enjoyed this dish, but did not find it as flavorful as I had hoped. The rice preparation was certainly easy, and the rice came out perfectly done. I followed the recipe to the letter, but next time I’ll play with the salsa ingredients a little.

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    This is a super easy method to prepare rice. I loved the combination of ingredients. Perfect with slow roasted lamb shoulder as part of a middle eastern feast.

  • CallmeIshbel on October 26, 2018

    Easy to prepare ahead, lovely subtle mint flavour infused in the rice. Salsa would go well as a side dish or with other grains and legumes

  • Rutikazooty on January 06, 2020

    My husband made for a block party. Had half the mint (we were low) and pecans instead of walnuts plus added some fresh tarragon. Everyone gave compliments but I thought it was not so special as to make a second time. I agree with previous comment that not as flavorful as one would hope.

• Beef meatballs with lemon and celeriac

  • jaelsne on October 19, 2018

    I had been very excited about trying this recipe. I followed it to the letter, but I was disappointed with the result. The quantity of bread crumbs overwhelmed the meatballs and made them somewhat crumbly. I will make it again using fewer bread crumbs. I love celery root, and the spicing was interesting.

  • greedyrosie on June 28, 2020

    I thought it was ok. My family really enjoyed it and I found it enjoyable to make but I wasn’t overwhelmed. Fine for a weeknight tea but I wouldn’t rush to make it again.

  • bwhip on October 19, 2018

    We made this tonight and we really loved it. The meatballs were excellent, and the celery root was delicious and cooked perfectly. The broth had a perfect combination of flavors, with brightness from the lemon and a really interesting blend of spices. The dish was remarkably flavorful for something that came together pretty quickly.

  • Lsblackburn1 on November 17, 2019

    Loved this! Served it over couscous and topped it with some leftover lebheh we had.

  • katy1729 on September 05, 2019

    1st Sept 2019. Made this with vegan (soya) mince. At first I thought it would be a disaster as the uncooked meatball mixture would not stick together, but I cooked it for a bit in a sauté pan and it got more sticky, so I was able to form the meatballs once the mixture had cooled a bit. The spiced celeriac and lemon mixture was more interesting than I had anticipated, but it wasn't a complete winner for us.

• Peas with sorrel and mustard

  • krista_jo on August 07, 2015

    This recipe was extremely delicious -- it elevated frozen peas to a new level -- and will enter my regular repertoire. I substituted arugula for sorrel, which, alas, is impossible to obtain where I live.

  • Rutabaga on April 29, 2015

    This recipe is pretty quick and easy - certainly compared with most of the Plenty More recipes! It's great to have a different way to prepare frozen peas, and perfect for spring, when sorrel is available at the farmer's market. With the exception of the sorrel (and the dry mustard, which I simply omitted), the ingredients are ones I typically have on hand. It would be good without sorrel, too, but I'd add some lemon juice to give it a little tang in that case.

  • finebec on September 22, 2018

    With Farmer's Market fresh peas and home grown sorrel. A delight.

• Lemon and curry leaf rice

  • Jane on November 14, 2018

    I'm not a big fan of plain rice - infusing the baked rice with lemon zest, curry leaves and cinnamon stick really elevated this. I served it with Squash with cardamom and nigella seeds, also from Plenty More. It worked very well - both as a flavor combination and that the rice could bake in the oven at the same time as the squash.

  • debkellie on May 29, 2016

    Really, really tasty.. I liked his head note, which is why I tried it. Would definitely do again. And I think it does need the butter!!

  • Melanie on October 12, 2014

    Fantastic, will definitely make this again. Essentially, you boil some water with the herbs and spices before mixing in with the rice and baking. I loved the taste of the rice after all the flavours infused. Although I added the lemon and butter mix at the end I don't really feel that this is an essential component.

  • dinnermints on February 22, 2015

    Update: Used brown basmati rice and 3 1/4 cups of water. I didn't increase the soaking time for the rice, but baked it for 40-45min .Thirty-five min. of that was at 375, since I find his oven temps to be a bit too high sometimes (although I don't think that's the case here) - next time will keep it at 400. I used two tablespoons of butter, and next time will cut it down to one tablespoon. I'll also try decreasing the salt by 1/4 tsp. This time I used frozen curry leaves - fresh were definitely more flavorful. But overall it was still delicious.

  • dinnermints on November 01, 2014

    I made this the regular ol' way in a pot because I prefer brown rice (and the oven was occupied) and didn't have time to experiment. Once I figure out what works for baking brown rice in the oven, I'll try this again. Probably didn't need that much butter at the end, if any.

  • tofudogg on January 15, 2015

    We made this for dinner tonight, and we all loved it. I used brown basmati and just used more water for the infusion. I also soaked the brown rice for 30 minutes instead of 15. The flavor and texture of the right was great. I do agree that the butter at the end was too much. I think I will do it with just lemon juice next time. My son, a butter fan, did love all the butter.

  • Keighleyjm on February 08, 2019

    Cooked for the first time and well worth it. Wonderful flavours and an excellent crusty rice layer to fight over. Next time I’d make sure I used a smaller baking tray - the rice was a little too spread out this time.

  • StephEpices on November 30, 2019

    A very nice flavorful side as an alternative to plain rice. I needed to cook mine in the oven 15 minutes longer than stated. Other than that I followed the exact recipe. I believe this serves more like 6 people rather than 4.

• Saffron, date and almond rice

  • Jane on October 09, 2014

    This was a technique I had never used before for rice. A 2 hour soak in salty lukewarm water, a very brief boil (4 minutes) then a 35 min very gentle steam with minimal added water. It worked really well - perfectly cooked and separated grains of rice. The top layer of rice was maybe a little undercooked and quite lukewarm as the heat didn't really reach the top of the pan. But once it was topped with the Iranian vegetable stew with dried limes (p.146) I was serving it with, those quibbles didn't matter. Because the saffron soaked water is drizzled on at the end before a last 10 minute rest, the grains are distinctly white or yellow, which looks pretty.

• Tomato and pomegranate salad

  • Jane on September 28, 2014

    A very tasty and pretty salad but boy does it take a long time to dice all those tomatoes and peppers into 0.5cm dice (and I only made half quantities). I thought the flavor of the oregano leaves was a bit dominant when I bit on a leaf so I'll skip those next time. He says this serves 4 but I think it stretches to 6 as a side dish.

  • FJT on June 26, 2015

    Loved this so much I made it again the day after. I didn't dice the tomatoes quite as small as the recipe said - life is too short!!

  • hyperbowler on August 10, 2016

    I'm glad I took others' advice about serving size and cut the recipe in half--- this salad doesn't keep well. I used juicy, peak ripeness, heirloom tomatoes and the salad turned into a soup within 24 hours.

  • Dishyrishie on March 15, 2015

    Makes heaps and I'd go a little more 'rustic' on the dice. Another winner from Ottolenghi

  • Yildiz100 on February 20, 2018

    Great flavors but the proportions are a little weird. Started with a third of the tomatoes and added the same ratio of most ingredients, however I needed more pomegranate (used 1/2 instead of a third) and more oregano (full amount). Delicious but I wonder if something else would be better than the oregano. Might try thyme, mint, or parsley, or a combo of thyme and oregano.

  • clancotter on January 17, 2015

    Very pretty tastes delicious but makes a lot, would be enough for 6 as a side

  • dinnermints on November 01, 2014

    Tastes delicious and looks pretty, but would have to be at least twice as delicious to justify all of that tiny dicing. Also think this could serve 6.

  • IsaSim on October 29, 2014

    Indeed very long to prepare; maybe cheat with a few pulses in a food processor? That's what I will try next summer: it will be less pretty, but that's the only way there is going to be a repeat... Also, I found the vinaigrette amount too small for the quantity of vegetables, as is, the salad lacked punch to our taste.

  • CarltonCaz on May 02, 2016

    I love this dish. The better the tomato the better the final result.

• Alphonso mango and curried chickpea salad

  • Jane on June 02, 2017

    This was one if those dishes where I entered what I had (mangoes, spinach, cauliflower) into EYB and this is what came up. I didn't have time to use dried chickpeas so used a rinsed can. Not sure whether that would have made a difference but I found this a bit bland. The curry flavor was not very pronounced. If I make this again I would up the spices and also roast the cauliflower florets rather than blanching and pan-frying them. Actually I think tossing the cauliflower in more of the spices before roasting would be a big improvement.

  • Breadcrumbs on May 25, 2015

    p. 105 - This dish combines a number of familiar and delicious flavours in an unconventional way. I make chickpea curries, I make curried cauliflower and I’ve served each with mango chutney but never a salad combining these ingredients. In the recipe head note, YO professes his love for the Alphonso Mango and it was his passion for this fruit that really attracted me to this recipe as I suspected he’d be using it in a way to really highlight its flavours. This is indeed a dish where the mango plays a starring role visually, flavour-wise and texturally. In our case, the cooling sweet effect of the mango was to perfect counter to the spicy heat of the curry. This is definitely one of the best curried vegetable salads we’ve ever eaten. Well worth a try, delicious! Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1012789?commentId=9576990#9576990

  • vickster on June 13, 2017

    I really liked this and I highly recommend it. And it is easy. The spice combo and elements of the dish go so well together. Unfortunately my husband doesn't really like this flavor profile, so I probably won't make again.

  • radishseed on April 21, 2015

    This is awesome. The spinach doesn't incorporate well with the rest of the salad, though. I feel like it should be wilted or maybe chopped into smaller pieces. I do like the bit of green and snap it adds. I also threw some toasted sliced almonds on top.

  • kari500 on November 05, 2016

    Used canned beans and regular mango. LOVED it.

  • kari500 on July 15, 2020

    No spinach, and subbed peaches for the mango #CovidCooking. Needed a bit more curry powder and salt this way, but still delicious.

  • TrishaCP on May 31, 2015

    This had quite a few steps, but great flavor if you like mangoes and curry. I didn't have time to soak and cook the chickpeas so I used one can- rinsed and heated with the onion mixture. I sauteed the cauliflower longer than required to get more color- and I would be tempted to skip the parboiling step in the future to save a pot- I think if the florets are small enough just sautéing is ok. I agree that the spinach would be better chopped finely for more even distribution, but really this is a minor detail- overall, this is a really nice dish.

  • dinnermints on October 15, 2015

    This was good, although I'd decrease the oil next time. Also, I didn't use the baking soda with the chickpeas, but did cook them with some added vegetables and later on salt for flavor. I think this is the only Ottolenghi dish I've made so far that could've used a little more salt (maybe I accidentally skimped/omitted somewhere). It also took me longer to get color on both the onion and the cauliflower - not sure if that was because I was using a cast iron skillet. Also, I'd try toasting the mustard seeds separately next time, since the coriander and cumin were getting a bit brown and the mustard seeds still weren't popping.

• Green beans with freekeh and tahini

  • Jane on September 09, 2015

    I needed a more substantial side than just green beans so I increased the freekeh proportion. I liked the sauce - my tahini was quite thin so I think that helped. Though if you have a thicker tahini, you can thin the sauce by adding water. I didn't have chervil and didn't add the walnuts - I didn't feel like it was missing anything.

  • RosieB on October 30, 2014

    This was a tasty side dish. The sauce was very thick so next time I will reduce the amount of tahini. I didn't have chervil but I added the walnuts which gave the dish a nice crunch.

  • thekitchenchronicles on July 25, 2017

    I really liked this- the sauce was interesting but not too out there and it made for a much more substantial side dish than just green beans. Especially liked the addition of the nuts. I couldn't find fresh chervil so used half parsley, half tarragon and it worked well. Wrote it up here: http://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2017/06/01/green-beans-with-freekeh-and-tahini/

  • peaceoutdesign on January 04, 2022

    I didn't use the freekeh and it was tastier than I thought it would be. I think that this may also be good on brussels sprouts, again without the freekeh.

  • joanhuguet on August 13, 2015

    We found this inedible - the thick sauce and boiled grain coated the delicate fresh beans in a stodgy, brown glop. We rinsed off the sauce and ate the beans plain instead.

  • anya_sf on September 03, 2018

    I doubled the freekeh, used parsley instead of chervil, and omitted the walnuts as I didn't want the extra richness. I forgot to add the chile flakes. My tahini was fairly thin, so the sauce wasn't too gloppy. There was plenty of sauce for the extra freekeh, so with the original quantity, I'd probably use less sauce. My family enjoyed this dish. I can imagine that the walnuts would taste good in this. Next time I'll try it with roasted chicken.

• Lentils with mushroom and preserved lemon ragout

  • Jane on January 29, 2019

    This was lovely though quite a bit of work and a lot of washing up. The preserved lemon gives a lovely tang and there’s a lot else going on with caramelized leeks, mushrooms, carrots, celery root, and cilantro to boost the lentils. I served it with burrata rather than yogurt. A lovely meal.

  • Poppyseedbagel on March 01, 2015

    I have made this twice and it's lovely. I can't get or afford fresh porcini so use big chestnut mushrooms and just increase the amount of dried mushrooms. The combination of the lentil mixture, and the mushrooms together is gorgeous. I also don't add the cream – to keep it low saturated fat. So I just boil everything down for a long time – this takes a lot longer than Yotam's instructions, but still results in a delicious mixture. Doing it this way, this quantity serves three of us, eaten with bread.

• Iranian vegetable stew with dried lime

  • Jane on October 09, 2014

    This was an easy every night dinner and very good. It also looked very pretty - orange squash, red tomatoes and green spinach. I thought I had dried limes but when I pulled them out they were dried lemons, so I used them instead. They added a subtle sharpness to the sauce, quite different to fresh lemon juice. I'm going to search out some limes for next time I make it and see how they differ. The first night I served it with plain boiled rice and the second night I made Saffron, date and almond rice (p.61). Either is fine, though I preferred the second.

  • Rutabaga on November 20, 2014

    Unfortunately, my husband did not enjoy this dish, although I liked it. This was primarily because he's not a fan of squash, and while I had hoped this savory preparation with a variety of vegetables would overcome that, this was not the case. Also, my squash became very soft, while the potatoes were only just done, and neither the squash nor potatoes were browned like they are in the photo here. It was still a beautiful dish, but not for the squash-averse! If I made it again, I would add more barberries and stir in some powdered dried lime, as those gave the stew its special sourness, and we both felt those flavors could have been stronger.

  • jenburkholder on August 16, 2020

    I liked this but wasn’t in love with it, especially given how expensive it is to procure fresh herbs in Ottolenghi quantities in the dead of winter here. It felt a bit flat, needing significantly more flavor, and with just vegetables it wasn’t quite filling enough alone. I added a can of chickpeas.

• Squash with cardamom and nigella seeds

  • Jane on November 14, 2018

    This wasn't the prettiest of meals but boy was it flavorful. The combination of the caramelized red onions and all the spices gave the squash so much depth. I didn't see the point of changing pans to put the dish in the oven so I did the stove-top cooking in a Le Creuset pan that could go into the oven. This avoided washing up another pan plus all the lovely caramelized onion stuck to the bottom of the pan went into the oven. This also helped the stock issue noted by others - my stock was well absorbed by the end of the cooking time with enough left for a sauce. I served it with the lemon and curry leaf rice in the same book - great combination.

  • debkellie on May 29, 2016

    We liked this dish: the balance of flavours was great (served with the suggested side). Yes, method was strange.. but my Kent pumpkin needed longer (even with the stock!). Recommended.

  • dinnermints on November 01, 2014

    The flavors in this recipe were excellent, but the cooking method was a bit strange. Putting a cup of broth over the squash before roasting it made it a bit mushy - would not make it that way again. I think just omitting the broth would do the trick.

  • doughet on June 02, 2017

    The cooking method and the stock worked well with the two small butternut squash that we used for this recipe. The squash was tender but not mushy. We served the squash over Ottolenghi's lemon and curry leaf rice, which looked like a work of art with the cinnamon and curry leaves and lemon peel arranged over the top under the waxed paper. Great flavors in both dishes and we will definitely make these again. I put both in the oven together at 400 degrees F. and that worked fine.

  • Keighleyjm on February 08, 2019

    A complete transformation from normal roast vegetables - a wonderful combination of flavours. I mixed the yoghurt and cilantro which was a perfect complement and had it with the lemon and curry leaf rice!

• Cauliflower, grape and cheddar salad

  • Jane on July 10, 2018

    I didn't love this. It was OK but somehow the combination of flavors didn't really work for me. I only had green grapes and my cheese was a fairly strong Neal's Yard cheddar but I don't think even with those changes this would be worth a repeat for me.

  • westminstr on October 31, 2016

    As others have said, a very nice salad and perfect for fall. My cheddar was rather strong (I used an aged English cheddar) and I actually think I would have preferred something a bit milder. But overall great salad.

  • Breadcrumbs on May 12, 2015

    p. 178 - Even the word delicious somehow seems inadequate to describe this unique and flavour-packed salad. I think the fact that the combination of ingredients is so unusual really adds to the overall appeal of this dish, it creates a totally new taste-sensation in your mouth. The toasty crunchiness of the roasted hazelnuts, the fresh, juicy flavour bursts from the grapes, the sweetness of the honey and the tang of the Dijon and vinegar, somehow this all comes together to produce something truly sensational. This is a salad I’ll be serving when I entertain for years to come. Everyone raved about it and wanted the recipe. Thanks to those who wholeheartedly endorsed this on the “Cookbooks” thread, you were absolutely right!! Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1012789?commentId=9556919#9556919

  • TrishaCP on May 29, 2015

    I am not a huge cauliflower fan, but this was absolutely wonderful. I served it for a barbecue, and like Breadcrumbs, everyone wanted the recipe- the consensus favorite of my guests were the bits of toasted hazelnuts and the cheddar cheese (I used a sharp white). I made a double batch and had some leftover, but while still tasty, the dressing gets really strong overnight. It made eating the salad a second day almost like eating a pickle. ETA: July 26, 2015- I have made this for a few potlucks at this point, and everyone wants the recipe.

  • Melanie on October 12, 2014

    Great mix of flavours and textures. I enjoyed this more than I had expected and loved that each mouthful had a different "pop" of flavour.

  • shoffmann on January 20, 2019

    We enjoyed this. Good combination of flavors and textures, and not too complicated to pull together. I would definitely make this again.

• Aubergine cheesecake

  • Jane on October 29, 2014

    Fantastic. It takes a long time from start to finish - over 90 minutes - but most of that is just oven time. The prep time is very quick. And it is so good. Mine needed an extra five minutes in the oven to get golden.

  • chawkins on September 13, 2017

    Like anya_sf, mine also took 50 min of baking to set. It is a simple recipe but does take some time for the cook, with the pre-baking of the eggplant and the baking of the assembled cheesecake, the total oven time is hour and a half. We both like it , it is a good use of the abundant eggplants coming out of the garden.

  • hillsboroks on August 10, 2015

    Fantastic recipe, not too difficult and full of flavor. Like emilyrf I also was able to convert a non-eggplant eater into someone who raved about this dish. I used some of the numerous Japanese eggplants coming out of our garden and while it does take time, it is not very much hands-on time, most of it is just oven time. Both my husband and I, and the next door neighbors that I shared half of the finished cheesecake with, all agreed that the flavor just got better as it cooled closer to room temperature. I also think this would make a fabulous appetizer that could be made ahead, allowed to cool to room temperature and then cut into small squares to serve.

  • ksg518 on August 18, 2015

    Agree with the other notes that this is a great recipe. As others have noted, it does take time but most of it is hands off. I might try roasting the eggplant ahead of time and letting it come back to room temperature before proceeding to the next step. It occurs to me that you could substitute other vegetables for the eggplant (although I love eggplant). Perhaps roasted zucchini?

  • DeborahBluhm on September 21, 2014

    Was fab! Next time I will roast the tomatoes along with the aubergines too make it sing even more! So easy and quick too prep :)

  • emilyrf on July 22, 2015

    Absolutely lovely. I agree with Jane that it takes a long time - definitely not one to throw together on a whim, but it's not too demanding and the results are well worth it. I'm tempted to throw in some other roasted Mediterranean vegetables, and dot the surface with little cubes of feta, but this paired beautifully as a side-dish with some spatchcocked chicken, and even converted an aubergine-hater.

  • anya_sf on July 30, 2017

    I used 1.5 eggplants (a bit over 1.5 lbs) and only 4 oz cream cheese, because that's what I had left. I roasted the eggplant earlier in the day. I assumed that the cheese mixture did not have to be mixed completely smooth - the feta was still in small lumps - anyway, it worked fine. Mine took 50 min to bake, and even then, it was set but just barely lightly browned. We loved it. Three of us ate nearly all of it, and gladly would have eaten all had the side dish been less filling.

• Cauliflower cake

  • Jane on September 25, 2014

    There are so many recipes I want to make from this book but this is the one that grabbed me first (mainly because I had all the ingredients at home). Well, all except basil so I subbed sage. This cooks for 45 mins then sits for 20 mins so plan accordingly. Really delicious and looks gorgeous with the cheesy bronzed crust on top and circles of red onion. YO says it's even better the next day so I'm looking forward to the leftovers.

  • ellabee on June 21, 2015

    Quantities in the book are those at the link in digifish's note. No doubt some recipes were adjusted from the version that first appeared in the Guardian during re-testing for the book.

  • Cati on September 27, 2014

    Following Jane's notes decided I had to make before cauliflower season finished. Became an instant favourite especially since left overs will save me cooking tomorrow. I might cut down a little on the rosemary next time but possibly the new shoots on my young plant may have had more oil in them than an older plant.

  • lorloff on February 07, 2016

    Really liked this served as a side side with roasted chicken. Will definitely make again.

  • TrishaCP on May 04, 2020

    We really liked this. I didn’t read the reviews prior to making this, but had I done so, I would have added mustard as mentioned below. I had the nigella seeds and they were really good here. I also used frozen cauliflower (#covidcooking) and it worked just fine.

  • debkellie on June 23, 2015

    I was inspired to make this after reading notes this week about disputed quantities.. my variant halved quantities in the book version, and didn't quite follow specified technique - it seemed bizarre to add the eggs to the onion and to mush the cauli .. so I made the batter and added the onions to it; poured the batter into the tin, and pushed microwaved cauli florets into the batter, so they stayed whole. I also subbed in mascarpone in place of hard cheese.. it was delicious! And even with half quantities there's still enough for 6!

  • FJT on May 11, 2015

    This was easy to make and quite nice to eat - I don't think it really wowed me as much as I had expected. Fairly sure the family won't be putting in requests for me to make it again although they'd eat it if I served it up.

  • Melanie on November 05, 2014

    Another success, this was tasty and relatively easy to make. Looks great and the leftovers are fantastic.

  • Bloominanglophile on May 02, 2015

    I thought this was good, but not spectacular. Leftovers, however, are ideal for the lunchbox!

  • chawkins on February 22, 2015

    Very good and very easy to prepare, but it does take a bit of time, because both the cauliflower and the onion/rosemary mixture need to cool down before you can proceed with the rest of the steps. It also did not help that I was distracted during the preparation by a herd of over a dozen deer grazing in my backyard.

  • KarinaFrancis on June 20, 2015

    This is as good as they say. I had a little feta in the fridge so I added that too. I guess I'll have to make it again to find out if it is good the next day, no leftovers.

  • digifish_books on June 21, 2015

    Quantities of some ingredients (e.g. cauliflower, eggs, parmesan) in the linked recipe are quite different from those on the Ottolenghi website (http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/cauliflower-cake-shop).

  • digifish_books on June 27, 2015

    Yay! I made it using the lesser quantities (as per my other note) and the method from 'The Guardian' link. The 'cake' came out perfect. Some minor modifications - 6 eggs (instead of 7), no fresh basil, only dried (it is winter here) and no nigella or black sesame seeds, just regular sesame seeds. Also added (as I like to do with all omelette/frittata recipes) 2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt and 1 teaspoon sugar.

  • dinnermints on August 09, 2015

    Good, but was expecting something more transcendental given the reviews. Also I think we overcooked it a bit. Nonetheless it was a hit at our brunch, served with irish soda bread, pistachio sausage patties, the fig salad in Plenty More and sliced melon.

  • Zosia on November 10, 2014

    Beautiful, tasty, and not very complicated to make. I used thyme since it was all I had and it went wonderfully with the other ingredients. Leftovers, as has already been noted, were delicious.

  • ksg518 on March 20, 2017

    I know I'm late to the party with this recipe but what's one more review? We made this by the recipe except that we only had regular sesame seeds instead of the nigella seeds. I think that step might not be worth the effort in any event. I liked this fine although mine was a little dry; perhaps next time I'll add a few tablespoons of milk or cream. Overall, I thought this was a little on the bland side. But I plan to make this again in the summer with roasted peppers instead of the cauliflower.

  • MelissaM0223 on January 11, 2015

    Delicious! Skipped the nigella / sesame seeds, and used dried rosemary instead of fresh, but this was excellent. Takes a while so as noted, plan accordingly.

  • Lepa on February 22, 2018

    This was fine but not as good as I expected from all the rave reviews. I make a similar cake with broccoli, cheddar and bisquick from a recipe my MIL got from her friend years ago (the lady was a home economics teacher in the 70's). That recipe is much easier (no pre-cooking for the broccoli and onions) and, I'm sorry to say, tastes better. If my family wasn't already loyal to broccoli cake, I imagine this would have been more exciting.

  • emilyrf on July 22, 2015

    I made this without any turmeric, as I was cooking in someone else's kitchen and assumed that they must have some, (I seem to have at least 3 jars on the go at any one time), but it was nevertheless extremely tasty, and went down well with both my 90 year old grandmother and my 17 year old brother - not the easiest feat. I will admit to just using whichever small seeds I could get my hands on for the crust, but the lovely textural contrast between the crisp seeds and tender cauliflower made me glad I didn't skip it entirely. I'm definitely making this again, if only to use up some of that turmeric.

  • e_ballad on September 03, 2016

    Really tasty - boosted the flavour even more by roasting the cauliflower while I prepped the rest of the ingredients. The Parmesan also made this sufficiently seasoned, so I've omitted the additional salt. As with everyone else, the leftovers were even better!

  • raybun on June 12, 2017

    I made this to take to a picnic and it was delicious! I followed general advice and added a dollop of whole grain mustard and some pesto to the mix.

• Apricot, walnut and lavender cake

  • Jane on July 31, 2017

    This was a lovely summer cake. I didn't use lavender, mainly because I didn't have any, but also I don't very much like the taste (it tastes soapy to me). The cake had a lovely moist texture. My placement of the apricots wasn't as pretty as in Ottolenghi's own photo - my cake baked up over more of the fruit than in his version. But a delicious cake I will be repeating - maybe even adding lavender next time.

  • caitmcg on July 10, 2016

    I used all ground almonds, rather than almonds and walnuts. The result was a delicious cake that was a big hit and will make a regular appearance during apricot season.

  • TrishaCP on June 14, 2020

    The flavor of this cake is great. I omitted the lavender (not a fan), and the icing (odd confectioner’s sugar shortage). But in spite of everyone’s notes, I also burned the cake. I baked it for 60 minutes- after checking it at 45 minutes when it was still under-done. In my case it was the sides of the cake AND the bottom that burned. If I make this again, I would definitely reduce the oven temperature.

  • darcie_b on July 23, 2016

    I've made this twice - once as written and once with a few substitutions. The second time I used pistachios instead of walnuts and added 1/4 tsp each cinnamon & nutmeg instead of lavender. Both times the cake was delicious. The cake is moist and tender with excellent flavor. Watch the times, though - my cake got done slightly faster than the lowest time in the estimated range.

  • mondraussie on July 05, 2015

    Very interesting combination of flavours: walnuts, lavender and a hint of lemon zest. Nice and moist. I used fresh lavender, next time will have to try with dried.

  • dinnermints on July 07, 2018

    This was good, although quite rich. I weighed the fruit after pitting it; would do that again as it seemed just the right amount. I saw the notes about not letting it bake too long and so was cautious about checking it often towards the end, but then it seemed done at 70 minutes (and I think it could've gone longer). I think I let the butter got too soft/warm given the warm weather the day I made it. It did look lovely.

  • anya_sf on July 30, 2017

    I lined the bottom of the pan with parchment, but sprayed the sides with cooking spray, which worked fine. I should have read the other notes first, because I was very busy doing other things while baking this, and didn't check the time until 70 minutes, at which point the cake was already burnt on the edges. Sigh. We cut away the burnt parts and ate it anyway. It was still good and quite moist inside. I used dried lavender and the flavor was subtle, but added a beautiful perfume to the cake. The cake isn't too sweet and you could almost have it for breakfast (OK, I do plan to do this, so not almost...). I might play around with the flavors next time - maybe add vanilla, use orange zest instead of lemon, possibly some spice.

  • StephEpices on August 10, 2019

    I have made this several times and it one of my favorite cakes! When apricot season was over, i made it with figs and it worked really well too. When I was out of lavender I once used rosemary and it also was excellent. This is just one of the best cake recipes I've made so far. I do cut the sugar in half, though.

• Avocado butter on toast with tomato salsa

  • Jane on September 14, 2018

    Not as simple as my usual mashed avo on toast (just lemon, salt and Aleppo pepper added) but this was worth the extra effort. The lime zest and capers in the salsa gave it more zing. I didn't have dill or tarragon so used basil and parsley as the herbs and it was fine. Very nice lunch.

  • JennyHay on January 28, 2019

    I served the tomatoes and avocado butter in individual bowls with small toasts/brushcetta. Very good with drinks.

  • Zosia on October 17, 2018

    A very tasty version of avocado toast. The salsa was bright and fresh and the avocado-dill pairing was particularly good. I omitted the butter - the avocado spread was still rich and creamy - and enjoyed it on whole wheat bagels.

  • Rutabaga on February 06, 2019

    This was a wonderful melding of flavors, even though I left out the tarragon and cumin. The avocado butter is decadent, but a good treat, and it makes an otherwise light meal more filling. Despite being a little more complicated than basic avocado toast, it's still quite quick to make.

  • bwhip on October 19, 2018

    Delicious. The avocado butter was creamy and delicious, with particular brightness from the lime juice. The amount of tarragon and dill called for seemed like quite a bit, so I just sprinkled what seemed like an appropriate amount over the top, and thought it tasted just right.

  • Ro_ on May 08, 2020

    Didn't have dill so used some mint and basil. I really liked the creaminess of the avocado butter, complemented by the zingy salsa. I don't know if this will be a regular brunch fixture at mine, but I could see making it again occasionally.

  • Trentinla on June 18, 2020

    Didnt think the added butter added anything more than fat and calories. unneeded

  • JJ2018 on May 21, 2019

    This was really nice and came together super quickly. A really tasty elevated avocado on toast to impress with.

• Bulgur with tomato, aubergine and lemon yoghurt

  • Jane on November 03, 2018

    I really liked this. It’s not a quick meal but not complicated at all. I thought when tasting the bulghur that the allspice dominated too much but with the other elements it was good. The preserved lemon and mint yogurt really makes the dish. I didn’t salt the yogurt as preserved lemon is already salty. If serving this as a vegetarian main course I would make 50% more eggplant.

  • kitchen_chick on September 01, 2019

    Lovely dish. Easy prep. I used tomatoes I had canned rather than cherry tomatoes and they worked just fine. I agree with making more eggplant.

  • bwhip on October 22, 2018

    We enjoyed this very much. Unusual and delicious. Easy prep.

  • JJ2018 on September 19, 2019

    This was pleasant enough but there wasn’t enough too it to make me want to repeat. I do think I will try cooking bulgur wheat in this way again though

  • StephEpices on August 10, 2019

    Perfect for a mezze spread! I have made it with and without the eggplant and I prefer it with if it's part of a more substantial meal and not just apps.

• Roasted butternut squash with lentils and Dolcelatte

  • westminstr on December 02, 2019

    I made this for Thanksgiving bc I had a vegan guest - I though the extra protein from lentils would be nice. I eliminated the cheese and also made several hours ahead so it was not warm when served. I really liked this at first but as time went on, liked it less. I think it was either the mint, tarragon, or the combo that threw me off. I honestly probably would have preferred it with just parsley. I didn't use the cheese so I don't know if I would have liked it better with the cheese included.

  • L.Nightshade on February 15, 2019

    It was my choice to sub hubbard squash, as I started out making this dish for an Ark of Taste potluck, and our Pioneer hubbard squash is one of the two items in the Ark from here on the island. It’s got a really tough skin, so I purchased the chopped, peeled variety. I used gorgonzola, as that was all that was available. Very glad I tried this, because it was a big success here. I was happy with the combination of flavors, as was Mr. Nightshade. It’s always a bit of a push to get him to agree to a vegetarian main, but that’s what this was, and he was happy. As much as I love gorgonzola and similar cheeses, I think it will be fine without it, and I’m putting it on vegan dinner party list.

  • lilham on January 10, 2019

    Mr lilham and I both liked this but the children (7 and 4) weren’t convinced. They pulled faces and made exaggerated gagging noises at both the dolcelatte and the squash.

  • sosayi on December 01, 2018

    Absolutely delicious and fairly easy recipe to prep. I subbed a Gorgonzola for the dolcelatte and added a tablespoon or so more lemon juice, but followed the recipe fairly exactly otherwise. As a main course, this made two substantial portions. We’ll make this again for sure.

  • JJ2018 on April 27, 2019

    This was a nice salad and liked the blue cheese and roasted squash but not amazing enough to call it a favourite! Be careful to really ensure the raw garlic is incorporated as I don’t think I mixed well enough so had some very strong bites

  • domechef on March 31, 2019

    A simple recipe, but I thought this was just okay. The components didn't mingle well for my taste buds. I much prefer the other squash recipe with the corn salsa and pumpkin seeds.

• Pork with ginger, spring onion and aubergine

  • westminstr on September 03, 2019

    Everybody really enjoyed this dish, and the kids loved the pork! I pulled some aside for them that just had the sauce, no aromatics, and they liked it that way. I also offered cilantro, peanuts and chile on the side instead of mixed in. Next time finely chop the ginger and garlic. Also I overcooked the scallions and eggplant - both were fine but softer than I like, so watch that next time. In my (adult) opinion, this dish was definitely best with all the elements mixed together. Eggplant on its own was bland but excellent mixed with the pork and sauce. Second try 9/19: finely chopped the ginger and garlic, sauteed only briefly, and served with roasted green beans instead of eggplant. also short on ginger (40 vs 60 g) which was fine. success!

  • TrishaCP on July 17, 2020

    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/may/23/yotam-ottolenghi-pork-recipes

  • TrishaCP on July 18, 2020

    This is very tasty and fast once all of the vegetables and aromatics are chopped. I only had 4 cups of eggplant-according to the recipe that was only 1/3 but it seemed plenty (for two people with leftovers).

  • Astrid5555 on October 15, 2018

    Excellent! I made my own kecap manis by boiling down regular soy sauce with palm sugar and added the eggplants to the sauce to flavor them some more after steaming. Very quick to make and weeknight friendly, two thumbs up by the whole family.

  • aargle on October 12, 2019

    This is an easy tasty dinner. I added some green beans which I stir fried with ginger, spring onions and garlic because I didn’t have enough eggplant and was very happy with the result. Will make again.

  • KarinaFrancis on August 20, 2019

    I did take some liberties with this recipe by mixing the steamed eggplants and some noodles into the pork mix. I really liked this dish, especially the sauce which made the dish. Would make it again.

  • Barb_N on February 13, 2019

    This comes together in a flash once the eggplant is steaming and the rice noodles are soaking. I used a wok and moved the aromatics to the side rather than removing from the pan. I doubled the sauce ingredients, intending to immerse the eggplant in it after the steam bath but I forgot. Still delicious after placing the eggplant over the noodles and bathing it all in the porky sauce. Will be a repeat for sure.

  • Foodycat on November 13, 2018

    I was sceptical about steaming the aubergines - I've tried it before and they haven't cooked properly - but these were lovely. Really silky, and the skins became very tender. The pork sauce is delicious, really punchy.

  • Popisdead on June 02, 2019

    Really good. Could do with a slightly stronger sauce. I would be tempted to put some citrus and chilli in. I think it would also serve really nicely over large salad leaves.

  • anya_sf on November 13, 2018

    I added some green beans to steam with the eggplant, adding them halfway through cooking. The vegetables needed a bit of extra salt. The pork was super flavorful and great with the vegetables (which would be quite plain on their own). We ate this with steamed rice and it was delicious.

  • Lucylew on November 22, 2019

    Very good. I skipped the peanuts due to personal preference, added some leftover garlic green beans to up the veg, mixed the eggplant in with the pork and sauce and served over brown basmati rice. It really is pretty simple!

  • jenburkholder on August 10, 2020

    Our family liked the flavor of this stir-fry, but as eggplant non-lovers we thought it would be better with almost any other vegetable - maybe summer squash?

• Curried lentil, tomato and coconut soup

  • westminstr on February 05, 2019

    Made on Feb. 2018 w a combo of red and french lentils bc I didn't have enough red. Had to add some extra water and cook longer to compensate for that. Eyeballed the ginger and had to add extra salt. This was really good; we liked it a lot!

  • MelMM on February 04, 2019

    2-1-2019 This smelled great cooking, and was quite tasty. When I tasted to adjust the seasonings, I found it to be lacking in salt, and added quite a bit more. I also felt it could use some acid, so added the juice of half a lemon. With those adjustments, it was a pleasant meal.

  • kari500 on March 21, 2019

    Best lentil soup I've ever had, and I love lentil soup. I had everything but the cilantro, so I subbed green onions and it was so good that I will do that from now on. Easy and delicious, and yes, add the lime.

  • L.Nightshade on February 14, 2019

    Only brown lentils were available here, so that’s what I used. Cooking took a bit longer than specified, but other than that it worked out well. I used my own curry blend, which was probably a bit hotter than called for, so the soup had a definite kick. I also served it with the limes as suggested in the headnote. My coconut milk was oddly thin, which was fine for stirring into the soup, but didn’t work well for the swirl on top. I enjoyed this soup quite a bit, it was homey and comforting, as a lentil soup should be, but with a little extra pop of heat. I didn’t add any additional salt, left that option for the table, but I did think the lime is a critical part of the finished dish.

  • FJT on November 26, 2018

    Really simple to make and great comfort food on a cold day. I added about two thirds of the water in the recipe and would probably add less next time.

  • Nossovitzky on May 19, 2019

    Really delicious! A big hit at our house and easy to make with pantry ingredients. I don't add the coconut on top and it doesn't lose anything. I think the main flavour comes from the curry powder so use one you like. I usually add more salt and more chilli (fresh or dried).

  • jackiecat on March 21, 2019

    https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/curried-lentil-tomato-and-coconut-soup

  • stockholm28 on April 07, 2019

    Delicious and very easy. This will be repeated.

  • pistachiopeas on February 09, 2019

    Really loved this. I added 1 tsp more of salt, and also lightly salted my onions at the beginning. Used Vadouvan curry & a bit more ginger than called for. We all really enjoyed this!

  • raybun on March 04, 2019

    Absolutely fantastic, best lentil soup I’ve ever tasted. I used brown lentils as that’s what I had. Even the fussy 11yr old enjoyed it once it had been in the blender, so 5 stars!

  • grindabod on January 29, 2019

    This is a delicious and warming soup, super easy, and it basically only uses storecupboard ingredients.

  • averythingcooks on December 07, 2019

    Well yes.....this is lovely. I made it pretty much as written except I used broth and needed extra to blend it very smooth (which is how I like lentil soup) before I stirred in the full amount of coconut milk.

  • Ro_ on January 27, 2020

    Absolutely delicious. A lovely texture, and great balance of flavours with the creaminess of the coconut milk, earthiness of the curry and lentils, and zing of the coriander and lime wedges (he suggests the latter in the blurb but not in the method/ingredients, but I highly recommend squeezing on at the end).

  • JJ2018 on April 28, 2019

    Huge hit for us. Really easy to make and a super tasty delicious soup. Can see this being a winter favourite

• Roasted aubergine with anchovies and oregano

  • westminstr on September 08, 2019

    Wow, loved this! Made for two with one eggplant (about 1/3 of the recipe) and half recipe of the herbs and dressing. Just outstanding!

  • blintz on February 23, 2020

    This was a huge hit! Everyone asked for the recipe. Very quick and I made it earlier in the day and then reheated the eggplant in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes and then added the dressing and herbs.

  • kath on January 26, 2019

    We love this! I have made it twice in one week.

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    Very easy, superb flavours, a great side dish.

  • Lepa on January 19, 2019

    We made this for a dinner party. It was really simple and delicious. I will definitely make it again!

  • saarwouters on September 16, 2018

    Great side dish with lots of flavour! Simple indeed and easy to make ahead.

  • Tee.Tee on May 30, 2020

    Easy to prepare and delicious! I subbed fresh mint in for the oregano. Will make it with fresh oregano when my plants grow out.

  • Ro_ on January 29, 2020

    I liked this a lot, and even my partner who doesn't really like aubergines said he didn't mind them in this recipe. I think I probably used more anchovy than was in the recipe (I had a big tin and I didn't measure) but they didn't seem to suffer for it! Can't get fresh oregano here, but dried was OK. I reduced the heat to 200 fan and the cooking time by five mins, as I think the aubergines would have burned otherwise.

  • Lsblackburn1 on March 26, 2020

    I put this on top of flat bread with hummus and ground lamb. Delicious!

• Green tahini sauce

  • westminstr on October 04, 2019

    This was quite a bit more work than regular lemon-tahini dressing but not very different or a whole lot better. I might have preferred it with some olive oil added.

• Dakos

  • westminstr on September 23, 2016

    I subbed stale-bread croutons for my freezer, tossed with olive oil and toasted until golden brown and dry, for the rusks. Also omitted the all-spice. Otherwise made as written and everyone really enjoyed it!

  • kari500 on January 01, 2020

    First time I made exactly as written, and it was delicious. This time I made it with TJs garlic/cheese croutons, and it was only slightly less delicious, and they were much easier to find. I also sort of played around with amounts - this recipe is very forgiving, and easy. It was the star of our New Year's Eve dinner.

  • mondraussie on September 08, 2016

    I used home made labneh instead of feta. Delicious!

  • lizebeth on December 18, 2017

    Unable to find dakos and no time to bake bread. I used toasted until crisp sourdough and the salad was still terrific.

• Sprouting broccoli with sweet tahini

  • jzanger on April 12, 2019

    Great side dish, and I have a feeling it's super adaptable. I made the sauce as written and used all the rest of the ingredients, but nothing else was measured in an exacting way. After blanching the broccoli (small heads cut into thin florets, not sprouting broccoli) and the green beans in salted water, then cooling them and draining, I charred them quickly in a hot cast iron skillet for a little more interest. The only other change I made was to toss in a large handful of grape tomatoes, which also went really well with the tahini sauce. I imagine this tahini sauce would be great as a kale salad dressing or in a carrot salad as well.

  • pennyvr on August 10, 2016

    Delicious. I left the salt out of the dressing, and microwaved the veggies instead of blanching. This was easy to make and well received.

  • dinnermints on March 18, 2018

    Excellent. Made the recipe exactly as stated (subbing broccolini for sprouting broccoli), found it to be full of flavor.

  • Rutabaga on May 01, 2015

    I wanted to like this more than I did; it was good, but felt a little lacking. To be fair, I used only purple sprouting broccoli - no haricots verts or snow peas - and I think that made the dish a little less interesting. I may have also used too much broccoli, as the flavors of the dressing seemed to get a little lost in it. The dressing itself was quite good; I tasted it before dressing the broccoli, so perhaps my ratio of dressing to broccoli was just a bit off.

• Courgette and ciabatta frittata

  • jzanger on October 18, 2018

    Super delicious! I only had on hand 1/2 cup of heavy cream and used 2% milk for the rest. I also only had baguette, and using about 2/3 of the amount of ciabatta listed worked just fine. This recipe could be easily played with to adjust herbs and spices. I’ll happily make this again!

  • Astrid5555 on November 10, 2018

    This is a delicious way to use up leftover bread. I made half a recipe for 2 adults and this was plenty. Adding some more vegetables such as spinach and cherry tomatoes would also be lovely. Will make again soon!

  • chaffinski on September 23, 2018

    I made this with full fat cottage cheese rather than milk soaked ciabatta. Served with the tomato carpaccio. Yum.

  • Lsblackburn1 on July 30, 2020

    I think I liked this even better warmed up on day 2. The flavors - especially the basil - really came through. Very tasty savory bread pudding.

• Rice salad with nuts and sour cherries

  • Breadcrumbs on May 12, 2015

    p. 54 – Fabulous dish! I made half and this recipe still produced a LOT of salad. I used some incredibly malty-nutty wild rice I brought back from a trip to Manitoba and it alone was so aromatic I’d have been happy if that were the only grain in the dish. But it wasn’t. Of course I then got to add in my favourite rice, basmati and on top of that, quinoa. Even mr bc who doesn’t take a huge interest in any side dishes that don’t involve potatoes couldn’t help asking about this dish as the house just got more and more delicious-smelling as I prepared this recipe. The toasted nuts and caramelized onions sent him over the edge and one of our guests almost shouted “caramelized onions and sun-dried sour cherries” when I was describing what went into this dish because he was so excited about the thought of it! No surprise this paired perfectly with our grilled lamb. So delicious! Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1012789?commentId=9558026#9558026

  • caitmcg on June 25, 2015

    I made this with wild rice, Camargue red rice, and brown basmati rice because I had them on hand and it was delicious, and a huge hit at the potluck I took it to. I have also had it made with quinoa as written, and I prefer the texture when made with all rices. Yield is about double that indicated.

  • Aggie92 on June 27, 2015

    Another delicious recipe from Mr. Ottolenghi! Since I was only cooking for 2, I cut the recipe in half and we still have a generous amount of salad left for at least 2 more nights. A half recipe easily feeds 6-8 as a side. I really liked the combination of flavors. Used a little extra lemon juice (another half lemon) since I like a zippy lemon flavor on my grain salads. Sadly I didn't have any arugula so had to leave it out. Will most definitely make this again.

  • Astrid5555 on March 18, 2017

    Delicious and for an Ottolenghi recipe quite quick to prepare. Made with a brown and wild rice mixture, and left out the quinoa since I made another quinoa salad as well. Really enjoyed the sour cherries in this one! Will definitely be making again!

  • Rajcakes on June 06, 2018

    This was my favorite from the book so far. It did take a while to put together and made a lot of salad, but it was delicious as leftovers the next day. Added lemon flavored olive oil and that really gave a boost to the lemon zing.

  • stockholm28 on September 16, 2019

    This was great. It makes a huge amount, but keeps well in the fridge. I add the arugula at serving time so that it doesn’t get that wilted texture. I think I prefer the Camargue Red Rice and Quinoa with Pistachio and Orange that is in Ottolenghi’s first book.

  • Frogcake on June 13, 2016

    Like others, I found this to be delicious and easy to prepare. (Don't mind all the pots and pans!) I did not have arugula and used kale instead. As well, I substituted dried cranberries soaked in lemon in place of sour cherries. We were all very happy to take this for lunch the following day!

  • steinsm on December 26, 2017

    Lovely salad but I found it took about 2 hours to make with all the stages! I did it exactly as stated and it made a huge quantity. The dressing could have done with a bit more "zip" -- not sure what I would add, but it definitely needs something more.

• Pink grapefruit and sumac salad

  • Breadcrumbs on May 12, 2015

    p. 32 - It was love at first sight when I spotted this salad in the book, it looks like art on a plate so if you eat with your eyes, this salad will leave you more than satisfied. I could only find green vs red endive however this dish didn’t suffer for it, except perhaps visually. My grapefruits weren’t as red as those in the book but no matter, I’m sure they were just as tasty. I chuckled when I read the prior reviews about guests drinking the remaining dressing off their plates. I’m not surprised; it really is that good. This isn’t a dish you can throw together when you come home from work at night but let me tell you, every minute you invest in this recipe is worth it. The pay off is ten fold. The combination of basil and watercress is bright and fresh already, but when you add this incredible grapefruit syrup dressing and supremed grapefruit the end result is sublime. Seriously. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1012789?commentId=9558017#9558017

  • radishseed on February 05, 2015

    I made the mistake of trying to make this on a weeknight. After prepping the salad greens, supreming the grapefruit, reducing its juice, and cleaning up the sticky mess I made (including all the grapefruit juice that ran off the cutting board and into a drawer full of kitchen towels), I gave up on waiting for the juice to cool and made an egg sandwich for dinner. But the next day (and for the rest of the week), I had a delicious salad all ready to eat. I love grapefruit, and the combination with the bitter greens (and not-so-greens) is delicious.

  • dinnermints on January 10, 2015

    Beautiful and delicious. Some of my guests, after brief apology, drank the dressing off their plates (I may have done so as well in solidarity). I used a guajillo pepper in the dressing, and it worked out well - provided kick and some smokiness, but not so spicy as to overwhelm the salad. I used arugula instead of watercress, which worked fine; and also sliced the grapefruit and made the dressing a day in advance.

  • Rutabaga on February 18, 2016

    Since I had some lovely sweet grapefruit on hand, this seemed the perfect time to try this salad. As others have noted, the flavors are wonderful. I left out the onion to accommodate a friend who doesn't like it, but we all felt the flavors were perfectly balanced without it. Since watercress isn't readily available this time of year, I used arugula, which, as dinnermints noted, is a good substitute. And while you can't make the entire salad quickly, but if you supreme the grapefruits and make the dressing in advance, you'll find it comes together quite easily. Use a sharp knife and hold the grapefruits directlty over the colander when slicing them to avoid losing any of the juice.

• Fava

  • Breadcrumbs on May 12, 2015

    p. 233 - Outstanding! This isn’t what you might think. This is not a fava bean recipe. YO talks about discovering this spread while vacationing in Greece and notes “I thought I knew everything there was to know about pastes made of various legumes until a couple of summers ago….and came across this variation, which is nothing like hummus or similar pastes.” How could I resist! In fact the recipe is prepared with yellow split-peas that are boiled then pureed with other ingredients then topped with a delicious combination of caramelized onions, capers, chives and evoo. We served this as a starter with some grilled pita and folks were swooning over it. I think the capers are essential here, they bring a briny freshness to this sweet earthy spread. Another dish that I’ll most certainly make time and time again. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1012789?commentId=9556935#9556935

  • dinnermints on February 11, 2018

    We made four recipes out of Plenty More this evening, and while the fava was good, the other three dishes were much better. It needed more salt, and turned out runnier than we'd hoped.

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    Very much liked by very particular diners; great ration of impressiveness to labour. caramelizing takes more time than indicated.

• Cannellini bean purée with pickled mushrooms and pitta croutons

  • Breadcrumbs on May 12, 2015

    p. 241 - If you’re a fan of bean spreads this is a “must try” recipe for you as it is absolutely sensational and unlike any other bean spread we’ve ever encountered. What differentiates this spread is the topping. The pickled mushroom/onion mixture is ridiculously good & an absolutely perfect contrast to the rich, creamy beans. The pitta adds a nice salty crunch to the dish and completes it beautifully. This isn’t just good; it’s fantastic! I’d highly recommend this recipe. I’ve made a lot of pickles over time but I’ve never tasted a pickling liquid that I wanted to drink! The liquid wasn’t acidic at all, it had a balanced, fresh and herbal with mellow, oniony undertones. I just loved it! I actually ended up pouring some in a little pitcher and bringing it to the table as folks wanted to add more to their spread. What can I say; another dish that knocked it out of the park from this book! Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1012789?commentId=9557928#9557928

  • Poppyseedbagel on August 18, 2019

    As others have said this is an excellent recipe. Even without the mushroom mixture the purée is really delicious - so much nicer than houmous.

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    Crowd pleaser, but not as much as Fava-less fava spread. worth making one;s own pita chips.

  • Totallywired on January 02, 2019

    Used the pickled mushrooms in another dish and they are terrific, deep flavour, good balance.

• Grilled lettuce with farro and lemon

  • Breadcrumbs on May 12, 2015

    p. 151 – As a kid I used to turn my nose up at salad. To me, salad was boring. This is a salad for any salad-haters out there. This salad will change the minds of anyone who thinks a salad can’t be a meal; it’s something special! YO describes this as being similar to a Caesar & I’d agree. But then it’s a bit more than that. The grilled romaine is warm and smoky, the dressing is so bright and fresh then you have the earthy Parmesan and the crunchy croutons. Salad heaven! This is the first time I’ve cooked farro and it definitely won’t be the last. There’s just enough of this toothsome, nutty grain in here to elevate this dish from salad to meal. Farro made this a hearty salad. This salad with its anise-infused dressing reminded me how much I love tarragon. Tarragon leaves are roughly chopped and tossed in at the last minute so you have a fresh burst tarragon in almost every bite. Perfect. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1012789?commentId=9556977#9556977

  • sosayi on April 13, 2019

    Absolutely loved this salad! It was the star of the first barbecue of the season. Next time I make it, I may sub kale (or another hearty green), as the romaine was a bit too wilted and soft post grilling. The dressing was bright and rich at the same time, and we kept sneaking bites with pieces of grilled bread before the salad was tossed together. We used the full amount, also sans croutons, and it seemed like a good ratio (but we did steal a fair amount with the bread, so maybe add to taste). Tarragon was fabulous in this.

  • anya_sf on July 08, 2018

    I skipped the croutons as I didn't want it quite so hearty. I enjoyed the grilled romaine a lot. I'm not sure what I was supposed to do with the preserved lemon - leave it in slices? That seemed odd, so I chopped it up, but then thought the flavor a bit strong; half the amount would have been good. I didn't have tarragon, so substituted basil. Overall, I liked the salad.

• Spring salad

  • Fiona on November 26, 2014

    This is the perfect spring salad - a friend had just given me the last of their broad beans for the season so wanted to do them justice. This salad is really tasty and a great way to serve these ingredients while in season.

  • aargle on December 02, 2014

    We all loved this salad and it was very quick to pull together. I used frozen broad beans as unable to find fresh.

  • KarinaFrancis on October 18, 2015

    This was a lovely fresh salad to go with some rich lamb. Its a symphony of green, so looks pretty as well as tasting good.

  • Rutabaga on May 24, 2020

    This salad is indeed delicious, but it made far more than I expected. I had used frozen edamame in place of the broad beans, so perhaps I should have reduced the amount, as they are very dense and filling. Since the kids weren't big fans, my husband end I ended up taking several days to finish the leftovers. While it holds reasonably well, it is, as one would guess, not nearly as good leftover as fresh. Unless I were serving a larger number of people, I would cut the recipe in half, or at least use fewer edamame/broad beans.

  • shoffmann on June 05, 2017

    Yum. Great salad for springtime and came together quickly. I used frozen edamame instead of the broad beans because that's what I had.

  • Tealismyname on March 08, 2016

    This makes a great side salad. I really love the addition of the nigella seeds.

  • anya_sf on May 28, 2020

    I adjusted the vegetables to use what I had: 400 g asparagus, 350 g edamame, 150 g baby spinach, 1 shallot (which I found to be plenty), 1/2 red chile (so it wouldn't be too spicy - turns out my chile was quite mild). The salad was simple to prepare. I placed the shallot and lemon juice in the bowl for a few minutes to remove some of the shallot's bite, then added the other dressing ingredients, then the vegetables, finally the seeds. Just delicious!

• Stuffed peppers with fondant swede and goat's cheese

  • Fiona on October 09, 2014

    This takes quite a bit of prep and time to cook - but worth the effort - they were so delicious, even teenager ate the swede (not the pepper). Uses lots of butter, but did as Yotam suggested, and will reuse for other veges. I didn't have chevre, so used goat feta, and just a small amount as I was serving with chicken thighs. It would make a good vegetarian dish on its own particularly using some good chevre.

  • FJT on September 06, 2015

    Absolutely delicious! I agree with Fiona about the time taken to make it, but it really was well worth it.

  • Rutabaga on October 11, 2018

    Like many Ottolenghi recipes, my husband and I enjoyed this while the kids weren't fans. Someday, I hope, their palates will be able to handle cooked vegetables with layered flavors. They did, however, gobble up the fried rice I made using the leftover thyme butter after cooking the rutabaga. Because this dish is cheesy and rich, I think many adults will like it, even if the idea of stuffed peppers doesn't automatically sound appealing. I also appreciate the fact that the filling and roasted peppers can be prepared in advance.

  • cultus.girl on May 17, 2018

    Love love this recipe. Even the meat loving husband enjoyed it as a dish on its own with a salad. The swede adds an interesting note.

  • RBJ on September 11, 2020

    Page 269 in my edition.

  • Boffcat on January 14, 2018

    I made this without the cheese and thought it was very good indeed. (Note to self though: don't substitute dried thyme for fresh; the flavour is inevitably off.)

• Parsley, lemon and cannellini bean salad

  • Laura on July 12, 2015

    I had cooked white quinoa and garbanzo beans the day before for another recipe and had plenty of both left over, so decided to use them in this dish. The other modification I made was that I used only 1 TBS of EVOO as I've learned over time to use far less oil than Ottolenghi calls for. I really liked the salad on its own -- it was light and refreshing, and I think it was more attractive than it would have been with the red quinoa. I served it over a mixture of baby greens (red and green chard, tatsoi, arugula and spinach) and it made a lovely light lunch.

  • kari500 on September 02, 2016

    We really liked this, but did think it needed more lemon. I added lemon juice and that did the trick. Wasn't sure I was tasting much of the mint, but that could have been a problem with my mint.

  • Astrid5555 on July 03, 2016

    This is the first Ottolenghi salad I have made that did not have the usual flavor explosion, but was rather bland. Maybe because of the canned beans I used and also because my whole large lemon (as opposed to half a lemon in the recipe) yielded only half the lemon flesh needed for this salad. Instead I added ground cumin and feta cheese, my go-to flavor enhancers and this worked quite well. Still would probably not repeat.

  • Melanie on November 05, 2014

    Although I don't have rave reviews for this recipe, it still ticked all the boxes - quick / healthy / tasty - this is a good mid week work lunch meal.

  • Rutabaga on April 12, 2015

    The mint and chopped lemon were very refreshing, but the beans were quite bland. That could just be the canned beans that I used; home cooked beans might make for a more toothsome salad. You could also substitute other varieties of beans; I could see favas being very good.

  • Tweedles81 on June 22, 2020

    I wholeheartedly agree with all the other comments - good, easy, and healthy but beans were bland and it needed more lemon juice. May make again if only for convenience.

• Spicy chickpea and bulgar soup

  • Laura on March 13, 2015

    Pg. 86. I found this to be quite disappointing. The amount of bulgar called for was way too much as it absorbed most of the broth and the dish became more a 'chickpea and bulgar side dish' than a soup. It was quite spicy on its own from the harissa, but once I added the creamed feta paste the spice level fell to almost nothing. The feta paste was very tasty on its own and made a good spread on toast. I won't be making the soup again, but I would make the paste.

  • Melanie on August 05, 2017

    Enjoyed the flavour of this - simple but not basic, and keeps well. Didn't make the feta accompaniment.

  • clkandel on May 17, 2020

    Very good. Served this with quinoa, since I was out of bulgar. Cooked the grain on the side, put it in the bowl, and topped with the soup.

  • dinnermints on March 24, 2016

    With some changes, this soup (more like a stew) was very good. Given the previous reviewer's notes, I used 6 cups of broth (and 3 cups of chickpeas instead of 2.5), and used 1/3 cup minced preserved lemon (peel and flesh) instead of the teaspoon of salt. I used some very flavorful bean pot liquor for the broth, which I'm sure helped, and also added more harissa directly to my bowl of soup to taste. I made the creamed feta paste too, and substituting low fat Greek yogurt for the creme fraiche worked out just dandy. With all of these changes, both my husband and I loved it.

  • ricki on August 29, 2019

    Quick to put together, and quite nice for a lunch. Almost a stew; less bulgar would suit me. I prefer it without dairy, but with chopped cilantro and mint to garnish and perhaps a squirt of lemon juice (I'll try preserved lemon someday). I used 2 tbsp of mild harissa and then added a tablespoon of a more spicy harissa.

• Sweet and sour leeks with goat's curd and currants

  • Laura on November 18, 2014

    Pg. 123. We really enjoyed this dish. I used dried cranberries in place of the currants and goat cheese in place of the goat's curd, which I've never seen. The onion dressing provided a really nice tangy/sweet accent. If I make this again, I'd eliminate the goat cheese -- I really felt that it detracted from our overall enjoyment of the dish. I'd also cook the leeks longer than the recipe directs.

  • mondraussie on January 01, 2020

    Fantastic! Makes a great starter. Careful with the cooking time of the leeks however, I followed the instructions and they were a bit underdone... Perhaps my leeks were a little on the large side..

  • Tealismyname on March 08, 2016

    The first time I made this dish it blew me and my partner out of the water. It's so delicate and the sweetness of the currants (which I soaked for a while) and the goat curds was phenomenal. I disagree with the other note, I think the cheese is essential for the complex subtlety of the recipe. I went to our cheese shop and bought a high quality very creamy goat cheese. (The cheese monger suggested that as long as I got a really fresh and soft goat cheese it would be okay in place of the curd which they didn't have).

• Aubergine kadaifi nests

  • jlg84 on December 22, 2017

    Very very good

• Braised eggs with leek and za'atar

  • wester on March 26, 2019

    Per the other reviewers I halved the amount of lemon and paired it with charred tomatoes with yoghurt. I also left out the feta and forgot the za'atar. The end result was very good; the pairing with the tomatoes, in particular, was wonderful and made for a light yet filling and exquisitely flavoured vegetarian dinner. Next time I will slightly increase the amount of lemon again and think of the za'atar.

  • SheilaS on October 08, 2018

    This recipe calls for using both the flesh and skin of a preserved lemon. Between that and the feta cheese, it was too salty for me and the tartness from the lemon completely overpowered the sweetness of the leeks. Next time, I will only use the lemon rind as I usually do. I made extra of the leek/onion mixture so when I reheated it, I just poached the eggs separately and found it much easier to control than cooking them in the vegetables. I served this with the the hot charred cherry tomatoes with cold yogurt on p 70 and it was a great pairing.

  • Astrid5555 on September 16, 2018

    A little bit too lemony for me, I think my preserved lemon was too big. Apart from that quick to make and a delicious brunch dish.

  • Popisdead on June 06, 2020

    Would think about adding some chorizo or crumbled sausage, and chilli. But otherwise a good brunch dish.

  • Ro_ on May 15, 2020

    For two people I halved the leeks and spinach, used 4 eggs and 2/3rds of a preserved lemon: this seemed about right. I liked the balance of flavours from the lemon, feta, leeks and za'atar. I found it a bit tricky to get the egg whites cooked without overdoing the yolks. Overall I liked this recipe, but it felt more like a lunch than a breakfast. Good shout from another commenter to pair it with the tomato and yoghurt recipe, I can see that working well. It needs bread too (I did toast).

• Harissa and Manchego omelettes

  • wester on March 16, 2019

    My trusty Turkish shopkeeper said rose harissa could be made by mixing normal harissa and rose water. I used about a teaspoon of harissa and half a teaspoon of rose water per omelet, and this was good for me, but it would still have been too spicy for the children. I really would not have been able to eat this with the amount of harissa given in the recipe, although the redness of the book photo does suggest they did mean this amount. With the reduced amount of harissa it is a good omelet, worth adding to the repertoire. The rose flavor was noticable but not too strong. Any meltable cheese would work here, I do not think it is necessary to use Manchego.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on May 02, 2020

    Everybody loved this, even our 18-month old! Seems like a good idea to make the mixture ahead and have this as a lunch after a walk in autumn or winter with some toasted bread. Pretty heavy as a breakfast even when reducing the eggs to 2 per person.

• Curried egg and cauliflower salad

  • wester on February 28, 2019

    Definitely quick, easy and tasty. I served it with chicken as suggested but that was a bit too much - probably better as a (light) vegetarian main. Would also be good to bring to a potluck.

  • kari500 on December 15, 2019

    I made half a recipe because I ended up with half a (large) cauliflower. This is delicious, even though I took a few short-cuts. I used ground cumin, dried tarragon (and less of this than called for). I now know that it is a PITA to peel pasteurized hard boiled eggs. From now on if I'm planning on boiling eggs I will get them non-pasteurized. Seems like it is going to be a good gateway recipe into egg salad for L. Has anyone ever subbed tofu for eggs in an egg salad?

  • FJT on May 07, 2020

    This was fine, but really didn’t wow us. I reduced the number of eggs. Can’t say I’d bother making it again.

  • kitchen_chick on September 29, 2019

    Delicious. This recipe makes a huge amount. I will cut it in half next time, and we'll still have leftovers.

  • anya_sf on August 20, 2019

    I only used 3 eggs and added the meat from a whole rotisserie chicken. There was enough dressing for everything. At first I didn't notice that the curry powder was divided and I put all of it on the cauliflower. The cauliflower on its own was too strongly flavored, but I omitted the curry from the dressing, so the flavor balanced out overall. I subsituted basil for the tarragon, since that's what I had on hand. The salad was quite delicious, although rich; next time I'll serve it over greens. It would benefit from some crunch - perhaps sliced almonds. (I did roast the cauliflower and onion a bit longer so they weren't crunchy.)

  • Lsblackburn1 on June 26, 2019

    I served this on toasted olive bread and it was delicious! Very filling so we have a lot of leftovers.

  • jenburkholder on August 10, 2020

    I thought this was delicious, and with a green salad it was a whole meal. Easy, cheap, tasty, and at least moderately healthy. Will definitely repeat.

• Mustardy cauliflower cheese

  • wester on March 02, 2019

    I would have liked less of a bite to this, both literally and figuratively.

  • kari500 on February 28, 2020

    Very tasty, but seemed a bit labor intensive. Maybe I was just having a rough day.

  • okcook on April 24, 2019

    The flavours are very good as others have commented. I had an issue with curdling. When I poured the cream into the pan it curdled almost immediately so the sauce was just clumps of curdled cheese and cream. Very unappetizing. Next time I will cool down my pot before adding the cream/cheese.

  • mcvl on August 25, 2020

    Delightful! Lacking a fresh green pepper, I chopped up some pickled jalapeño, and because I'm a texture fiend I chunked rather than grated the cheese. I may never make ordinary cauliflower cheese again.

  • JennyHay on April 12, 2019

    A wonderful dish. A perfect side with loads of flavour to accompany plain meat. It went well with with old fashioned corned beef. I will cook the cauliflower a bit longer next time. I used more cheese and crumbs in the topping.

  • Rinshin on August 28, 2020

    Ok but also thought this was a bet too cauli-cheese and did not notice mustard flavor which I was hoping for. If making this again, adding chopped green peppers, more mustard, and less cheese. Updating my note. We had trouble finishing the leftovers. We just did not care for the taste.

  • Foodycat on September 25, 2018

    Reminds me a lot of a Madhur Jaffrey recipe that I really like. I tasted after adding the cheese, and added the same quantity again, and that was about right to make it taste cheesy against all the spice. Delicious, and very rich.

  • Frogcake on October 21, 2018

    Delicious! Great flavours in this unique cauliflower recipe! I used fresh, homemade breadcrumbs - Didn’t have enough cheddar so I used grated Asiago in the crumble.

  • Silverscreensuppers on February 12, 2019

    Really loved this dish. Perfectly spiced for me. Made for my bookcook club where 5 of us all cooked recipes from Simple - every single thing was DELICIOUS!

  • raybun on March 02, 2019

    Definitely better than any cauliflower cheese I’ve eaten before. The spices and chilli definitely elevated the cauliflower, going in my Favourite File.

  • lou_weez on September 26, 2018

    Delicious!! The addition of mustard and spices elevated this from the standard cauliflower cheese. Definitely making this again.

  • anya_sf on May 12, 2019

    Like a cross between regular cauliflower cheese and Indian cauliflower. I used less chili so it wouldn't be too spicy, and a bit more cheese. My broiler only has one setting (burn), so I just left it to bake longer. It was delicious. We had it with sausages and peas.

  • purrviciouz on March 03, 2019

    This was more like curried cauliflower and cheese, the mustard was not very forward here. I served this with wild rice blend. It made for a delicious and rich vegetarian dinner.

  • Lsblackburn1 on November 10, 2018

    Used one large Anaheim chili, which was great. Omitted the breadcrumbs since I served it with the chicken with croutons. Nice pairing!

• Hot charred cherry tomatoes with cold yoghurt

  • wester on March 26, 2019

    Excellent. So simple, so flavourful, and it smells great too. I do want to use more tomatoes next time. Per SheilaS' review I paired this with braised eggs with leek and za'atar. This combination was wonderful and made for a light yet filling and exquisitely flavoured vegetarian dinner.

  • SheilaS on October 08, 2018

    I served this with the braised eggs with leek and za'atar on p6 and these tomatoes were the star of the plate. Super easy and delicious!

  • caitmcg on January 24, 2019

    Simple to pull together, and a delicious dish. I did the tomatoes in my Breville countertop oven, and didn’t need the broiling step. I think the proportion of yogurt is too high relative to the tomatoes, and used less (despite increasing the tomatoes). I plated the dish individually, as that seemed easier for serving than using a big platter.

  • FJT on July 18, 2019

    Delicious! I had to wait until my husband was away to make this because he doesn’t like hot tomatoes, but it was worth the wait. And yes, I ate it all on my own!!

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    Love this fabulous dish. Served as a starter with brushetta.

  • KarinaFrancis on June 09, 2019

    Loved it! We served it as part of an aperitivo dinner with loads of bread.

  • ksg518 on August 19, 2019

    Just wonderful! Very easy and it comes together in about 30 minutes. We served it with flatbreads and turkey sausages for a great easy meal.

  • Rutabaga on September 16, 2019

    As others have said, this is delicious and simple to make. It went great with naan, but could be served with any variety of dishes. I found my tomatoes didn't need quite as much time in the oven, and just a few minutes under the broiler was enough, but I also roasted them on a metal sheet pan.

  • Foodycat on February 15, 2019

    So delicious and simple! I didn't do the final charring. I think I will be eating this a lot in summer.

  • cultus.girl on October 27, 2018

    Outstanding dish.

  • saarwouters on September 16, 2018

    Delicious! A nice alternative to the tomato/mozzarella side dish. The combination of the hot juicy tomatoes and the fresh tangy yoghurt worked really well. I would add a few more tomatoes the next time.

  • EmmaJaneDay on May 17, 2020

    This is beautiful! No more to say!

  • anya_sf on July 23, 2020

    Really good with rosemary focaccia. One cup of yogurt was enough for us. The tomatoes didn't need to broil that long (my broiler is very strong).

  • Skamper on February 16, 2019

    Made as a side but would probably be better as a starter. Made a half batch but with a few more tomatoes. Used homemade yogurt.

  • Ro_ on January 21, 2020

    This was great, the citrusy cold yoghurt and the hot herby, garlicky tomatoes were a winning combination. Next time I'd probably up the quanity of tomatoes and possibly use slightly bigger ones, and DEFINITELY serve with some really nice bread to scoop up all that delicious yoghurt.

• Spring onion and herb salad

  • wester on March 19, 2019

    So, when I think I want a herb salad, I actually want this salad. The vegetables make the flavour lighter, less concentrated, but at the same time more complex. And the dressing is simple but just right. I do think it needs an accompaniment that can stand up to it, for instance beef or lamb, or maybe a strong cheese. Chicken, as the book suggests, or pork, as I used, are just not strong enough. I subbed celery for the green pepper and parsley for half the coriander; the recipe was robust enough to handle that. ETA: I actually like this one better with celery instead of green pepper. Still, there are worse ways to use up those green peppers that came with the red and yellow ones.

  • Ro_ on July 03, 2020

    I made this as part of a poke bowl type thing, and it worked quite well. But I don't think I liked it enough to want big quantities of it - texturally it didn't do it for me, and I think maybe it needed more dressing. I think it's important to cut the herbs really, really finely.

• Squid and red pepper stew

  • wester on March 03, 2019

    Very good and easy. I used frozen squid.

• Lamb and feta meatballs

  • wester on March 22, 2019

    I thought these were excellent, with the feta adding both sharpness and richness without becoming overly cheesy. The children were not quite as enthusiastic but they still finished them without complaints. The first frying then baking seemed overly complicated to me, but when you don't change pans it's not really that much of a bother. I left out the bread and forgot the garlic, both without much ill effect.

  • okcook on May 08, 2019

    These are fabulous. I made the larger meatballs for dinner. I fried them in some lamb fat from the freezer. I just kept shaking the pan to keep the meatballs rolling around. They took about 6 or so minutes. I used a meat thermometer to try to cook them to 165F but I over shoot to 174F..still they were moist and tender. With a minute to go I just drizzled the pomegranate molasses over the meatballs and kept shaking the pan.

  • TrishaCP on May 10, 2019

    Yes, we loved these too. I used the pomegranate molasses drizzle, and I liked the sour note it added.

  • Astrid5555 on September 14, 2018

    As promised quick and easy to make, great to make ahead. Made 40 little meatballs as canapés, which were gone within minutes. Delicious!

  • FJT on May 10, 2019

    Another vote for this recipe. Yum!

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    Delicious simple meatballs. I served them with the Couscous Cherry Tomato and Herb Salad (page 158). Perfect together.

  • Nossovitzky on May 19, 2019

    Number 1 requested meal at our place. Very moreish and I love the sweet/sour flavour from the pomegranate molasses.

  • Barb_N on May 22, 2019

    I guess I’ll be the lone voice of dissent. I found the mixture dry and crumbly even decreasing bread crumbs. Once I added a beaten egg (which I kept looking for in the ingredient list), I was able to fry them without them falling apart. The pomegranate molasses makes a nice topping but turned into ‘candy’ on the baking sheet. I much prefer the lamb and pistachio patties.

  • Ro_ on January 21, 2020

    I can't get lamb mince where I live, but really wanted to make this recipe, so after doing some research online I tried cutting up lamb shoulder as finely as I could and then pulsing in the blender. This worked OK in terms of giving me meat I could form into meatballs. However a) I had problems with about half the meatballs falling apart during cooking and b) I found the meatballs very fatty - next time I'd try using half lean leg meat and half shoulder meat perhaps. I liked the cinnamon flavours a lot, but the feta didn't come through that much for me. I couldn't get pomegranate molasses, but wonder if that would have helped offset the fattiness of the lamb a bit more.

  • purrviciouz on March 12, 2019

    These were delicious and a fun delight with the pomegranate molasses glaze. I used half beef and half lamb and served with chickpea and green salad with yogurt sauce.

  • ronacollins on May 15, 2019

    A family favourite and so Simple too!

  • jenburkholder on August 10, 2020

    These were tasty enough, just a basic meatball. Like several others here, I found they didn’t bind well, and added an egg. Might repeat, but there are more interesting lamb meatballs out there.

• Lamb and pistachio patties with sumac yoghurt sauce

  • wester on March 03, 2019

    Very tasty. I subbed parsley for the rocket, and baked them in a 240C fan oven until brown. I think I will add some cumin to the yogurt next time. I also like that they are grain free. The family liked them too. ETA: mint is not as good a replacement for the rocket.

  • kari500 on February 16, 2019

    Subbed ground turkey for the lamb, and made into burgers instead of patties. Definitely enjoyed this and will make again.

  • TrishaCP on February 15, 2020

    We really liked these. Mine were way too soft after forming to cook immediately, so I refrigerated them for as long as I was able (15 minutes) and that helped somewhat, but these are very tender. I also subbed parsley for arugula. We served these in a pita as a sandwich.

  • JennyHay on January 28, 2019

    Super easy and very tasty. Fabulous for picnic food.

  • chawkins on August 01, 2020

    We enjoyed these. I added 2 oz of ground pork because I only had a lb of lamb. Since I had 4 burger buns that needed to be used, I made 4 burger size patties and 6 mini patties. The patties held up well even without refrigeration and did not fall apart during cooking. The tartness of the sumac in the yogurt sauce complemented the lamb quite well and the sauce was beige with brown specks all over, maybe the sumac was supposed to be sprinkled on top and not stirred in.

  • KarinaFrancis on January 06, 2020

    These were good, but not amazing. I would make them again but up the pistachios or keep them chunkier so their presence is felt. Good for a weeknight meal.

  • Barb_N on April 02, 2019

    We loved these. I love the technique for assembly. I chilled them prior to frying, and only a few fell apart. I still had execution problems as my ‘non stick’ pan is only 10” and really isn’t non stick - had it been desired, the brown crust would have been a great ‘fond’. I finished these in the oven and served in pitas with arugula and the yogurt sauce. I don’t think there is enough sauce per patty. My sauce was a speckly brown, not at all like the photo in the book. I guess even Ottolenghi’s food stylists take liberties!

  • e_ballad on March 29, 2019

    We found these quite ‘wet’ & disintegrated whilst cooking in the pan. This may be in part due to the coarse-ground lamb that we made at home, though we’ve not experienced this with other dishes. Maybe less puréed onion would also have helped. Make sure to season well.

  • kitchen_chick on February 13, 2019

    I didn't have arugula (aka rocket), so I substituted parsley and some dill. Worked great!

  • purrviciouz on March 04, 2019

    I used half lamb and half beef and subbed parsley for the arugula but added extra black pepper. Next time I'd use zahtar in the yogurt instead of sumac alone. These were easy and a fun dinner with salad and rice pilaf.

• Walnut and halva cake

  • radishseed on February 10, 2015

    This is a fun cake. Very rich, with all that halva (maybe mine is extra sweet?). I might try it again with only half the halva. This wouldn't affect the texture in any way, since it's just a layer in the middle of the cake.

  • Foodycat on December 31, 2017

    Delicious - try to keep the halva in big chunks because they add a lot of flavour and texture.

• Roasted figs with pomegranate molasses and orange zest

  • radishseed on September 01, 2015

    Added orange flower water to the marinade and ate the figs with frozen yogurt instead of the yogurt-mascarpone mixture. The pomegranate-orange-thyme reduction is wonderfully sweet-sour.

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    modification that worked well: served some warm with unreduced marinade and saved rest in that marinade. Even better. For the record, the figs were from a top of the line food store and cost much, so the difference might be in the figs.

• Lamb arayes with tahini and sumac

  • SheilaS on February 19, 2020

    A really easy and fun recipe. I served it with the Sumac Yogurt Sauce on p 217. The leftover wedges reheated nicely in my convection toaster oven.

  • FJT on December 23, 2019

    This was really nice but I'm not sure the gram measurements are completely right. I was weighing out the tahini and got to 70g and it was already way more than 1/3 cup, so I stopped and didn't add the last 20g. I could definitely taste the tahini and the other flavours were slightly muted, so I'm guessing 70g was way too much! That said it was a lovely dish and I will make sure to measure the tahini by volume next time round.

• Gigli with chickpeas and za'atar

  • SheilaS on November 21, 2018

    I was generous with the seasonings and felt the cooking method did a great job infusing flavor into the canned chickpeas, which can be very bland. I also used about 3X times the amount of spinach. If I try this again, I will likely add lots more greens, skip the pasta and serve this with pita or flatbread.

  • KarinaFrancis on June 07, 2019

    Unbelievably good! I was dubious but with all the positive reviews I thought I’d try and it was a huge hit, surprisingly light and packed a flavour punch. I ran out of anchovies so used a tsp of fish sauce, but I think anchovies would be better. I will make this again!

  • Rinshin on June 09, 2019

    This was satisfying, but would have preferred much more greens in the dish. Felt round garbanzo beans were too plentiful for the amount of pasta and spinach as well as hard to eat. The taste of the sauce was very nice and it occurred to me that dried shrimp reconstituted would be good substitution for anchovies because leftover anchovies do not last too long in the refrigerator.

  • Zosia on June 19, 2019

    This had good flavour and was quick enough for a weeknight meal, though I must admit I didn't take the time to crisp the chickpeas. I used about 100g spinach for a half recipe.

  • Jojobuch on November 14, 2018

    Interesting combination but I would add more zaatar, as otherwise it can be a bit bland

  • Rutabaga on December 23, 2018

    I really liked this dish, and found it very flavorful. While I only used about half the amount of anchovies called for, that added just the right amount of umami without overwhelming the other ingredients. You could omit them and still have a good, full-flavored dish. I left out the spinach since I didn't have any on hand. The three-year-old loved it, but oddly my seven-year-old ate the chickpeas but declined to eat the pasta. I did as Ottolenghi suggested and made the chickpeas in advance, then reheated them while the pasta cooked. I also added a squeeze of lemon to finish the dish.

  • anya_sf on March 15, 2019

    I used about 9 oz pasta and 12 oz baby spinach and would do so again. Picking 1/2 cup thyme leaves off the branches took a long time; next time I'd probably use 1-2 Tbsp dried instead. There were still a lot of chickpeas relative to pasta. I cooked the pasta al dente, saving some of the cooking water, mixed it with the chickpea mixture and let it finish cooking altogether, adding some of the pasta cooking water with the spinach. I think that helped make the whole dish more cohesive. My family enjoyed this with grated parmesan on top.

  • BeaAamodt on November 03, 2019

    Delicious! Used oregano instead of thyme.

• Baked rice with confit tomatoes and garlic

  • MelMM on February 06, 2019

    2-4-2019 Cherry tomato skins got a bit tough. Amount of water called for is too much. The tomatoes are giving off water, so you don't need much. Max of 1 cup water per cup of rice. Basmati rice should be washed before cooking.

  • Rutabaga on May 23, 2019

    I really like how this rice turned out, especially the garlic and shallots, which were beautifully creamy after their time in the oven. I was lacking thyme and didn't have the full amount of tomatoes, but otherwise made it as written. The only downside is it takes a long time to bake, although there's little active work. I didn't find that the recipe called for too much water, but I also chose not to wash the rice because I was concerned that would throw the ratio off. Some of the tomato skins were a bit tough. Perhaps that is affected by the tomato type? I used a variety.

  • Tee.Tee on May 30, 2020

    Quick and easy prep. Plenty of hands off time while it bakes in the oven. I cut the recipe in half. Next time I will use less water like the above posters. Maybe because I rinsed and soaked my rice.

  • katy1729 on August 20, 2019

    19/08/2019. Made to accompany the Lentil & Aubergine stew. Made it in a pan on the stove because I was too lazy to use the oven only for this dish. It worked out fine (perhaps the oven version would be rather nicer) though the quantity of water recommended was too much. Will try again, using recipe's method, on another occasion.

  • Huongey on May 20, 2020

    This is my boyfriend’s go-to rice dish now. He follows the recipe to a t and It comes out perfectly every time. The creamy garlic and roasted shallots is the best part. I didn’t find any problems with the tomatoes as others have mentioned.

• Mushrooms and chestnuts with za'atar

  • MelMM on February 04, 2019

    2-1-2019 I ended up using a bit more oil than called for to get the ingredients coated before roasting. After roasting, I felt the dish needed more lemon than called for, and more salt. It was a really delicious dish though.

• Brussels sprouts with burnt butter and black garlic

  • MelMM on February 04, 2019

    2-1-2019 I roasted the Brussels sprouts for 15 minutes to get deeper browning. Not sure if that was really necessary, though. Weigh the black garlic, as the # of cloves stated is way off. Miyoko's vegan butter will brown, and that is what I used here. Even a runny tahini can be a bit thick to drizzle, and by now I anticipated the dish needing more acid, so I added lemon juice (and salt) to the tahini. I also added extra lemon and salt to the sprouts themselves. We really enjoyed these Brussels sprouts. A good flavor, and the crunch from the pumpkin seeds was a welcome contrast. Would repeat, with the changes I made.

  • Astrid5555 on October 26, 2018

    Husband liked it a lot in combination with the Chicken Marbella dish. I however am not so sure about the black garlic taste (first time I cooked with it). Did not have any sunflower seeds, substituted sesame seeds instead.

  • KarinaFrancis on June 20, 2019

    Loved this dish, even the silver fox loved it and had second helping.The flavours came together beautifully, with the sweetness of the garlic, the crispy sprouts and the tahini to top it off. I couldn't find pepitas on my way home, so I subbed slivered almonds which were great, but I still want to try it with the pepitas. I roasted mine for 15 minutes, because I like them crispy too. Will be making this again and again while sprouts are in season!

  • peaceoutdesign on October 04, 2021

    My black garlic was very dried out and I think that it didn't enhance the flavor as much as it should have. Everyone liked it but I think the texture of the paste was off.

  • VineTomato on October 18, 2018

    First time I've cooked with black garlic and wasn't sure I would enjoy it. What a wonderful dish, the pumpkin seeds are a genius element.

  • Rutabaga on December 23, 2018

    This dish packs a lot of flavor for how simple and quick it is to make. Surprisingly, my seven-year-old, who has previously disdained Brussels sprouts, ate more than anyone. For black garlic, I used black garlic "molasses", which is actually a syrup made solely from black garlic cloves. It made preparing the black garlic sauce especially easy.

  • Silverscreensuppers on December 19, 2018

    The crack cocaine of Brussels sprouts - absolutely DELICIOUS!

  • kitchen_chick on February 13, 2019

    Delicious! Garlic, butter, tahini, lemon juice - the flavors all came together beautifully. I didn't have black garlic, so I roasted some garlic with a bit olive oil to a soft creamy goodness and used that instead. I can only imagine how good it is with black garlic. I also roasted my Brussels sprouts longer as I like mine a bit crispier. And I agree with others' comments that the pumpkin seeds are a great addition.

  • domechef on February 05, 2019

    Great flavors and an easy dish to prepare. As mentioned by one of the reviewer, the black garlic weight to clove measurement is totally off. I ended up using around 35g because I thought 20g was way too less and I just love black garlic. Glad I did. The only issue I had was the thickness of the paste. It didn't distribute evenly through the sprouts. I may add some lemon juice to the paste to thin it out a bit next time. Will surely make this again. Don't leave out the pumpkin seeds!

  • StephEpices on October 20, 2019

    This is the perfect way to do brussel sprouts, honestly. Even haters are willing to have a few.

• Cauliflower, pomegranate and pistachio salad

  • MelMM on February 04, 2019

    2-1-2019 I liked the mix of textures in this salad. As written, however, I found it underseasoned and dry. I ended up adding more lemon, more oil, and more salt. With those changes, the salad was quite good.

  • JennyHay on October 28, 2018

    A fabulous combination and very easy to put together. I have substituted barberries for the pomegranate seeds which also worked very well.

  • Frogcake on October 20, 2018

    This was a big hit with my family. Lots of great, diverse textures and tastes that come together nicely with the simple dressing. Would definitely make this again.

  • kitchen_chick on December 29, 2019

    Great salad with nice textures! The parts can be prepped in advance and then combined right before serving. I agree with it being a bit under-seasoned as is. Fortunately, that's easy to fix.

  • anya_sf on December 13, 2018

    Not being a fan of raw cauliflower, I was skeptical but tried this recipe based on the good reviews. It was fantastic! I didn't have tarragon, so I just used parsley and mint. Unusual combination of ingredients, but it really works.

  • ALawson25 on August 24, 2020

    A good salad, the cauliflower leaves were a great addition. I would make my roasted cauliflower pieces smaller next time. I don't think the tarragon was overly necessary. could substitute another nut as I didn't taste the pistachios too much.

• Scrambled harissa tofu

  • MelMM on February 06, 2019

    2-4-2019 I like the idea of harissa in a tofu scramble, but there isn't a lot going on here besides the harissa. In the future I would make a regular tofu scramble with the typical seasonings, and then add harissa at the end. Also I really don't think silken tofu is the best choice for a scramble. It doesn't absorb flavors as well, and the sauces don't cling to it as well.

  • CallmeIshbel on October 26, 2018

    Use extra firm tofu instead of silken for better texture

• Chickpeas and Swiss chard with yoghurt

  • kari500 on February 16, 2019

    I'd bump up the spices next time, and maybe add some cayenne and/or sumac. Served over rice as a vegetarian main. I liked it.

  • JennyHay on October 28, 2018

    Loved this as a side dish served with lamb.

  • ksg518 on March 28, 2019

    This appears to be a variation on Ottolenghi's chickpea sauté from Plenty, which I really like. There are some differences, including roasting the carrots instead of just adding them directly to the sauté and just using the chard leaves rather than worry with the stems. But, for me the biggest differences were the addition of a fair amount of onion, which I thought weighed down the dish and the deletion of mint which also made it heavier than the original. I think I'll stick with the original.

  • CallmeIshbel on October 26, 2018

    Delicious side dish, used cashew tofu yoghurt sauce and purple carrots

  • Ro_ on January 21, 2020

    I used spinach instead of swiss chard, as it's what I had. This was nice, I enjoyed the spicing but as another commenter says would probably increase the quanities of spice (and carrot) next time.

  • jenburkholder on August 10, 2020

    I thought this was lovely with fresh garden chard. Crazily easy and almost a whole meal in itself. The caraway added a surprising depth.

• Chilli fish with tahini

  • kari500 on February 16, 2019

    No one loved this. Lulu and I liked the tomato sauce a lot. No one thought the two sauces went together in any interesting sort of way.

  • TrishaCP on February 03, 2019

    This was quite good, but would recommend making the tomato sauce in advance for anyone planning to make it on a weeknight (if you can). I used smoked sweet paprika to save time.

  • Astrid5555 on December 30, 2018

    Used cod, smoked sweet paprika and Aleppo pepper flakes, served with rice. Especially liked the tahini sauce on top. Delicious and very quick to make, will make again!

  • JennyHay on December 27, 2018

    Not really a fan of this one.

  • dinnermints on September 16, 2020

    I also really liked the tahini sauce with this dish. I would have loved to put in the red chiles in addition to the ancho, but wanted to avoid the accusatory silence of having yet again made dinner too spicy. I like Ottolenghi's idea of making a double batch of the sauce and having some in the freezer...that way I could make a spicy version for myself. When tomatoes are out of season, would try canned fire-roasted tomatoes instead. Also, cut the olive oil to 2 T, did not miss the 2 T I cut.

  • peaceoutdesign on January 27, 2021

    Okay but not great, sort of a mish-mash. I used Mahi Mahi instead of the halibut. This is the second recipe that I made that the color of the finished dish is nothing like the photos. In this case it made the sauce look a lot richer and darker than it ended up.

  • VineTomato on September 30, 2018

    So simple! This came together in under 30 minutes. Unlike Jamie’s 30 minute meals that take an hour and a half! I used cod, but can imagine halibut being totally delish! This is a great week night dinner, but ... it needs something on the side. I had planned for just the fish, luckily we had some quick cook rice (due to a bad carb meltdown!) in the cupboard. It went perfectly, I wonder what a healthier accompaniment may be?

  • Lepa on September 24, 2018

    This is pretty good but a friend remarked that it wasn't quite as good as the tomato seafood stew (with feta) that is in Jerusalem. I instantly realized she was right and we added some feta on this dish (and left off the tahini) and it was much better.

  • kitchen_chick on July 15, 2019

    We loved it, tahini and all. I made it with swordfish steaks and tomatoes I had canned (so they were skinless). Concept-wise it’s like the delicious Greek Fish Plaki dish in “one-pot, slow-pot & clay-pot cooking”, but with very different seasoning.

  • jenburkholder on August 10, 2020

    We liked this a lot, although the flavors are unusual and it’s understandable that not everyone would. One of us argued that the tahini sauce didn’t bring much to the party, but I disagree. It’s easy and cheap enough that we’ll probably make it again.

• Corn and spring onion pancakes

  • caitmcg on July 10, 2016

    These are really wonderful, just the essence of summer corn, and the green onions, chile, and cumin complement it very well.

  • TrishaCP on July 29, 2016

    I agree that these were just amazing. I didn't have time to whip the egg whites separately, so I just added the second egg to the batter with the first. I'm sure my pancakes weren't as light as a result, but they were still delicious.

  • lesliec on August 04, 2016

    Pancakes were very fluffy. Taste was very good, most of the corn is ground in processor until smooth so just a touch of whole corn kernels. I used a 1/4 cup of white whole wheat flour with 1/2 cup of white flour instead of 3/4 c white flour and it came out fine.

• Cornbread with cheddar, feta and jalapeño

  • caitmcg on December 07, 2019

    This is fairly involved, as cornbread goes, but delicious. An 8-inch cast iron skillet is the perfect size for a half recipe. I did need to add a couple of splashes of milk to the batter before mixing in the corn, etc.

  • L.Nightshade on May 01, 2019

    This recipe has SO much stuff in it, at some point it almost ceases to be cornbread. 19 ingredients, not counting salt and pepper. I spent a good chunk of the day before just chopping, grating, measuring, and generally setting up, so I could just get up early, mix it all together, and pop it in the oven. Wrapped up, it was still warm by the time we got to brunch, about an hour and a half away. I did bake it in a cast iron frying pan, and was a little worried about how hard it would be to dish out. In the book photo it looks like it’s being spooned out. But it sliced up like a pie and came out in nice wedges. Rave reviews all around. This is definitely a do-again, and worth the effort. I won’t be confining it to brunch, either. It would be stellar with a bowl of soup.

  • ksg518 on August 12, 2019

    I guess we're in the minority here but we found this to be barely OK. It was very dense and a little on the dry side even after we added some extra half and half to the batter. (Our first clue was when the recipe said to pour the batter into the pan; our batter was a stiff ball.) Perhaps it matters what kind of instant polenta you use and ours was very dry? Given the number of ingredients and prep time, this won't be a repeat.

  • mgmcewen on November 20, 2018

    This was delicious! We did leave out the red onions because I can't have them, and subbed in shallots.

• Quince poached in pomegranate juice

  • caitmcg on July 10, 2016

    This is a lovely dessert, and it would make a fitting end to a Middle Eastern menu. The syrup smells just fantastic as it simmers, and has a rich and complex flavor. I served this with a dollop of Greek yogurt in place of clotted cream, and I liked its tanginess against the intensely flavored syrup.

• Beetroot and rhubarb salad

  • caitmcg on July 10, 2016

    Interesting and pretty salad. I used 3 tsp. pom molasses and 4 tsp. grade B maple syrup in the dressing and liked the sweet-sour balance with those proportions. I used feta instead of Gorgonzola (I don't care for blue cheese), and liked its saltiness against the sweet elements.

  • leahorowitz on April 18, 2015

    Nice spring salad. Instead of roasting the beets whole for an hour, I cut them into thin slices (ca. 2 mm) and roasted them together with the rubarb for 10 mins.

  • Rutabaga on June 10, 2019

    This salad has a lovely, somewhat unusual flavor. I made a downsized version, as I only had a few small beets, and also used mint instead of parsley. It's very easy to put together once you have roasted the beets and rhubarb.

  • meginyeg on July 04, 2022

    This was delicious. I will definitely make it again.

  • Lsblackburn1 on April 22, 2019

    Lovely spring side dish! I was worried it would be too sweet, but the flavors balanced perfectly.

• Brussels sprouts with caramelised garlic and lemon peel

  • FionaC on August 28, 2016

    A lovely way to cook Brussels. Don't be afraid of the amount of garlic, it's sweet and unctuous. I think preserved lemons would be a good substitute for the candied lemon peel, even a squeeze of fresh lemon over the dish might do at a pinch. Other acidic elements such as tamarind or sumac might be interesting as well.

  • KarinaFrancis on April 19, 2015

    I have to agree with Rutabaga, on all counts. I added the lemon syrup as suggested and it brightened up an already great dish.

  • Rutabaga on December 15, 2014

    This must be the best brussels sprouts recipe ever! Flash cooked sprouts are mixed with five entire heads of balsamic caramelized garlic. It's the five heads of garlic that turn this recipe into a labor intensive side dish, so when making it on a week night, you might want to peel all those dozens of cloves in advance. I also don't see a reason to discard the small amount of lemon juice syrup that accumulates when cooking the peel; I just added it all to the sprouts - it's delicious! I didn't have basil, but look forward to including it next time.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on November 26, 2018

    Delicous way to prepare brussel sprouts. Served with salmon and couscous, easy to assemble when all the mise en place has been done. A big hit for dinner with friends.

  • kateiscoooking on February 17, 2018

    We were out of lemons so I used grapefruit. And, I included the syrup. The garlic cooked into a lovely roasted garlic mash. The basil had gone brown so it wasn't included. But, I'll add it next time. This takes a good bit of time and effort and it's totally worth it! Even one of our guests who really doesn't like Brussels sprouts liked this.

• Fig salad

  • pluralcow on September 25, 2015

    This is a very nice salad, though the components do take some time to pull together. I have made it with figs and also with blackberries subbed for figs (and a fig-balsamic vinegar). Both were very good.

  • dinnermints on August 09, 2015

    Delicious, but not as jaw-droppingly amazing as some of Ottolenghi's salads can be. Also, takes some time to roast onions and then the hazelnuts.

  • finebec on September 22, 2018

    Used the first figs to come to WF, perhaps it would have been better with gutsier figs

• Candy beetroot with lentils and yuzu

  • erin g on December 27, 2014

    I used fresh yuzu, and seasoned it a bit more than the recipe called for. If you do get a fresh yuzu, making yuzu salt with the zest and some salt rubbed together makes a nice finishing touch. I also used baby arugula, and it subbed in fine.

  • jennyed on January 07, 2018

    I used lime juice instead of yuzu, and a mix of baby spinach/arugula, and it worked well.

• Aubergines with crushed chickpeas and herb yoghurt

  • okcook on March 04, 2016

    I love the way the eggplants come out from the oven. Nice and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. I used cooking spray rather than all the oil called for and I resprayed them half way through. The yoghurt mixture wasn't at room temp so it made the dish not as appealing as a dinner side. Next time I will leave it out on the counter. This is a great summer dish. It can all be prepared ahead of time.

• Sprouting broccoli and edamame salad with curry leaves and coconut

  • okcook on January 25, 2016

    We enjoyed the Indian flavours here. I used baby lima beans and only put in 100 grams which was fine because we wouldn't have wanted more beans in the dish. I also only used one chilli and it was plenty hot enough for us.

  • Melanie on October 12, 2014

    Another winner. I didn't use fresh coconut, substituting dried coconut flakes, however I didn't think that this was missing anything. This one definitely works well by itself as a meal, although the suggested pairing of the lemon and curry leaf rice would also be great.

  • Dishyrishie on January 09, 2015

    Delicious. Would pair it with An Indian banquet and it's a great one to take to a BBQ and surprise friends. ah Yottam is the king of vege dishes.

  • tekobo on February 17, 2017

    Relatively simple to put together - for an Ottolenghi recipe! Mark loved the soy beans and I, for the first time, ate the fresh curry leaves and enjoyed them rather than fishing them out as spent flavouring like I have in curries.

• Cavolo nero with chorizo and preserved lemon

  • okcook on May 06, 2019

    I have made this twice. The second time I cooked the kale a bit more than directed. We find the preserved lemon too much. Next time I think half would be plenty to give it the tang it needs.

  • JennyHay on October 27, 2018

    Very delicious. I added fat juicy scallops to this, fried quickly in the same pan, just before the chorizo was cooked. I will try it again with spinach for a lighter, more summery dish.

  • Nossovitzky on May 19, 2019

    Very tasty! Good even without the preserved lemon, which I ran out of (but better with). Ended up using a bigger kale to chorizo ratio as I wanted this to be a veggie side dish.

  • Foodycat on November 09, 2018

    Really delicious - I used it as a topping for baked sweet potatoes.

  • kitchen_chick on September 09, 2019

    We really liked this dish. The "fresh chorizo" in this recipe does not refer to Mexican chorizo, which is the usual fresh kind found where I live and what I generally assume is meant when a recipe says "fresh chorizo". There is a Spanish version, which is delicious and worth seeking out. That said, it does work with Mexican chorizo. If using Mexican chorizo sausages, cook the sausage whole first, let it rest, then slice as described. I also used thick, unsweetened full fat yogurt instead of sour cream. The substitution worked well for us.

  • tmitra on July 04, 2020

    I tried this because I was curious as to how these flavors would work together, and while it was fine, it wasn't greater than the sum of its parts. I wouldn't make it again. I appreciate kitchen_chick's point below; I had Mexican chorizo, so I removed the casing and crumbled it.

  • anya_sf on May 04, 2020

    I didn't have chorizo, so I used 3 strips of bacon, which were still very tasty in this dish (served as a side). I ended up steaming the kale longer, as my family doesn't like it chewy. Preserved lemon can be quite strong, so I rinsed it and used slightly less. Before adding the sour cream, I did not care for the overall dish, but the sour cream really balanced the other flavors, and I ended up liking this quite a bit. Next time I'll seek out fresh Spanish chorizo.

  • katy1729 on August 11, 2019

    Made as an accompaniment to the turkey & courgette burgers and the couscous, cherry tomato & herb salad. Only had 300g cavolo nero so adjusted quantities in proportion. Quantity was fine for three people with the other dishes. Didn't bother with the sour cream as we had the sumac sauce from the burger recipe. I would make again.

• Roasted aubergine with curried yoghurt

  • okcook on May 08, 2019

    Very easy to make. Watch the eggplant because the oven is really hot and I think I dried mine out by leaving them in too long. The yogurt-curry sauce is flavourful without being overwhelming. This dish is a great side for roasted meat. I will be making this again.

  • aargle on March 24, 2020

    We loved this and it was demolished very quickly. I think I overcooked the eggplant so will keep a closer eye on it next time and there will be a next time. I served it with tandoori chicken which was a lovely match. Thoroughly recommend!

  • Skamper on October 02, 2019

    This was so delicious. I made a half batch to serve two as a side for tandoori chicken and honestly think we would have eaten a whole batch (but probably better we didn't). I roasted the eggplant in the morning to save time in the evening. It only took about 30 mins to roast. I forgot to add the fried curry leaves but will definitely try this the next time.

  • Ro_ on March 16, 2020

    Very nice. As with all the aubergine recipes in this book, I've learned I need to brush the slices with oil instead of tossing in a bowl, and turn the oven down from the temperature Ottolenghi instructs. My only regret is that I cooked my aubergines in advance and didn't reheat them through properly so it was a bit lukewarm, however I'd still make this again.

• Sweet potato mash with lime salsa

  • okcook on May 06, 2019

    The outcome is delicious. The lime salsa plays off the sweetness of the potato. I had one gigantic sweet potato so it took twice as long to cook. I think putting the potato through a food mill would be the best way to get a very smooth texture..I didn't do that but will next time. I agree about the limes....I measured the zest and juice. I made the roasted skins for a snack. Very interesting. Mine got a little burnt...next time I will turn the heat down. We had them with chili flakes in oil drizzled over the top.

  • FJT on November 06, 2018

    Absolutely delicious!

  • twoyolks on January 30, 2020

    I really liked how the lime complemented the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. I actually didn't have any cilantro or basil so I just used parsley and it worked pretty well. I roasted some small sweet potatoes and they got really leathery on the cut side.

  • Frogcake on January 02, 2019

    This recipe proves you don’t need to do too much to sweet potatoes to make a delicious side. Loved the salsa with the roasted sweet potato. I drizzled the roasting oil into the mash and used all cilantro as I didn’t have any basil.

  • kitchen_chick on October 25, 2018

    Delicious combination of flavors, though I did a bit of substitution. I didn't have any fresh basil, so I used mint. Also, the recipe is a bit odd. It calls for 2 limes, but then specifies only 2 tsp of lime zest and 1 Tbs of lime juice. Just how small are his limes? One Persian lime can yield around 4 Tbs of juice and plenty of zest. I ended up using 2 Tbs of juice (and the zest) - so one half of a lime. Finally, my roasted sweet potatoes were a bit stringy/fibrous even after mashing. I think it'd be easier to get a smoother texture by peeling, slicing, and steaming the slices until soft. (Though you don't end up with the roasted skins that can be used in another recipe.)

  • anya_sf on November 20, 2018

    I didn't have basil, so I doubled the cilantro. I'm not a huge fan of sweet potatoes (too sweet), but the lime salsa really balanced the flavor nicely. I roasted the sweet potatoes ahead and reheated the mash in the microwave.

• Fried cauliflower with mint and tamarind dipping sauce

  • lorloff on September 06, 2020

    This fried cauliflower dish was a 10.5 on a scale of 10 absolutely fantastic. Getting the flour to stick to the cauliflower before adding the egg and the panko was tricky and hard to do. But the dish was absolutely worth the tremendous effort. Next time we will increase the spices slightly in the seasoned panko and will substitute falafel mix for the flour. The sauce was for us the only weakness in the recipe. Eat the fried cauliflower by itself or with a tahini lemon sauce. This was delicious and worth the effort. We are thinking about trying the seasoned breading on chicken and other breaded things it was great. Loved this but too much work. The roasted cauliflower dish from Milk Street 6/19 is so much easier.

  • Rutabaga on October 10, 2018

    The breadcrumb coating on this cauliflower is nicely flavored even though I accidentally forgot to add the garlic and intentionally left out the pepper flakes (to keep in mild enough for the kids), and the florets turned out nicely cooked and not at all greasy. I had to add extra olive oil to make the dip come together, but it was nicely tangy and herby, and also very good when mixed into plain white rice.

• Caramelised fig, orange and feta salad

  • Avocet on August 30, 2015

    We were not impressed with this salad. There is a lot of fussing with the figs, oranges and dressing that sounded interesting, but we felt ultimately detracted from the clarity of the flavors of the ingredients. The amount of the Pernod was excessive, even though I reduced the amount. The anise seeds were a good addition, however.

  • Dishyrishie on February 05, 2017

    Next time we'd use marinated goats cheese to give a bit more acidity. We also didn't have Pernod so used gin instead. Think Pernod would have been a bit too much aniseed.

  • cultus.girl on February 27, 2018

    We really enjoyed this salad just as it was. Pernod flavoured it beautifully.

  • JLDuck on December 31, 2018

    I modified it to make it suitable for an Indian meal. Worked a treat. Mainly removed the feta and changed the dressing. Will definitely make the recipe. The caramelised fruit was relatively simple and very tasty.

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

  • Avocet on July 02, 2019

    The salsa was overly salty for our taste, even without including the caper brine.

  • TrishaCP on December 31, 2018

    We liked this but clearly not as much as everyone else! It was good but not my favorite preparation for salmon.

  • apattin on July 08, 2019

    I tried this with tilefish (it's what I had) and it was awesome. My only change was to press breadcrumbs on both sides of the fillets so they would not stick. I loved the sweet/sour balance.

  • lilham on November 27, 2018

    This is a huge success in our house. The salsa is unusual but so delicious with salmon. I agree with other posters who say there is a lot of salsa for the amount of salmon. I will make 1/2 to 2/3 the quantity next time.

  • saladdays on January 05, 2019

    We really enjoyed this, I agree that there was a lot of salsa but that was no bad thing as it is delicious! This could become a well-loved recipe.

  • JennyHay on December 27, 2018

    I enjoyed the flavours of the salsa very much, but next time I won't serve it as a main because I think the salmon and salsa should be served on their own, not with any other dishes. I'll try breaking up the salmon into pieces and add the salsa and serve it as a stand alone salad, as an entree or a light lunch.

  • sharifah on October 02, 2018

    Very flavourful salsa to go with salmon. I halved the recipe for two, quite a generous amount of salsa. It’s simpler than I thought even though it looks like a long list of ingredients. I cut down on the oil a little bit. The salsa can probably be made in advance...I’ll try that next time.

  • KarinaFrancis on September 17, 2019

    This book can do no wrong in this house, and this is another great dish. I would never have thought to put these ingredients together but they totally worked. The only adjustments I made was halving the amount of currants (the silver fox isn’t a fan) and using a little less caper brine. I’ll be making this again and again !

  • peaceoutdesign on October 21, 2021

    Alright but not amazing.

  • mharriman on October 22, 2019

    Wow! Both my husband and I loved this dish. The salsa is definitely an interesting and unusual mix of ingredients. I would never think to put them together but they worked! I will definitely make it again. Changes: (one) I forgot to buy currants and used raisins. Served with cauliflower “rice” and a mixed green salad with tomatoes. These were good accompaniments. As others have noted, the recipe makes A LOT of salsa - more than we could eat (I had halved ingredients for two people).

  • MmeFleiss on October 27, 2018

    I halved all the salsa ingredients and it was perfect for the stated amount of salmon.

  • sarahj22 on November 02, 2018

    This was delicious and came together very quickly. I made a few substitutions based on what I had (raisins instead of currants, a mix of parsley and coriander instead of just parsley, cut back on the oil) but it still turned out beautifully. The recipe does make a generous amount of salsa but I liked the large portion.

  • saarwouters on October 14, 2018

    An original way to serve salmon. A combination of Italian and Middle-Eastern flavours. Comes together very easily.

  • Frogcake on October 21, 2018

    We loved the salsa which I served with bbq’d tuna steaks. I didn’t have any capers so used chopped pimiento stuffed chopped olives and a bit of the brine.

  • sosayi on November 27, 2018

    Another positive review for this recipe! Very easy to put together and the salsa can successfully be made in advance. I added the chopped parsley and lemon zest right before serving and took it out a few minutes early to come back to room temperature. Served with roasted berbere carrots and some basic parmesan risotto, this was a fabulous dinner.

  • anya_sf on October 22, 2018

    We all enjoyed this, even my celery-hating husband. There was way more salsa than we needed. I'd reduce the currants and olive oil next time.

  • robertofwine on March 10, 2019

    Enjoyed it as much as everyone else; completely agree you can 1/2 (or more) the salsa recipe. We had 300g salmon and still had an additional 1/3 salsa when we were done. Served with the aromatic mash recipe and it was lovely together. Will make this again!

  • katy1729 on September 07, 2019

    7th Sept 2019. Altered to suit ingredients I had available - extra capers instead of olives, dried parsley, raisins instead of currants, no saffron; also the bright green part of a leek instead of celery, which husband hates. Great success and pretty easy - would definitely make again. Served with steamed potatoes (crushed and mixed with olive oil, chopped black olives and chopped rind of a preserved lemon) and steamed vegetables.

  • ChefBeccs on May 14, 2020

    Best accompaniment to salmon ever, elevating this every week fish to a new level. And yes, you can omit and substitute ingredients to suit your pantry. I did not have any celery and it was still amazing.

• Spiced 'shepherd's pie' with butterbean crust

  • mcvl on September 20, 2020

    Divine. I had to leave out the apricots, alas, because I'm working to get my blood sugar down, but the combination of flavors was already deliriously good: meaty, spicy, sharp, sour (I used the juice as well as the zest of the lemon), and I'm sure when I can make it with the apricots it will be fruity too. I was in no mood for fancy-schmancy, so I just mixed the lima beans in with all the other ingredients. I made enough for two meals and am now restraining myself mightily from going downstairs and eating up the whole second half.

  • aargle on September 16, 2019

    My family all loved this and demolished it in one sitting despite using 900grams of mince. I used normal harissa which was fine. We all loved the butter bean topping but found I had to add a little more liquid in the form of a little lemon juice and water to make it mashable. A definite repeat.

  • Nossovitzky on May 19, 2019

    Really really good combination of flavours. I have made just the mince part and also with lamb shanks I liked it so much! Not so much the bean topping, it was a bit dry. Also left out the olives after the first time as I don't think they added anything.

  • VineTomato on February 28, 2019

    I loved this. We made a vegan version using soya mince and it was so good! I only slightly mashed the butterbeans, in the recipe it says to let the mince set in the fridge for half an hour to make it easier to spread the beans. With soya mince it just wouldn't work which why I left them a bit more whole and spreadable. Divine! It doesn't even need cheese on top! The apricots were absolutely delicious.

  • sosayi on July 15, 2019

    Delicious pie, and the use of beans as a crust was far preferable to the typical potato topping. Did not use the rose harissa, just a regular, mild, harissa and was fine with that decision. Will make again.

• Beetroot, avocado and pea salad

  • RosieB on November 22, 2014

    A great salad with wow factor. A good dish for a dinner party as you can do most of the prep in advance.

  • mondraussie on May 10, 2015

    Maybe a little more dressing next time? A little dry, but very tasty

  • dinnermints on October 06, 2019

    The bite of the hot sauce with the creamy avocado and half tender beets is fabulous (along with all of the herbs and the winsome peas). To second RosieB, our guests loved this salad and found it to be unusual in the best way.

  • mfranklin125 on March 22, 2018

    Really good :)

• Corn on the cob with miso mayonnaise

  • RosieB on October 14, 2015

    This is fantastic. Easy to prepare. The miso and tamarind gives this a huge taste boost. Great for a barbeque.

• Spiced apple cake

  • RosieB on September 16, 2018

    This cake was easy and delicious. It looked stunning.

  • Astrid5555 on October 06, 2018

    Perfect apple cake for a chilly fall afternoon! Reduced the demerara sugar for the apples to 100g, still too much for coating the apples. Will reduce next time to 80g. Recipe states to bake for 60-65 minutes, I took mine out of the oven after 80 minutes. Dough underneath the apples was still a little custardy, but a longer baking time would have resulted in a dry cake. Everbody loved it!

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    Easy, had all ingredients on hand. Delicious served warm, with double cream.

  • Frogcake on January 01, 2019

    Really delicious! My cake looked exactly like the picture. So simple to make - it baked for 65 minutes while we consumed other courses. I added a teaspoon of freshly grated orange rind to the dough and this enhanced the flavour nicely. I served small portions, warm, with gelato for New Year’s Eve dinner and everyone ate the rest of the cake (still fragrant and moist) for breakfast.

  • kitchen_chick on October 12, 2019

    Fantastic! I substituted lactose-free whole fat yogurt for the sour cream. Mine also took a lot longer to bake. About 85 minutes. Aside: the ingredient list here says “self rising flour”, but my edition lists the flour, baking powder, and salt separately.

  • Skamper on October 16, 2019

    I baked this for 70 minutes and it was underdone in the center. The rest of the cake was very tasty but I worry it would be overcooked by the time the center was done.

• Tenderstem broccoli with soy sauce, garlic and peanuts

  • Emily Hope on March 29, 2019

    Served this as a side with the miso/lime chicken from the same book -- a nice, not too complicated way to do broccolini, and the peanuts are a nice touch. It did seem like it might benefit from some acidity--next time may try adding a bit of lime juice or rice vinegar.

  • KarinaFrancis on February 12, 2020

    Super quick and super tasty side dish! I could only find “big” broccoli so I sliced it all the way down (thank you my Instagram friend for that tip) and I didn’t have any ginger so I used dried chilli instead, which I’d do again. This will go on regular rotation for sure.

  • Rutabaga on May 24, 2020

    This is quite good, although I think it could use more of the soy sauce/honey. A pound of broccolini is quite a bit! The peanut topping is really a nice complement. I cooked the broccoli in the same pan I used to make the peanut topping by steaming under a closed lid with a little water. I removed the broccolini to a bowl and then used the pan to quickly cook the soy sauce and honey, but the dish wasn't very hot by the time it got to the table. In an effort to make this a one pan dish, I'd reduce the soy sauce and honey before cooking the broccoli next time, then add it to the broccoli in the hot pan just prior to serving.

  • sosayi on February 06, 2019

    In the US edition, this is listed as "broccolini with soy sauce, garlic, and peanuts". Different titles can be confusing! This was quite easy and quite good. The preschooler gobbled it up and commented on how "yummy" it was, surprisingly. Definite repeat, though I always over-steam broccoli, so I need to work on that. The orange peel definitely adds a great note to the fried garlic, ginger and peanut mixture, so I wouldn't skip it.

  • anya_sf on July 03, 2019

    I oversteamed the broccolini a tad, as the stems - although thin - weren't getting tender. So next time I'll cut the broccolini into shorter pieces. The peanut topping was great.

  • fedenorreri on May 02, 2019

    Love the toppings in this recipe. I sub cashews for some of the peanuts and used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce (allergies in the family) - served with the Thai sticky rice and shrimp.

• Chicken with miso, ginger and lime

  • Emily Hope on March 29, 2019

    Oh, man, this was good! I've made a lot of Asian-ish chicken thigh recipes and this one rises to the top. I made it with 4.5 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, and made 1.5x the sauce, which worked great. (I did have 2 thighs that didn't fit in the 9x13 pan). My only complaint is that it's a bit fiddly for a weeknight meal, with the pan-frying and the baking and the ginger grating etc., but worth it. As stockholm28 notes, the thighs were overcooked even after I'd cut the time by 10 minutes -- next time I might try just omitting the bake time with the foil on. Served with the broccolini with peanuts (also from Simple), and rice.

  • Astrid5555 on September 30, 2018

    The marinade is divine, but made without chillies for the kids! Very little hands-on time needed, served with potatoes. Loved the spring onions!

  • FJT on May 07, 2019

    Another vote in favour of this one. The only complaint was that there wasn't more of the sauce so I shall be doubling up on that next time. Will definitely be making again ... and soon!

  • JennyHay on April 12, 2019

    10 out of 10 for me. A fabulous dish served with the sticky rice on page 173.

  • KarinaFrancis on March 16, 2019

    My first recipe from this book and it’s a winner! Based on previous comments I used bone in thighs, grated the lime rind, garlic and ginger. Paired it with sweet potato fries from the same book. I just made this again a made up the sauce ingredients, marinaded them for 30 minutes and cooked them uncovered for 45mins, worked perfectly and the flavour still shines

  • stockholm28 on March 13, 2019

    I liked this a lot which is a good thing since I now have a large container of white miso in the fridge (checking EYB to see what else I can do with it). I cut the recipe in half and used chicken thighs. I didn’t find the paste too fiddly, but I simplified the recipe by grating the lime and just chopping the ginger finely. The thighs cooked a lot more quickly than the recipe notes, so I will cut down the oven time. I liked the crispy charred green onions and cilantro stems.

  • Barb_N on March 19, 2019

    This is delicious as other reviewers have said. I found the scallion-chili-cilantro mixture spicy (I’m a spice wimp, only used one serrano quartered). Served with stir fry of baby bok choy, asparagus and shiitakes, with a sauce pirated from the marinade, adding a bit of rice wine vinegar. Miso paste lasts foreeeeeever in the fridge (I’ve had mine more than a year) so definitely will be a repeat, maybe w/o the chili.

  • Rutabaga on October 28, 2019

    The sauce here is, as others have noted, fantastic. Unfortunately, the rest of my family is not a fan of "bone-in" chicken dishes, although I think it's good for them to have this experience from time to time. I'd make this again, but might mix it up and try it with boneless chicken thighs, too.

  • rmorse on March 04, 2019

    This is amazing.

  • raybun on March 02, 2019

    The marinade is absolutely delicious, I used bone in thighs. Definitely a repeat recipe, the family loved it.

  • bwhip on April 02, 2019

    Delicious! We really enjoyed this recipe. Great flavor, fairly easy prep. I used thighs, and served with basmati rice, which made for a nice dinner.

  • anya_sf on February 23, 2020

    I cooked 6 large chicken thighs for the whole time and the chicken did not overcook, but the sauce started to burn at the edges of the dish (my pan was a bit too large). I chopped the ginger finely and next time will zest the lime for ease and try whole cilantro stalks instead of just the stems. The sauce was super flavorful. I would also try boneless chicken thighs cooked for less time.

• Roasted trout with tomato, orange and barberry salsa

  • TrishaCP on January 27, 2019

    This was really easy and very fresh tasting with the salsa. I couldn’t find whole trout so used fillets laid on top of each other and secured with toothpicks to mimic a whole fish. The amount of butter called for in my opinion isn’t at all necessary- I would at a minimum half it, or consider using olive oil.

  • Astrid5555 on January 01, 2019

    So simple, quick and delicious. Used whole seabream instead of trout. The salsa takes this dish to another level! Yum!

• Pappardelle with rose harissa, black olives and capers

  • TrishaCP on August 13, 2020

    We liked this just fine- but I felt like it really needed the yogurt. I personally thought the pasta to sauce ratio was fine, since the flavors are really strong (used the full amount of rose harissa).

  • Astrid5555 on September 15, 2018

    Most delicious pasta dish I have cooked in years. Halved the recipe but only used one third of the rose harissa paste. Had just the right spiciness for us. Husband licked the plate and then we fought over the leftover sauce. Can‘t wait to make this again.

  • lilham on October 17, 2018

    An unusual take on a tomato pasta, but absolutely delicious. I used linguine instead of a flat pasta and tinned tomatoes instead of fresh.

  • hirsheys on May 02, 2019

    This is a very simple dish to prepare, which I chose because I had some grape tomatoes needing to be used up. You basically caramelize some onion (which went pretty fast, actually, since the heat is set fairly high), then add harissa (I didn't have the rose version), halved tomatoes, halved kalamatas (I coarsely chopped them), some capers, and a little salt, then cook it all down into a nice sauce (adding in a little chopped parsley). You're supposed to serve with a dollop of yogurt, which is interesting. I used the mild harissa that's open in my fridge for this, and really wished it was spicy instead. I also didn't have pappardelle, so I used this dish as an excuse to use some interesting mixed shape pasta I had in my pantry. (It worked well.) The dish itself is quite nice, but it doesn't taste all that different from a standard puttanesca and I think I prefer my own recipe to this one.

  • VineTomato on December 15, 2019

    Mr VT loved this. I thought it was okay, like a puttanesca but without the delicious anchovy flavour. Mr VT abhors anchovies, so this could be a great pasta for other anchovy haters. I have written the word anchovy many times for recipe that does not contain anchovies!

  • Rutabaga on January 04, 2019

    This is good, although I think I like the chickpea and pasta recipe from this book better. I used about two tablespoons of rose harissa, and it was only mildly spicy, yet still too spicy for the kids. Fortunately, I addressed that concern by setting some plain pasta aside for them. Soft goat cheese is also good on the pasta if you aren't using yogurt.

  • Poppyseedbagel on June 19, 2020

    Excellent and even nicer than puttanesca

  • tmitra on July 04, 2020

    I'm always interested in variations on puttanesca, and I liked this one, despite needing to use fettuccine in lieu of pappardelle. However, next time, I'd double the sauce for this weight of pasta.

  • mrshalf on January 29, 2019

    Definitely amazing! Will absolutely put this into rotation and for any skeptics out there - the regular harissa paste from DEA was spot on. Not too spicy and definitely didn't miss the "rose harissa". This was fantastic!

  • anya_sf on May 02, 2019

    I used half the rose harissa so it wouldn't be too spicy and it definitely wasn't; I'll try more next time. I made the sauce 2 days ahead. This was a simple, delicious pasta dish that I would definitely make again. There isn't a ton of sauce relative to pasta, but the ratio seemed just right since the sauce has strong flavors. I'd never had yogurt on pasta before, but it was great. I used fettuccine pasta, but really, any shape would work.

  • JJ2018 on May 20, 2019

    This was nice but I wouldn’t be in a rush to repeat. Reduced the harissa slightly. There was a lot of pasta to sauce ingredients so ratio seemed slightly off

• Fried broccoli and kale with garlic, cumin and lime

  • TrishaCP on February 03, 2019

    This was really flavorful and fairly easy to prepare. We also used cavolo nero since it's what we had on hand. I didn't have mint, so used cilantro, which also added (along with the lime) a nice pop of freshness and brightness at the end.

  • cjross on October 21, 2018

    Quite good, very flavorful. Would make again.

  • Jojobuch on November 13, 2018

    Used Cavolo Nero instead of kale; all in all very flavourful

  • Rutabaga on October 24, 2019

    I really like this dish. Plus, using bagged, pre-cut veggies from Trader Joe's made it very simple to prepare. Because of the kids, I went light on the Urfa pepper and served the lime on the side, but in my mind, those two flavors are what sets this dish apart.

  • anya_sf on April 19, 2020

    I used 3 broccoli crowns (much more than 3 cups) and a bunch of beet greens in lieu of kale. I only had half the mint but it was enough to get the flavor, and just used 1 tsp urfa biber for a hint of spice. This dish was easy to cook at the last second with everything prepped ahead. Overall, I loved it, but would probably like it better without the cumin.

  • damjih on July 25, 2019

    Good recipe, same as others kale soaked up all the oil

  • elnicky on January 06, 2019

    Enjoyed this a great deal, but don’t think it’s as good as the chargrilled broccoli, garlic and chilli recipe. Made the garlic compote for the oil (from the roast potato recipe in the book) to make sure it had a strong garlic flavour and a bit of crunch with the chopped up cloves. Also added some crushed cashews at the beginning of cooking as was cooking as a main so thought it would need some more protein (and crunch). These modifications worked very well. Cooked and ground the cumin – don’t like eating whole cumin seeds. Didn’t have lime juice so used half the quantity of white wine vinegar. While this was an adequate substitute, the lime juice would have improved it a great deal. The kale soaked up all the oil before the broccoli was added, so would recommend adding the final third when adding the broccoli. My broccoli wasn’t cooked through quite as much as I’d have liked, but perhaps I didn’t cut the florets quite small enough.

  • jenburkholder on August 10, 2020

    I didn’t think this was very good. The vegetables tasted quite plain, only a hint of mint as their seasoning was noticeable, and we found the textural contrast between the kale and the broccoli to be strangely unpleasant, despite loving both of those vegetables. Won’t repeat.

• Sweetcorn slaw

  • TrishaCP on August 14, 2017

    Yeah, this was really, really good! I skipped the carrots and subbed basil for the mint. The corn is great here with the cabbage. I did follow the brining step for the onion and cabbage, but I'm not sure how much impact it made. I would be tempted to try this (at least once) without that step.

  • aargle on December 26, 2018

    Made this to go with our glazed ham on Christmas Eve. Delicious and easy and loved the corn addition. Might grate the carrot next time as my batons were too large. A definite repeat.

  • sharifah on August 22, 2020

    Grown up coleslaw; love it! I like that there’s not a lot of mayo/dressing compared to the amount of veg overall. Different combo of veg and herbs makes it very different from other coleslaws.

  • twoyolks on August 16, 2016

    This was great. The sweetness of the corn really compliments the tanginess of the dressing. The herbs are also nice. I shredded the cabbage on a grater but that really made it too small. I'd use a knife in the future.

  • erinreine on September 21, 2016

    We really enjoyed this salad, nice mix of flavours. I used two larger chiles and it was a quite spicy, I would probably just use one next time. Added some finely chopped celery leaves as I couldn't get hold of any cilantro (bizarre shortage this week I guess) and it was delicious regardless. Used the julienne blade on the food processor for the cabbage and it seemed just the right size. It held up well as leftovers the next day too.

  • ksg518 on July 16, 2017

    This will be my new "go to" coleslaw recipe. I skipped the chile but may add it next time. I may have had more cabbage than called for, so I adjusted the dressing accordingly. I was surprised that so little dressing worked so well, but it was really just enough for the slaw.

  • Rutabaga on July 26, 2015

    This is a delicious variation on coleslaw, with a good variety of textures and tastes. Compared with many of the recipes in Plenty More, the ingredients in this one are pretty basic, and the preparation is not too time consuming. If you are grilling, make the slaw ahead of time, then add the corn fresh off the grill.

  • emma_clare on September 22, 2019

    I agree with other posters - lovely recipe that is relatively simple. Light, clean flavours, not at all oily or claggy like coleslaw can sometimes be. We had it with pulled pork baps and it was the perfect accompaniment.

• Honey-roasted carrots with tahini yoghurt

  • TrishaCP on April 21, 2020

    This was so good. I had the same problem as ricki with the paste clumping rather than glazing the carrots, but I figured it was caused by using pre-ground spices. Regardless, it turned out just fine. I love carrots/coriander/ cilantro together so this was a big win for me.

  • Melanie on November 25, 2016

    Agree with the previous reviewers - the caramelised carrots work really well with the tahini yoghurt.

  • twoyolks on December 28, 2015

    The carrots are well cooked and just caramelized enough without being too caramelized. The spices compliment the carrots nicely but I might consider grinding them more finely in the future. The carrots are good on their own but the yogurt-tahini sauce elevates them even further.

  • KarinaFrancis on August 13, 2020

    Easy, tasty and can scale up or down. Winner!

  • dinnermints on January 02, 2016

    This was a side dish at our New Year's Eve dinner, and our guests raved about it. Our carrot-averse guest even liked the dish. Another guest wasn't particularly fond of cumin and felt it was often over-used, but was perfect in this recipe. All in all a very successful and uncomplicated dish, would make again. And I agree with twoyolks - the sweetness of the carrots combined with the tangy garlic tahini sauce brought it up to another level.

  • ricki on April 15, 2020

    We're suckers for carrots roasted with cumin, and this was very good. It didn't result in much of a glaze on the carrots (did I need more oil?) but the honey and crushed seeds clumped to form little bits of a crunchy praline, which I enjoyed. This would make a nice light meal served on a bed of arugula with some feta.

  • sarahkalsbeek on May 29, 2020

    Delicious! Alone, the carrots and yogurt-tahini sauce are good, but not anything special, so when I tasted each alone I was worried. But together, they were absolutely amazing! Didn't measure anything precisely, just kind of eyeballed it all and it turned out great. Skipped the garlic in the yogurt-tahini sauce.

• Sweet potatoes with orange bitters

  • tracyfox on January 02, 2015

    Made a half recipe and felt the garlic and herbs didn't really come through (and I was even a few teaspoons short of the 2 tablespoons of bitters requried). I definitely overcooked it as the coating was beyond sticky in places and the pan was a real mess. Next time I'll have an extra cup or two of orange juice on hand to keep deglazing and pre-line the pan with foil as it was a two SOS pad cleanup.

  • clkandel on December 17, 2015

    Love this dish! I used orange bitters to add to the orange flavor. I wasn't sure the recipe was going to work, but it caramelized perfectly in the last 15 minutes. The pan was quite sticky but cleaned up by just soaking it with water and dish soap.

  • KarinaFrancis on June 04, 2020

    I would never have thought of adding bitters to anything other than a drink but this totally works! I reduced the amount of bitters by half and it was just right for us, next time I’d be tempted to add more chilli. I’m glad I headed the advice below and lined my tray.

  • rmardel on December 20, 2014

    Excellent recipe. A bit of a production to put together, but well worth the effort. The liquid with the potatoes makes a sweet caramelized glazed on the potatoes yielding bites that are simultaneously crunchy, sticky, and soft. The saltines and creaminess of the goat cheese compliments the potatoes well.

  • e_ballad on November 30, 2016

    This was sensational. Please read the instructions closely & don't throw away the excess glaze when you put the sweet potato wedges on the baking tray - you'll need it to keep coating the wedges for tasty sticky yumminess. Speaking of trays, if you like yours, I recommend covering it using foil topped with baking paper to put your wedges on - I suspect you'd be scrubbing for days otherwise.

• Root mash with wine braised shallots

  • tracyfox on January 02, 2015

    Amazing how adding the lentils completely changed the texture of the pan roasted potatoes and squash from a spatchcocked Christmas chicken. I mixed the lentils, potatoes and butternut squash, spiced the mash as directed and topped with the shallots and sauce. Really too good for a leftovers lunch. Definitely worth showcasing as a special vegetarian dinner.

  • twoyolks on November 05, 2016

    The root mash didn't have a cohesive enough flavor. I think the vegetables would've been better roasted than simply boiled. I did like the flavor addition of the lentils to the root mash but the texture was less pleasant. The braised shallots were nice.

• Ricotta and rosemary bread pudding

  • debkellie on December 01, 2017

    Instead of sourdough I used the leftover Potato and herb pull-apart bread wreath from Donna Hay, I also substituted leeks for turnip and Persian feta for ricotta .. OK so too many subs.. but it was wonderful and lived up to my "no waste" agenda for Thanksgiving & Christmas 2017. Soo tasty!

  • Boffcat on January 14, 2018

    This was good (and fairly generous portions) - the custard baked to a light, silky texture. It was slightly bland, so I'd be tempted to flavour it more robustly. There are a few other things I'd do differently next time: * I wouldn't bother with the turnip (or swede, as I used): it didn't add anything that couldn't have been achieved by having vegetables on the side instead, and by elevating the bread it made it harder to submerge. * I would slice the bread more thinly, as it was too chunky to absorb much custard. (Presumably one would need less bread by weight if doing this.) * Method-wise, I'd proceed more like eggy bread: I wouldn't bother toasting the bread, and would simply soak it in the custard. I might not even bother with the ricotta topping; it didn't add as much as I'd expected. Essentially, I'd just make the custard and then use it for a baked eggy bread! Mike suggested adding sausages for a toad in the hole hybrid - I'm more drawn to the idea of smoked haddock...

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    The next dish I do when wanting to be challenged. given the amount and number of rich ingredients, I am hoping it will serve six as a vegetarian main dish. Otherwise, it's cost/serving ratio is on the high side.

• Slow-cooked chicken with a crisp corn crust

  • blintz on October 18, 2019

    Fabulous comfort-food chicken dish that’s good enough for company. Make the chicken stew the day before and then the night you’re entertaining there’s just the corn crust. I used the very last of farm market corn, but the recipe says frozen works too.

  • Astrid5555 on November 23, 2019

    Husband made this as a surprise when I returned from a business trip. He used a very smoky and hot harissa spice blend instead of rose harissa, which was balanced perfectly by the dark chocolate in the sauce. Made only two thirds of the crust which we thought was more than enough. Puffed up a little bit like a soufflé. Excellent!

  • Nossovitzky on May 19, 2019

    Very easy and tasty, with the caveat that I've never made the corn topping.

  • tmitra on October 22, 2019

    I liked the stew and was fascinated by the use of rose harissa in a dish that approximates Mexican flavors. I don't think I'd repeat the corn crust, given that I needed my blender and hand mixer to make it, and it turned out far from crispy (maybe it just needed more time, as anya_sf suggested below?)

  • lou_weez on April 08, 2020

    I was expecting a firm corn crust but instead got a light, fluffy corn topping. Really delicious.

  • averythingcooks on December 07, 2019

    This is a beautifully rich and warm chicken "stew". I did eventually opt out of the corn crust (but started out planning to make it) and then as dinner approached, decided to make a skillet corn bread to eat beside it. I have both hot and mild harissa (but not rose) so used 1 tbsp of the hot version. It thickened beautifully and although it didn't end up as dark as in the book photo , it is a delicious winter one pot.

  • bwhip on October 20, 2018

    Very delicious, with rich flavor that just melts in your mouth. Our corn crust was more like a souffle than crispy, but still a lovely complement to the chicken stew below. The recipe takes a while to make (hence the title "slow cooked"), but it's not a difficult prep at all. Served it with a simple green salad as suggested.

  • anya_sf on April 30, 2019

    I made 2/3 recipe, which served 3 for dinner with a large green salad. I loved the smoky flavors from the paprika and rose harissa, which I reduced a bit so it wouldn't be too spicy. This dish reminded me of a lighter, more flavorful tamale pie. The corn crust took an extra 10 minutes to cook through, perhaps because the sides of my casserole dish were extra high. Next time I'll add some more vegetables with the chicken mixture. Delicious!

  • mgmcewen on November 03, 2018

    We couldn't get the crust to work but the chicken was delicious. I guess we needed a mixer to really get the egg whites right, tried doing it by hand.

  • JJ2018 on November 28, 2019

    This was absolutely delicious. A simple recipe that takes a bit of time the flavours were so layered. We all loved it. Topping is like a corn cloud! We halved the harissa which was right for us

  • Lsblackburn1 on June 27, 2020

    When I was a kid in Tucson, AZ, I loved tamale pie. This has a similar taste profile and I loved it! I wouldn’t call this “simple” but it’s not hard - just time consuming. I couldn’t get rose harissa so used regular. Made it start to finish in my 5 qt brasier so one less pan, I guess?

  • domechef on March 31, 2019

    It is a very good dish when serving a crowd. The corn crust adds a beautiful decadance to the stew, so I wouldn't skip it. Just make sure the egg whites are whipped nicely. I don't have rose harissa but normal harissa worked just fine. I used a tablespoon less then called for and it felt just right.

• Charred prawn, sweetcorn and tomato salad

  • L.Nightshade on January 31, 2019

    I made this exactly as written, in a non-stick grill pan. I’m not sure why a grill pan was specified, as it would be perfectly fine in a regular pan. I’d like to try it in a basket over an actual grill. I’d also like to try it with fresh corn in the summer time! But as-is, the timing was spot-on, and I thought it was delicious. Mr. Nightshade thought the dressing could do with a bit less sriracha, so if you’re heat-shy like him, be conservative with the sriracha. It was perfect for me. If I had made up this recipe I probably would have added cilantro. Ottolenghi, in his genius, specified marjoram or oregano. Our marjoram has died out, the oregano is just hanging in, so I used that. Just made it brilliantly different. We decided this would be a great first course for a dinner party, using just three shrimp or so per person. Definitely a do-again.

  • Foodycat on October 06, 2018

    I used fresh corn on the cob and cooked all the elements on a charcoal grill. I'm in two minds about it really. The charred prawns, sweetcorn and tomatoes were very good but the dressing was a bit aggressive. I think I would have preferred basil instead of oregano.

  • anya_sf on August 17, 2019

    In lieu of a grill pan, I cooked the ingredients in a large cast iron skillet. I added some chopped asparagus (charred) and avocado (not charred) as well, and 2 people had no problem eating the whole thing for dinner. Instead of marjoram, I used basil, since I had it on hand. Different herbs would work as well - mint or cilantro would probably be especially good. The dressing was tasty, but actually quite spicy, which overpowered the flavors somewhat; I'd use half the amount next time. A lot of flavor for such a quick, easy dish.

• Courgette, pea and basil soup

  • L.Nightshade on February 26, 2019

    I got a little overzealous spiralizing zucchini the other day, ended up with not only the cores that are always left, but too many zoodles. Since I had peas and feta, I ended up making this. I only had one issue, one I’ve had occasionally with zucchini in soups, which is that there is a slightly bitter finish with each mouthful. I suspect this is from the peel of the zucchini, but I’m not certain. In this case it was a minor issue, in fact Mr. Nightshade did not sense the bitterness at all. It didn’t stop me from enjoying the flavor, but I would certainly love the soup more without it! I almost dropped in a tiny amount of baking soda, as I do with bitter tomatoes, but I was afraid of ruining it.

  • aargle on September 21, 2019

    This soup is a winner and a meal in itself. Loved the feta and lemon zest on top - it really set this soup apart. So easy and economical as well.

  • FJT on May 21, 2019

    Fantastic soup - it’s summer in a bowl. And it’s ridiculously easy to make.

  • Hellyloves2cook on January 20, 2019

    Easy and absolutely delicious. The whole family loved this! Have made twice already.

  • Boffcat on May 05, 2019

    I'm so glad I tried this, spurred on by the positive reviews - it's delicious, and one of the best ways I can think of to use courgettes.

  • anya_sf on April 28, 2019

    Quick and easy to make and really delicious. I used chicken broth for extra flavor. I only had about half the basil, but the flavor was still there. As usual with Ottolenghi recipes, the garnishes (lemon zest and feta) really add to the dish.

• Iranian herb fritters

  • L.Nightshade on February 16, 2019

    A very simple recipe, calling for a lot of mixed, chopped, fresh herbs, ground cumin, breadcrumbs, barberries, toasted walnuts, and eggs. Everything is mixed together then ladlefuls are fried in sunflower oil. The herbs called for are dill, basil, and coriander, but the notes say any herbs can be used to equal the 120 gram total. I played fast and loose here, and the major portion of my “herbs” consisted of carrot tops! Parsley, tarragon, cilantro, mint, and dill also went in to make up the gram total. These end up being like little, fried, kuku zabzis. I thought the barberries were barely discernible, and I would add more next time, as I like that little sweet-tart kick. We each had two of the 10 the recipe made for me, and found them very filling. Instead of the suggested accompaniment of a parsley sauce, I used up some of the leftover tomato-chlle-garlic sauce and the tahini sauce from the halibut dish.

  • Barb_N on May 22, 2019

    More of a note to self, since I had to wildly adapt the recipe. I wanted to use cilantro (my daughter has soap gene), mint (none at store) and dill (rotten 24 h after purchase) so I had only half as much chopped herb mixture (parsley, marjoram, sorrel). I may have miscalculated but found the cumin overpowering. If I make this again, I will decrease the cumin, and use an appropriately flavorful herb mixture.

  • kitchen_chick on July 21, 2019

    We really like these with the suggested herb-tahini sauce. I agree with adding more barberries. We used 4 Tbs (1/4 cup). This recipe is very substitution friendly - I've used different proportions of herbs based on what I had available and used sliced almonds because we didn't have walnuts. I even used panko for the breadcrumbs one time (and added a splash of water to the mix because they're drier than fresh breadcrumbs). The second time I made this as a frittata in a 10" cast iron pan, which I liked better. You do have to flip the frittata, which is more difficult than flipping little fritters, but it cooks all the mixture at once and is less oily. Does anyone know what's going on in the photos with this recipe? The first photo shows a bowl with what looks like fried onions or shallots and some kind of red oil or hot sauce, neither of which are in the recipe.

• Meringue roulade with rose petals and fresh raspberries

  • Astrid5555 on July 30, 2016

    Stunning and delicious! Thanks to Barb_N's comment I trusted the roulade to roll despite its initial crispiness. Could not find any raspberries, so I used pitted and halved cherries for the filling and whole cherries with their stems for the decoration on top. Will make again!

  • Barb_N on January 03, 2015

    I first saw this gorgeous dessert on The Wednesday Chef which gave. Me the impetus to try it. It is definitely a show stopper for a special occasion, but not prohibitively difficult. It did not seem inclined to roll as the meringue was kind of crispy (not like marshmallow) when it came out of the oven. I should have trusted the master- once the cream and berries were placed it softened enough to 'roulade'. I will skip the rose petals, mine were more like buds and got in the way of my enjoyment.

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    on a day when I have enlisted a master baker to help me.

• Taleggio and spinach roulade

  • Astrid5555 on November 03, 2018

    A real showstopper and so delicious. Not too much work, it just needs some planning ahead to allow for the dough to rise 3 times. I accidentally skipped the third rising, but it did not matter at all. Made the semi-dried tomatoes myself the day before. Lovely flavors and big hit with my dinner party guests. Recipe says feeds 6, if you make it as part of a mezze spread this bread easily feeds double. Will definitely make again!

  • Rutabaga on November 16, 2014

    This roulade looks gorgeous when brought to the table. I was afraid that the filling would be too runny when I cut into it only five minutes after removing it from the oven, but it was perfect. It's quite the showstopper, but not difficult to make as long as you allow enough time for the dough to rise three times and then bake. Good semi-dried tomatoes provide the needed bright acidity to counter the rich cheeses, so use the best quality you can find or make your own. The flavors are reminiscent of a baked insalata caprese, but with beautifully melted taleggio in place of mozzarella.

• Tomatoes with sumac onions and pine nuts

  • Astrid5555 on August 29, 2020

    Looks very impressive when made with mixed tomatoes. The sumac shallots make a big difference, highly recommended.

  • kitchen_chick on September 16, 2019

    I don't care for a lot of raw onion-y flavor (mainly because I don't want to taste raw onions three hours later!), so I used only a very small amount of shallot for a hint of that flavor. My basil leaves were very large, so I also sliced the basil into a "wide chiffonade". Nice salad. I do like the toasted pine nuts with tomatoes.

  • anya_sf on October 25, 2018

    This was good, but not my favorite tomato salad. I'd use fewer shallots next time.

  • Ro_ on May 31, 2020

    I was worried that the sumac shallots would overwhelm the dish, but actually they were way more subtle than I expected (perhaps because I only used one very small shallot and left it to macerate for a number of hours?). I absolutely loved this recipe, I had really fresh and delicious tomatoes and the sumac onions, basil and pine nut just gave them that perfect little lift plus it looked really really pretty. I'll definitely make this again.

• Burrata with chargrilled grapes and basil

  • Astrid5555 on October 12, 2019

    Made this as a dinner party starter and everyone asked for the recipe. Great make-ahead dish which comes together very quickly. Delicious!

  • joneshayley on February 13, 2020

    Very impressed with the flavour to effort ratio for this. A complex and layered dish that’s prepared and served on minimal time. Beautiful.

  • anya_sf on December 02, 2018

    I used the full amount of grapes but half of everything else and thought the proportions were good, but I think you could adjust to your own preference or how much you have on hand. My skewers were long and didn't fit on my grill pan, so I used a griddle. I suspect a grill pan (or real grill) would impart even more flavor, but this worked. The combination of flavors was fantastic. The presentation was also quite lovely, making this a good (and easy) option for a dinner party.

  • sscholl on January 27, 2019

    I made this for a gathering of girlfriends after work, so opted to marinate the grapes overnight and just removed them to a skillet with a slotted spoon when I got to the gathering and poured them and the marinade over the burrata. Great flavors, tastes upscale and complex and not the usual appetizer. It got great reviews from my friends.

• Butternut squash with sweetcorn salsa, feta and pumpkin seeds

  • Astrid5555 on August 29, 2020

    Great flavor combination, got rave reviews! Used a skin-on hokkaido pumpkin and made all the different elements of the recipe a day in advance.

  • EmilyR on September 04, 2019

    This comes together quite easily and is an interesting riff on a Mexican style feta corn. The lime juice is key.

  • e_ballad on November 29, 2018

    Corn & butternut squash wouldn’t be a combination that would typically spring to mind, but this was delicious!

  • tmitra on September 29, 2019

    A great choice for late summer/early fall!

  • JJ2018 on October 01, 2019

    Added some chorizo to it.

  • domechef on March 31, 2019

    Pleasantly surprised at how good this was! The flavor is subtle but spot on, and the various textures are also awesome. Wouldn't change a thing.

• Roasted baby carrots with harissa and pomegranate

  • Astrid5555 on August 29, 2020

    Made as part of a mezze spread. Everyone was surprised how delicious roasted carrots can be. Just the right amount of sweet and savoury in one dish, will definitely make again!

  • FJT on June 29, 2019

    Made with normal harissa as I couldn’t find rose harissa. This was a definite hit with my guests and I will make it again.

  • Nossovitzky on May 19, 2019

    Have never managed to make this with pomegranate seeds (or rose harissa - difficult to find in Melbourne) but otherwise very good. Works fine with sliced regular carrots.

  • cjross on October 21, 2018

    Would absolutely make this again soon. Used agave instead of honey since I was feeding it to my baby and didn't have cilantro so I used mint. Nice easy recipe.

  • saarwouters on September 16, 2018

    Easy and very delicious! Just mix everything toghether and put it in the oven. The kids loved this too.

  • Frogcake on October 28, 2018

    Excellent! I roasted a huge pile of carrots and sweet potato wedges (I doubled the recipe for the sweet potato), and they were gobbled up between the three of us with rave reviews. ( I was hoping to send leftovers back with my son. ) Served with grilled steaks and a lovely sprouts salad. ( I finally found some rose harissa in st Jovite!)

  • anya_sf on December 03, 2018

    The carrots were delicious; the rose harissa wasn't too spicy for my son. While the pomegranate seeds went fine with the carrots, I'm not sure they added that much, so I wouldn't hesitate to make this again without the pomegranate.

  • kateroni on December 28, 2018

    Delicious! Love the sweet from the honey and spicy rose harissa. Have made multiple times already. Made once without pomegranate seeds and didn't really miss them.

  • ChefBeccs on April 18, 2020

    Absolutely delicious! Amazing flavour combination. Kids loved. Used standard carrots and standard harissa. Kept the pomegranate as it looks festive and provides a textural pop but you could easily leave our. I didn’t have any coriander and it was still lovely

• Orzo with prawns, tomato and marinated feta

  • Astrid5555 on February 29, 2020

    Good, but not one of the spectacular recipes from this book. Still, the feta and fennel seeds make it special, but not special enough to repeat in the near future.

  • KarinaFrancis on February 07, 2020

    Delicious! We loved it. Based on the previous notes I cut back on the fennel and might have stumbled on the right amount. Agree that the orange adds nothing, next time I’ll add a squeeze of lemon at end instead.

  • Zosia on October 18, 2018

    This was quick and tasty but there was a little too much fennel for me and I couldn't detect the orange at all. I think I would prefer it with half the fennel and perhaps with some grated orange zest stirred in with the basil at the end.

  • mharriman on October 24, 2019

    I liked this better than my husband did. We both like fennel, so that wasn’t an issue for us. However, we couldn’t figure out what it or the orange peels were supposed to do as we couldn’t detect even a hint of orange and only a mild fennel flavor. We thought the chili flakes overtook the other spice ingredients. I followed the instructions and ingredient list as directed and felt it took more steps and time than I prefer for our “pretty good” enjoyment of it. Probably won’t repeat as there are other orzo, tomato, and shrimp recipes out there that aren’t as involved that I like better.

  • Barb_N on March 20, 2019

    This is a favorite combination of mine- shrimp, orzo, feta and tomato, so I decided to try out the Ottolenghi spin. Overall it is simple, tasty and very beautiful. I wish I had paid more attention to the reviews about the fennel; I found the seeds were intrusive and didn’t add a lot of flavor (a new jar no less). My tomato pieces did not break down to a sauce like the photo in the book. Marinating the feta the night before meant that this was on the table in 30 minutes once I finished the prep. 1/21/20 ETA: I made this again using fresh fennel instead of fennel seeds. Half the thinly sliced bulb was sautéed with the garlic, the other half topped with a preserved lemon vinaigrette. I put some preserved lemon in the marinated feta and in the orzo in place of the orange peel- perhaps a bit TOO lemony but I really liked the fresh fennel in place of the seeds.

  • nadiakoj on December 04, 2018

    Really simple (!) dish but the fennel was a little too strong. Will half the amount mixed in with the feta next time.

  • Nomola on November 25, 2019

    Made for friends with a ‘fussy’ daughter - it was lovely, I think I’ll use a little more chilli next time. The fennel was obvious but I didn’t think overpowering. Easy to make

  • lou_weez on September 27, 2018

    Considering I didn't feel like cooking dinner, this was a delicious, super easy, one pan dish, that I'm really glad I made. I thought the fennel would overpower everything but it was lovely against the sweetness of the prawns.

  • bwhip on December 21, 2018

    This was very tasty, and easy to put together quickly on a weeknight. I scaled back the fennel to three teaspoons based on some of the feedback from other reviewers, and it seemed just right to me.

• Pasta with pecorino and pistachios

  • Astrid5555 on February 23, 2019

    As stockholm28 mentioned this is just a variation of pasta with pesto. Nevertheless a nice and healthy one because of the addition of the mangetout. As promised quick and simple to make, but without the wow factor that some of the other recipes from this book have.

  • anniemac on July 05, 2019

    I thought this was delicious. I used cascarelle pasta instead of the trofie, but otherwise made as written. As others have pointed out it is essentially pasta with pesto, but I thought the snow peas added a lot, although asparagus or snap peas could be subbed in.

  • stockholm28 on February 21, 2019

    This was a good and quick dish and it is really just a variation of pasta with pesto, with pistachios in lieu of pine nuts, pecorino in lieu of parmesan, and snow peas for extra fiber and greenery. I only made 1/4 of the recipe as it turns out that one of those grocery store basil plants only produces 12 grams of leaves and the recipe calls for 50g. I didn’t think the snow peas brought much to the party (the basil overwhelmed their flavor), but that may be more attributable to the low quality of grocery store snow peas this time of year. I think I would prefer this with sugar snaps. I also used fusilli rather than trofie.

  • JJ2018 on May 13, 2019

    We really enjoyed this - quick to come together and fresh tasting. Added the slow roast tomatoes and a squeeze of lemon juice. Would make again would also make a nice pasta salad for a barbecue etc

• Pasta alla Norma

  • Astrid5555 on October 18, 2018

    One of the best pasta alla Norma recipes I have cooked so far. Eggplants are baked in the oven separately and then added to the finished tomato sauce. Used Aleppo pepper flakes for additional smokiness and topped the pasta with some leftover feta cheese I happened to have in the fridge. Husband was very happy ;-)!

  • aargle on February 19, 2020

    I was expecting a very pleasant pasta dish but was delighted to find that it was fabulous. I followed the recipe to the letter and next time will reduce the cooking time of the eggplants by 5 minutes. I love these recipes that are more than the sum of its parts.

  • seherhussain on March 31, 2019

    Super easy to put together (thanks to the baking of the eggplant) and delicious results! Will repeat.

  • dinnermints on August 12, 2020

    Very good. In the sauce, eggplant had an unctuousness from being roasted, even though I ended up using less oil and dried it out a bit (typical for me). I sprayed olive oil on the eggplant with a pump spray; maybe would try brushing it next time (or tossing it and hoping for the best, as that really would be more simple). Per other posters' suggestions, I also reduced the oven temp by 25 degrees. I used one can crushed fire roasted tomatoes and one can whole, and that seemed to work pretty well. I roasted the eggplant a couple of days in advance, and might do that again.

  • Zosia on December 12, 2018

    Very tasty and quite doable on a busy weeknight. I particularly liked the treatment of the eggplant.

  • ksg518 on February 11, 2019

    This was delicious - a recipe where the ingredients add up to something more than you expect. I like the idea of roasting the eggplant although I nearly burnt mine so I'll either slice them thicker next time or reduce the cooking time. I didn't have the dried chilies so I just added a small pinch of red pepper flakes.

  • nadiakoj on December 04, 2018

    Fabulous dish. One of the best pasta dishes we've had at home

  • Lepa on February 24, 2020

    This was delicious. The tomato sauce was so rich and had such a wonderful taste. I followed other posters' suggestions and brushed olive oil on the eggplant rounds after trying to toss the slices and finding that only a few ended up with olive oil. I should note that I accidentally bought one can of sauce and one can of whole tomatoes and the resulting sauce was so good and saucy I might do the same next time.

  • anya_sf on October 27, 2018

    I baked the eggplant a day ahead. Tossing eggplant with olive oil in a bowl coats it unevenly; it's more work, but brushing with oil works better - however, it didn't seem to matter in the final dish. The only mild chile I had was a large pasilla, so I tore a couple of pieces off and simmered them with the tomatoes, then removed them with the oregano stems. Used 12 oz spaghetti. This recipe is unusual in that the eggplant remains in slices and the tomatoes whole, but somehow it works. My family devoured this.

  • Ro_ on January 17, 2020

    Aubergine being one of my favourite foods, I really loved this and even my partner who doesn't really like aubergines that much enjoyed it. Used parmesan cheese, and dried oregano instead of fresh. Like another note-leaver, a few of my aubergines got a bit burnt, so I'd reduce the heat or the time in the oven next time. Also agree with the comment that said tossing the aub slices with oil in a bowl doesn't result in even coating.

  • JJ2018 on May 08, 2019

    Really enjoyed this - as other reviewers say this tasted a lot more impressive then the list of ingredients would suggest. Pecorino really added to the dish. Will definitely make again

• Chicken Marbella

  • Astrid5555 on October 26, 2018

    Can be made ahead and just popped into the oven. Used date syrup instead of date molasses (not sure if they are the same). Loved the combination of dates and olives baked in the oven. Very happy husband.

  • JennyHay on December 27, 2018

    I enjoyed this dish but I expected more, given the ingredients and the long marinating time. I will make again but not score the meat, as I thought it dried the chicken too much.

  • stockholm28 on February 16, 2019

    This was so easy for a weeknight meal, but my dates were completely burnt and so was the marinade. The chicken and flavors were good. Next time, I will use a slightly smaller pan so the chicken pieces are closer together. I used chicken thighs and they were done before the 50 minute mark. I should have checked about 10 minutes earlier.

  • Foodycat on September 25, 2018

    I used pomegranate molasses instead of date molasses or treacle. Given all the big flavours in this, it's actually quite subtle. And very nice.

  • Londonyankee on January 01, 2020

    This was disappointing. I like Martha Stewart’s chicken with dates, citrus, and olives much better, and it’s easier, too. I don’t feel the marinade did much of anything, and there were hardly any dates. The flavor was just too subtle compared to Martha’s, which is my go-to dinner party recipe, so I’ll stick with Martha on this one!

  • anya_sf on November 20, 2018

    I've only had this dish made with prunes before, never dates, and surprisingly really enjoyed the dates here. I used all chicken thighs and substituted pomegranate molasses for date. Delicious, will definitely make again.

  • domechef on March 31, 2019

    This really was a show-stopper. Served it at a dinner party and everybody couldn't stop raving about how good it was. Also, it is quite a forgiving recipe, so easy to scale up or down.

• Blueberry, almond and lemon cake

  • Astrid5555 on September 12, 2019

    Delicious, even with skin-on coarsely ground almonds, which was all I had on hand. Usually I do not like icing on loaf cakes, but as already mentioned this one made the cake even more lemony. Very quick to make, too.

  • SugarTreeBaking on May 20, 2020

    Oh my! I missed the errata mentioning the missing baking powder. Without it, I have a flat loaf with little rise and not much texture.

  • FJT on May 13, 2019

    This cake tastes lovely. Mine was a bit chewy, probably because the only ground almonds I could find were ground with their skins on and were very coarsely ground. Will definitely make again when I can find some better ground almonds!

  • JennyHay on December 27, 2018

    I have many good blueberry and lemon cake recipes but this one is a standout. Superb.

  • stockholm28 on April 27, 2020

    Very good flavor and nice and moist. I like how some of the blueberries are added part way into baking. There is a very similar recipe in ”Sweet” for lemon blueberry almond teacakes and I prefer that recipe.

  • joneshayley on April 23, 2020

    Really easy and delicious cake.

  • kitchen_chick on August 09, 2020

    Wow. I missed the errata about the baking powder, but my cake rose nicely without the baking powder. Not sure what’s with that. I did reduce the sugar to 160g because I prefer less sweet desserts, and I omitted the glaze because it’d be too sweet for me. Still completely delicious by my taste preferences. Would be great with tea. Baked up super tender and light and moist. I did toss the blueberries in a bit of the flour-almond flour mixture to reduce sinkage.

  • bwhip on October 27, 2018

    This cake turned out great for us. A lovely combination of sweetness and lemony flavor. Unusual method - baking at 400 degrees, and after 15 minutes you put more blueberries on top of the cake (which makes a lot of sense, so they don't all sink to bottom). The temperature gives the cake a nice brown and crispy perimeter. Delicious.

  • anya_sf on September 04, 2020

    Very moist cake, quite sweet, but balanced by the lemon. The blueberries that were stirred into the batter mostly sank to the bottom, so it was good some were sprinkled on top. King Arthur self-rising flour worked (with salt omitted). Family liked this a lot.

  • Ro_ on July 04, 2020

    Loved the flavours of this cake. The only issue was that I think I added a few too many blueberries, and these all sunk to the bottom make it very soggy and loose so somewhat difficult to get out of the tin and cut well. I think next time I'd use fewer blueberries and/or coat them in flour to try to keep them more buoyant.

  • etcjm on February 05, 2019

    Lovely. Please do the icing, it adds extra lemonyness. I used frozen blueberries, since they are always there for overnight oats. Added about 20 minutes to the cooking time. I will do with fresh next time, because I think both the texture and keeping quality was hindered because of using frozen, hence it's not brilliant on day 2 but still edible. Very easy and no doubt will be get knocked together on a regular basis, great for elevenses at work and packed lunch!

• Fettuccine with spiced cherry tomato sauce

  • eliza on September 05, 2020

    Great way to use all those cherry tomatoes from the garden. Very easy and I'm sure the sauce would freeze well for longer term storage. The sauce can also be used to top cooked greens. It was delicious with Swiss chard from the veg garden.

  • bernalgirl on September 24, 2020

    An hour of mostly hands-off cooking yields a deeply flavorful sauce. I used a pound of peeled early girl tomatoes, a guajillo pepper which lended depth but no heat, and a minced Gypsy pepper that needed using, and puréed the final sauce. He recommends topping with parm but we opted for feta.

  • FJT on August 21, 2019

    Delicious and relatively easy to make. I left the ancho chilli in quite large pieces in case I wanted to take it out, so it didn't really break down as the recipe described; I popped everything in the blender at the end of the cooking time and blitzed it into a smooth sauce. We loved this which is just as well because I made a double quantity!

  • michalow on September 16, 2020

    Good and definitely simple, but nothing extraordinary. I liked this best with a little bit of ricotta stirred in and a generous grind of black pepper.

  • Nossovitzky on May 19, 2019

    Also subbed in smoked paprika and added some dried chilli flakes. Works best with fresh cherry tomatoes, lacked a bit of something when I made it with tinned tomatoes.

  • lean1 on December 24, 2018

    Very easy. Use fresh basil.

  • Ro_ on September 03, 2020

    Delicious and simple. Mine didnt go as dark as in the book photo, possibly because I used a guanjillo chilli instead of ancho. Could probably reduce cooking time for sauce down to 50m if necessary to make it achievable in the hour I usually have for prepping and cooking a meal on a weeknight.

  • Lsblackburn1 on September 11, 2020

    So simple, but with great depth of flavor! I didn’t have as many ripe cherry tomatoes as I thought, so I added a 14.5 ounce can (which meant I probably used way too many tomatoes, but it worked out).

• Roasted beetroot with yoghurt and preserved lemon

  • apattin on July 08, 2019

    It was yummy but needed more acid and saltiness. Maybe because I only used the rind of the preserved lemons? I should know better than alter an Ottolenghi recipe :))

  • mondraussie on September 19, 2020

    Excellent flavours, came together very nicely.

  • Poppyseedbagel on April 02, 2020

    Coronavirus recipe, using what we had in, so less dill than recipe specified. Still excellent though. Cooked beetroot after peeling in a tray under foil, much less faff.

  • ChefBeccs on November 24, 2019

    I used pre cooked beetroot in vacuum pack

• Vanilla custard with roasted strawberries and rhubarb

  • lilham on September 30, 2018

    A simple and delicious pudding for children, and anyone who loves custard. I used frozen rhubarb instead of fresh. The recipe was written for 8-10 people. I made half for 3 adults, a 7 and a 3 year old. Ottolenghi must eat very small portions of pudding. We could have done with a full recipe between 5 of us.

  • raybun on March 16, 2019

    I absolutely loved this recipe. Rhubarb isn’t available yet so made the sumac roasted strawberries from the same book to top the custards with. I got 4 deep ramekins & the two crème brûlée dishes in the photo. Served slightly warm, divine!

• Baked orzo with mozzarella and oregano

  • lilham on November 15, 2015

    Lovely winter dinner. I used cheddar instead of mozzarella, so the end result is slightly oiler. But this didn't detract from the tastiness of this baked pasta. (I also used dried thyme instead of fresh). Even my 4yo who wouldn't normally eat aubergines and celery ate this without complaints.

  • Melanie on July 18, 2016

    I loved this dish, comfort food that manages to avoid being overly rich. Reheats well in oven covered in foil - probably better than the first night! Will repeat and make in bulk, I imagine this will freeze well.

  • clkandel on November 01, 2014

    Used whole wheat orzo, so added a little extra broth. Covered for first 20 minutes.

  • dinnermints on January 27, 2017

    Gets more addictive with each bite. Next time I'd make this in the fall when tomatoes are at their peak. Similar to other reviewers, I sprayed the eggplant cubes with an olive oil mister and roasted them in the oven (425) for 15-20 minutes, and then used 2 T oil for the carrots, 1-2 T oil for the onion. The carrots weren't quite cooked enough; next time I'd use a larger pan and maybe saute them longer - would prefer them a little caramelized. I also used whole wheat orzo and increased the broth by a couple tablespoons. Next time I'd try covering it at first like others did. I didn't think I'd ever say this about an Ottolenghi dish, but I'd actually add a little more salt. I couldn't broil it in the dish I chose, but would also try that next time.

  • leahorowitz on September 14, 2014

    Perfect comfort food. Used different pasta (casarecce) and it worked fine - same amount of stock and time in the oven. Covered the pasta with aluminum foil for the first 30 mins.

  • Zosia on March 19, 2015

    I really enjoyed this cheesey pasta dish with its chunks of vegetables and tomatoes that helped cut the richness. I used only half the oil, about 2 tbsp to coat the eggplant which roasted in the pre-heating oven while I sauteed the other vegetables stove top in 1 tbsp. The tomato slices protected most of the pasta from drying out during baking and I quite liked the crispy bits of the parts that were exposed.

  • coryelizabeth on February 03, 2018

    I'm another person saying that this recipe is delicious. I split the 7 TB of olive oil into two batches (half for the eggplant and half for the carrots/celery). I used smoked mozzarella, since that's what I had on hand, and I added more cheese than the recipe called for, because I'm a fiend.

  • lou_weez on June 17, 2017

    Yum!! A delicious meat-free meal.

  • anya_sf on June 26, 2017

    Recipe calls for 1 large eggplant (300 g), but my leftover half eggplant weighed 300 g, so I used that. I used chicken stock instead of vegetable. I doubled the mozzarella because I love cheese. I sauteed the eggplant in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil; of course it absorbed it all, but I didn't add more at that step, just added more for the carrots and celery. I thought I would be clever and saute in a Dutch oven, then add everything back to the same Dutch oven at the end for baking. The only problem was that it stuck quite a bit to the sides. I probably should have taken it out 10 minutes sooner. But it was still really good.

  • doughet on June 01, 2017

    We make this exactly as written with whatever type of eggplants we happen to be growing at the time and it's always very good. My husband doesn't even notice that it's a meat-free dinner! When good tomatoes aren't available, I use cherry or grape tomatoes, and they work just as well as sliced. Odd note: it's also dog-friendly -- our friends' Yorkie who visits literally cannot get enough of this -- it's her favorite!

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    Better with true Italian orzo than with Whole Food brand; have made it with and without parmasan to accomodate a parma hater and did not taste that different. CRITICALLY important, quality of the tomatoes. Side by side comparison of dish with farmers' market heirlooms and regular showing that market tomatoes made a big difference.

  • StephEpices on October 19, 2019

    I was not a fan of the texture. Will not be making it again.

• Pumpkin, saffron and orange soup

  • aargle on August 03, 2019

    I have made many versions of pumpkin soup over the years and this has definitely become my new favourite. I didn’t have rose harissa (have now procured) so used normal harissa. Beautiful flavour and silky texture. Will repeat.

  • Rinshin on January 31, 2019

    I often find these pumpkin based soup recipes to be so thick that is is more like a mash to me and have to add much more liquid to make them more creamy textured soups like potage. I had to add about a cup of liquid for the half a recipe. That said, this soup has a very lovely flavor and I can really taste the orange flavor coming through. Reduced the amount of harissa to only a tsp and the heat was there only as a background note for spice adverse family member. It took almost 50 min to fully caramelize the kabocha pieces that was used and onion slices. I wish I had added some salt to the maple syrup mixture because baked kabocha seeds needed it but sprinkling salt after coming out of the oven does not work well. Salt mostly slips off. Photo posted.

  • cultus.girl on June 22, 2019

    Outstanding soup. Pumpkin soup can be so ordinary however this is elevated with the flavours and the cream.

  • Frogcake on October 21, 2018

    Great flavours here and it’s easy to make. I’m having a devil of a time finding rose harissa in Ottawa Canada. So I used a tablespoon of good quality harissa instead. Still a refreshing, fantastic soup!

  • Boffcat on October 04, 2018

    I made this using butternut squash - the soup has a good texture and a lovely combination of flavours, and the pumpkin seeds are addictive. (Don't ignore the instruction to bake them on parchment though; I cooked them directly in a tin and had to chisel them off as the maple syrup coating had set like cement!)

• Roasted asparagus with almonds, capers and dill

  • aargle on November 14, 2019

    Loved this. Very quick dish to prepare and had lovely flavours and textures.

  • FJT on November 06, 2018

    Really tasty recipe.

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    A lovely combination. Works well as a side with fish.

  • Rutabaga on April 19, 2020

    As others have said, this is a great combination. Something a little unexpected with asparagus, and everything comes together beautifully. It was a great Easter side dish.

  • anya_sf on April 17, 2020

    I substituted a smaller amount of tarragon for the dill. The asparagus was delicious. There was a generous amount of topping.

  • Huongey on May 20, 2020

    The almonds and capers fried in butter is life changing. I throw it on top of different veggies, rice, and grilled meat.

• New potatoes with peas and coriander

  • janecarrick on June 19, 2020

    We really loved this, particularly the preserved lemon and green chilli. The leftovers were amazing in a breakfast frittata the next day.

  • ncollyer on March 24, 2019

    Lovely combination of flavours. The preserved lemon worked really well with the peas and cilantro.

  • KarinaFrancis on June 25, 2020

    A delicious departure from regular potato salads. I didn’t have preserved lemon or coriander so I just added more lemon and parsley. Next time I might add a few shallots/spring onions for crunch. Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow for lunch

  • mharriman on August 01, 2020

    We liked this take on boiled potatoes. It was a bit bland but most likely because I used a fraction of the chilies and was out of preserved lemon. I substituted fresh lemon. The preserved lemon would have added a lot of flavor to the dish.

  • Lepa on December 01, 2018

    This was not very good and certainly not worth all the extra effort.

  • raybun on March 18, 2019

    I really enjoyed this, and it went very well with the spring chicken from the same book. I used half a small preserved lemon, and the salt/acid balance was perfect.

• Spicy turnip

  • bellatavia on October 16, 2016

    We love turnips, and this recipe was too pungent, bitter, andcrunchy for us. We loved the dressing but found the turnips not showcased at their best in this dish. A surprising disappointment from Yotam Ottolenghi.

• Grilled ziti with feta

  • HazukaPie on October 03, 2016

    This is in the index under "Pasta". Page 144

  • e_ballad on March 16, 2017

    Monumentally cheesy with equal quantities of pasta & cheese. Very tasty, but will be unlikely to make a regular appearance on the menu for fear of cardiac arrest!

• Puy lentils with aubergine, tomatoes and yoghurt

  • FJT on November 11, 2018

    This was delicious; used marjoram instead of oregano because that is what I had on hand. Will definitely make again.

  • JennyHay on January 28, 2019

    Good served as a side with lamb cutlets.

• Grilled lamb fillet with almonds and orange blossom

  • FJT on June 29, 2019

    This was really good despite me mistakenly ditching the marinade instead of reducing it as a sauce (I got distracted with guests arriving). Didn’t seem to matter, but it would probably have been even better had I managed to follow the recipe properly.

  • Jesmondgirl on April 04, 2020

    Was really nervous about this as I have always thought of lamb neck fillets as something which requires slow cooking. I was nervous that simply searing and cooking in the oven for a few minutes would result in tough meat. I should have trusted Ottolenghi ! It was both rare and superbly tender.

• Puy lentil and aubergine stew

  • FJT on February 10, 2020

    Reading the other notes on this recipe and tasting the stew as it cooked, I decided to add some chilli flakes before the end of the cooking time and was so glad I did. This was quite tasty, but not up to the standard of the many other recipes I’ve made from this book. Also, I added much less water than stated.

  • VineTomato on March 08, 2019

    I've just read EmmaJaneDay's review of this recipe and am disappointed to say we didn't have the same experience. We thought it was lacking flavour, very bland and boring. The sprinkle of dried urfa flakes puzzled me but I went with it - I should have gone with my instinct to gentle heat them in a little oil and then drizzle. Served with Israeli cous cous (our favourite part!)

  • EmmaJaneDay on October 15, 2018

    Oh my, this was divine. Even my DH, who does not like lentils, nor does he like eggplant, thought this was delicious! I'm afraid to try this a second time for fear it won't taste as good!!

  • sosayi on July 15, 2019

    I'm more on the side with EmmaJaneDay... we found this delicious. Served with yogurt in place of creme fraiche.

  • Lsblackburn1 on November 09, 2019

    A perfect weeknight option for a cozy fall dinner. The flavors didn’t exactly knock my socks off, but my husband really loved it. Served this with bread and Brie which was lovely dunked in the stew.

  • katy1729 on August 20, 2019

    19/08/2019. Very tasty - had as main course with rice. Only criticism from my better half was that there was not much variation in texture. He would be happy to have it again, but perhaps as part of a meal rather than the main event.

• Spinach and Gorgonzola-stuffed jacket potatoes

  • FJT on February 12, 2019

    I had some spinach to use up and some baking potatoes and this is the recipe that came up! I didn’t have Gorgonzola but, as Yotam said any cheese would do, I used garlic and herb Boursin and a little bit of Comte. Very easy to make and delicious. I didn’t even get the usual comments about “this would be so much better with bacon”.

  • Barb_N on March 21, 2019

    This only got an “i” for 10 ingredients or less, but a) you can bake the potatoes ahead, b) it’s ‘lazyday’ and ‘easier than you think’ in my opinion [imle] . I baked the potatoes the night before, and heated them up in the oven before scooping out the innards. I did not top with toasted walnuts, instead choosing to sprinkle the walnuts over a side salad of baby arugula, shaved fennel, carrot, cucmber and beet. ETA this flavor profile is by far my favorite of several twice baked stuffed potato recipes I’ve made.

  • Foodycat on September 23, 2018

    I bought cream and forgot to add it. Didn't miss it! Would have benefitted from a bit of garlic or some chives beaten in to the potato, but otherwise lovely. And half a potato is definitely plenty for a side dish.

  • anya_sf on December 03, 2018

    I baked the potatoes and made the filling ahead of time, then stuffed and reheated them at 350 for 30-40 min. Skipped the walnuts as they were a side dish and didn't need to be richer. My family loved them. I agree that some garlic or chives would be a nice addition.

  • Ro_ on January 15, 2020

    This was a little long, but very nice, if not outstanding. I think the suggestion in another note of adding some garlic and/or chives woulld be a good one. Or even (contrary to another note) some bacon lardons!

• Harissa and confit garlic roast potatoes

  • FJT on June 29, 2019

    Loved these! I substituted polenta for the semolina to make this dish gluten free. My husband would like me to make these every week!

  • KarinaFrancis on July 06, 2020

    These were wonderful, flavourful and crispy. I was a bit timid with the harissa, next time I’ll be braver with both the harissa and garlic.

  • ksg518 on April 29, 2019

    Very good. My garlic turned hard and bitter with the additional roasting time, but perhaps that was user error. I loved the harissa with the potatoes although I might cut back a little bit next time since my harissa is fairly spicy. I'll definitely try this again.

  • Rutabaga on April 19, 2020

    As one would expect, these were delicious. How could they not be? I made my garlic confit using bacon fat, as that was what I had on hand. Unsurprisingly, that was a great choice. My only disappointment was that I was a little low on rose harissa, so the flavor didn't come out as much as I would have likes, but at least this way my younger son was able to eat them without any concerns that they were too spicy.

  • Frogcake on October 25, 2018

    So good. Made garlic confit in advance. (Note to self: make double for other uses). I would be very happy eating just these potatoes for supper with a bit of tahini mayo on the side.

  • sosayi on July 15, 2019

    Absolutely loved these potatoes. Thanks to FJT for the note about polenta for GF, as my mother was visiting and I needed to make that sub. Will 100% make these again.

  • anya_sf on May 04, 2020

    I cut the potatoes slightly smaller (about 1.5") and could have boiled them slightly less, as they started to break apart. I made half the recipe and my family of 3 devoured it all (teenage son ate half). Made with Belazu rose harissa, the potatoes were very flavorful, not spicy. My son insists I make these again soon, so now I need to order more rose harissa.

  • ChefBeccs on November 26, 2019

    Elevates the humble potato side dish to the most talked about plate on the table!

• Sumac-roasted strawberries with yoghurt cream

  • FJT on July 09, 2019

    I just made the strawberries, not the strained and sweetened yoghurt. Next time I would reduce the sugar in the strawberries too, because they really didn’t need that much (I used 60g). This was excellent served with plain, unsweetened Greek yoghurt.

  • Yildiz100 on March 01, 2019

    Surprisingly delicious. Two small tweaks. Start draining the yogurt much earlier to get it really thick (the recipe is too optimistic). And add sugar AFTER yogurt is drained

  • KarinaFrancis on August 31, 2019

    I’m seriously in love with this dish! I’ve made it twice in the last 2 weeks. I added a dash (1/2 tsp) of rosewater the second time and it worked well. Served it with almond bread and it benefited from the crunch. I’m going to make this again and again even if I serve it with ordinary yougurt or even ice cream.

  • puddlemere on May 27, 2019

    I took a few liberties with this recipe--I didn't bother straining the yogurt and didn't have mint or a vanilla bean. The sumac-strawberry combination is really good!

  • karen51 on September 03, 2020

    This is one of my favorite recipes. The cream isn't really necessary, but the mint and the lemon zest really make a difference. It's good over unsweetened yogurt (drained or not). I usually add less water when roasting the strawberries because I like the syrup to be thicker.

• No-churn raspberry ice cream

  • FJT on June 29, 2019

    Relatively easy to make once you’ve managed to force the raspberry purée through the sieve (that bit took longer than expected!). Lovely creamy taste and the reserved purée made it zing. Perfect dessert for this heat wave.

• Chopped salad with tahini and za'atar

  • FJT on June 29, 2019

    Lovely salad to serve alongside just about anything. I chargrilled my red peppers because my husband won’t eat them raw, but otherwise followed the recipe faithfully. Will definitely make again.

  • ncollyer on March 24, 2019

    Delicious and easy to throw together. Looked as good as it tasted.

  • Rutabaga on March 28, 2019

    This is a great chopped salad, really fresh and flavorful. I used cherry tomatoes and substituted white wine vinegar for the lemon juice. My husband especially liked it, and this will be the perfect picnic salad come summer.

  • Ro_ on June 24, 2020

    This was nice, and very easy to do. However for me it's not one of the best salad recipes in this book, I've preferred others.

• Membrillo and Stilton quiche

  • FJT on May 11, 2015

    Delicious! Even my not-so-keen-on-vegetarian-food husband loved this and quickly stopped griping that I hadn't made a quiche Lorraine! I'll confess to not making the pastry case but using a bought-in, gluten-free pastry case instead.

  • cultus.girl on May 17, 2018

    Me too FJT I bought the pastry. This dish is terrific. Make sure you use all the Stilton as you need it to balance the quince paste.

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    done with and without Stilton; much better with.

  • pattyatbryce on September 22, 2019

    Wow - one of my cookbook clubs friends brought this tonight. Amazing.

• Squash with chilli yoghurt and coriander sauce

  • FJT on June 26, 2015

    This was easy to make and extremely tasty. Would make a lovely side dish, but it stands up well on its own.

  • Bloominanglophile on January 05, 2015

    I am not a vegetarian, but don't demand meat at all meals. This dish was delicious, healthy, and quite satisfying with some whole wheat bread to help sop up all the cilantro sauce and yoghurt. I used peeled sweet potatoes instead of the butternut squash, and it worked fabulously. Might even make a nice side-dish for a Southwestern-inspired Thanksgiving feast.

  • mondraussie on July 17, 2017

    Delicious - used sweet potato instead of squash

  • KarinaFrancis on July 18, 2020

    Agree with previous reviews, easy and delicious side. Bonus for entertaining, everything can be made in advance and assembled quickly before serving. I added 1/2 a green chilli to the herb dressing for a bit of extra zing

  • dinnermints on January 05, 2019

    Simple and delicious. Sprinkled some pomegranate seeds over the top.

  • cultus.girl on May 17, 2018

    One of our family’s favourites from Plenty More. The fresh herb paste takes it up a level.

• Orange and date salad

  • Melanie on November 25, 2016

    We really enjoyed this, great combination of flavours.

  • mondraussie on November 16, 2014

    Didn't live up to its promise. The combination of ingredients was worth another go, but the dressing didn't do it for me.

  • dinnermints on April 01, 2018

    I'd made this at least once before, and it is delicious. Salads with lots fresh herbs are a trademark of O's, but it does take a bit of time to get them all picked into leaves. I used red butter lettuce instead of lollo rosso, and cut the Medjool dates into very thin lengthwise slices instead of quartering (and yes, maybe I'd add per lou_weez). Somehow it seemed a bit saltier than I remembered.

  • moppe on April 19, 2015

    Found the flavor combination wonderful. Wasn't so sure about that when I put everything together, but then the flavors just melted together and I enjoyed a very intense and flavorful salad. Didn't use rocket, though, but romana and treviso because rocket was sold out. The oranges I use were very sweet, I think this would work great with not so sweet oranges as well (found it a little bit to sweet for a salad).

  • lou_weez on January 19, 2017

    This was a sensational salad that was a little bit different. I added a few more dates and next time might reduce the oranges by 1.

• Thai red lentil soup with aromatic chilli oil

  • Melanie on July 18, 2016

    We really enjoyed this! Great flavour, added some extra water at the end to loosen the soup. Will double next time.

  • mondraussie on January 14, 2015

    Excellent... a bit thick though, would add more liquid next time.

  • dinnermints on January 10, 2015

    Wonderful! Made 1.5 recipe and froze some.

  • Evicko31 on November 22, 2014

    The chilli oil is worth the effort! It also tastes better the next day.

  • MelissaM0223 on November 02, 2014

    This is delicious. I didn't make the chili oil, and omitted the kaffir lime leaves but it was still great. Serve with some crusty bread!

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on December 30, 2017

    I recommend to also make the chili oil! I added a little extra water at the end of the cooking time to the soup, and it was very delicious. Although the soup is very nice without the oil, the fragrant chili and herb oil makes it very special.

  • ramyaviv on March 30, 2016

    This was ABSOLUTELY amazing! Do make the chili oil (the smell alone is worth it!) and follow the instructions exactly. We loved it!

• Pea and mint croquettes

  • Melanie on March 08, 2015

    I thought these were tasty - they also worked out nicer than I had anticipated (only one or two fell apart). I didn't blitz the lead, attacking them with a mortar and pestle instead. Definitely follow all the freezer instructions and make sure you warm though at the end, these steps helped ensure success. I needed an extra egg during the coating process. Thought the accompanying sauce was unexciting and would have been nicer with lemon in the mix.

• Tomato and bread salad with anchovies and capers

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    A different take on the Italian bread and tomato salad. Works well.

  • Kinhawaii on September 26, 2019

    We loved this variation too, will definitely make again.

  • Trentinla on June 18, 2020

    WOW is this good! One of my faves from the book!

• Cucumber and lamb's lettuce salad

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    A different fresh dressing.

  • Ro_ on January 15, 2020

    I found this salad a little dry - lamb's lettuce can be a little papery, plus all the chopped herbs etc. There really wasn't enough of the dressing (and I followed the amounts of everything religiously) next time I'd make double or even triple the amount of dressing in order to taste it more and render the salad less dry.

  • jgreenheck on September 16, 2019

    I found the ginger to be over powering. Was that just me?

• Seeded chicken schnitzel

  • JennyHay on December 27, 2018

    I used chicken tenderloins which worked well. A lovely crunchy coating.

  • joneshayley on April 19, 2020

    Loved this! Easy to prepare and cook. The crust is flavourful and crunchier than any other schnitzel I’ve made, Loved by everyone who ate them.

  • Zosia on October 19, 2018

    Family really enjoyed this variation on a schnitzel. The coating was very crisp and nutty and delicious but it was also more involved than I anticipated and it took me quite a bit longer than 30 min to get this dish to table; I think the suggestion to make the breadcrumb mixture to keep on hand is a good one. My 4 chicken breasts weighed 1100g, almost double what the recipe states but there was enough coating for all. I served this with the tomato, chard and spinach dish from the same book.

  • Rutabaga on June 10, 2019

    This is a delicious variation on schnitzel, but be sure to serve with lemon wedges, as I found the coating rather dry on its own. Since the kids aren't big fans of "seeds", I also cooked plain chicken for them. While I used almost twice the amount of chicken called for, there was still, as others have noted, a lot of breadcrumbs left over. Next time, I would set half of the crumbs aside so that they could be safely stored for future use.

  • e_ballad on March 28, 2019

    Unlike some of the other recipes in the book that are still relatively lengthy to prepare, this is a very quick dish to make. We weren’t as taken with the flavour as some of the other reviewers.

  • anya_sf on May 05, 2020

    I cooked 3 large chicken breasts, one with a tender, so I cut that into 4 pieces. Trying to conserve eggs, I found that 1 egg was just enough to dip all the pieces. There was at least twice as much breadcrumb mixture as needed. The coating turned out super crunchy (even after keeping warm in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes) and pretty tasty. The lemon really helped boost the flavor. I thought it could use a little extra salt.

  • mgmcewen on October 21, 2018

    We've made this twice and love it! The coating mix though makes waaay too much coating for the number of chicken breasts. I recommend starting with half for dipping so if you don't use it all you can save to use in the future.

  • hannah_n on March 20, 2019

    I've made this once and it was a real crowd-pleaser! I made plenty of extra coating, and have stored it in a jar in the pantry for next time. I found the recommended cooking time for the schnitzels was too long - I overcooked my first batch - so I'd suggest keeping an eye on it while it cooks. I can't wait to eat this again.

• Sweet and salty cheesecake with cherries

  • JennyHay on December 27, 2018

    I loved the crumble and the compote very much. Unusual flavours, perfect for a special occasion given that it can all be made well ahead. I found the feta in the cheesecake too lumpy so I substituted with the Set Cheesecake recipe from Plenty More. A delicious dessert with a difference.

  • Foodycat on September 30, 2018

    It's a very good combination, and even though there are several components they are all pretty easy to bring together. But while it says it serves 6-8, the cheesecake component served 5, the cherries 6 and we will be eating the nutty crumble topping for weeks to come. So next time I will make 1.5 quantities of the cheesecake and half the crumble. I will make it again though, my husband asked for seconds which is very unusual.

  • shoffmann on January 20, 2019

    I was uncertain about the cheesecake element of this. I was able to work the feta enough that it wasn't lumpy, but alone the flavor was a bit odd. However, when combined with the cherries and crumble it worked and was quite tasty. This worked well as a make ahead dessert.

  • BasicStock on October 26, 2018

    Delicious! I was craving cheesecake, and this was a very satisfactory substitute, cheesecake deconstructed. Made it all the day before. I leaned more heavily on the cherries and would make double the amount for one quantity of the cheesecake mixture. Agree that there is a lot of crumble and half the amount would have worked. Both crumble and cherry leftovers would be great with yogurt for breakfast though!

  • etcjm on January 19, 2019

    Not for us. Couldn't get the feta smooth which meant it was an odd texture. Compote and crumble nice but I have a feeling the leftovers of the cheesecake element will end up in the bin. Sorry yotam. First thing I've made from this book so a bit disappointed.

• Avocado and broad bean mash

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    A perfect summer dip with a difference. I also served the butterbean mash with muhammara (page 107). They went very well together with lots of brushetta and the colours looked great.

  • KarinaFrancis on August 31, 2019

    Another win from this book! Lush, delicious and pretty easy to make (podding broadbeans isn’t difficult, just a bit time consuming). The broad bean flavour works beautifully with the creamy avocado. It doesn’t make a huge amount, so take advice from etcjm and double it if you have a few people coming.

  • etcjm on April 11, 2019

    I loved this, but I LOVE broad beans. I think my other half found it quite strong at first but then it grew on him. Same as jennyhay I cooked this alongside the butterbean mash and muhammara. They make very different amounts. I could eat this amount myself so if you think it's going to be a hit with your audience just double and enjoy the leftovers for lunch!

  • domechef on June 24, 2019

    Awesome! Amazing how a combination of few ingredients can create something this glorious. Would repeat for sure. Soon!

• Butterbean mash with muhammara

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    A very tasty dip indeed. I did remove the skins of the capsicum, because I like the smoothness and I like the smokey flavour it adds. I also served the Avocado and broad bean mash (page 106). They went very well together with lots of brushetta and the colours looked great.

  • joneshayley on February 15, 2020

    The mash is delightful, could serve it with anything. The pepper dip a little sweet for me - I'd increase the chilli flakes next time. Another easy light lunch.

  • Allie80 on August 18, 2019

    Really tasty and very simple. The red pepper muhammara was deliciously smokey and the walnuts gave a really interesting flavour and texture. It had a nice warmth to it but not too spicy even for those who can’t tolerate much heat. The butter bean mash didn’t have loads of flavour of its own so definitely needed the muhammara, if I was serving just the butter bean mash I’d probably want to add some roasted garlic or something to it for additional flavour.

  • Ro_ on January 30, 2020

    I was using fresh walnuts, and while deshelling them some shards of shell obviously snuck into the pile of nuts, which ended up like little hard stones in the red pepper dip. There was also a weird taste to the muhammara, giving the benefit of the doubt I suppose it must have come from the bits of shell too. The butterbean mash was nice (I used haricots blancs) but not particularly outstanding. These notes are for my own benefit rather than pointing out a fault in the recipe, but even with my own mistakes I didn't love the basic textures/flavours of this to want to make it again correctly.

  • etcjm on April 11, 2019

    The mash is so lovely and smooth and so easy. I can't eat potato so this for me was brilliant. The red pepper dip is very unusual, not what was expected but then I hadn't tasted it before. We all trust Yotam though! It was relatively easy and worked well with the lamb. The walnuts gave a different texture and I'd almost be tempted to try it without next time. Definitely will cook again.

• Carrot salad with yoghurt and cinnamon

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    A very easy side for any meat. I served the yoghurt mix in a separate bowl as one guest was lactose intolerant. It still worked a treat.

  • Rutabaga on February 14, 2019

    This is a good way to dress up carrots. I used small to medium-sized carrots, sliced lengthwise into halves and quarters, but they took much longer to steam than indicated in the recipe. After 20 minutes, I thought they were finally ready, but realized when I served them that they were still nearly raw. That was OK, but we would have preferred them to be a bit softer. Maybe next time I'll make sure the water is boiling more rapidly.

  • raybun on March 25, 2019

    I was really surprised by how much I liked this. Carrots & cinnamon, who would have thought of putting them together?! Went very well with a Simple vegetarian meal I put together.

  • Ro_ on September 02, 2020

    I am just now realising that I totally forgot to put the cinnamon in this dish, oops. I think I made a bit too much of the dressing for the quantity of carrots I had as well. Maybe due to those two factors but I didn't totally love this dish, There's something about the combination of cooked carrots and cream/yogurt/oil which puts me off a bit. Maybe I should have steamed the carrots less, or maybe next time I'd try it as a shredded raw carrot salad.

• Sweet potato chips

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    Good flavours, but not crispy enough for me.

  • KarinaFrancis on March 16, 2019

    I made these to go with the miso lime chicken, so I sprinkled them with togarashi instead of the paprika. They were delicious but they didn’t crisp up for me either. I’d still make them again

  • stockholm28 on July 19, 2020

    The sweet potatoes did not really crisp much. I subbed stone ground cornmeal for polenta. I’m not a huge sweet potato fan, but I’d make these again.

  • cjross on October 19, 2018

    Yummy. The polenta added a nice crunch. I felt the garlic tasted burnt and would use garlic powder next time. Appreciated the directions on how to make this ahead of time.

  • shoffmann on February 25, 2019

    These tasted good, but the texture was a bit odd.

  • Frogcake on October 20, 2018

    Delicious crunchy coating! I’ve also used this on Yukon gold wedges.

  • Ro_ on February 05, 2020

    I think this is probably the only recipe I've tried for sweet potato fries, and I thought it was pretty good (younger family member really liked it, my partner a little less so). The flavours and spicing were good, and there was an element of crunch on the outside, however next time I'd try cooking them on (tightly spaced) wire rack to get them even more crunchy.

  • JJ2018 on March 08, 2019

    These were really tasty. Didn’t go as crispy as I would hope but would definitely make again as tasty quick side.

  • robertofwine on March 11, 2019

    Also didn't turn out particularly crispy for me, but I wasn't able to cook on the heat indicated as there was something else in the oven. Will try again for sure; overall they are a quick and yummy side dish.

• Couscous, cherry tomato and herb salad

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    I really loved this combination for couscous. The ras el hanout I use has nice bite which adds to the dish. It was even better the next day heated slightly. I served it with the Lamb and Feta Meatballs (page 204)

  • Lepa on October 23, 2018

    This was fussy to pull together and completely lacking in flavor. I took it to a book club and nobody ate much. The dish needed more flavor, more dressing and probably some acid or cheese to bring the flavors together. As written, it's a bit of a dud.

  • katy1729 on August 11, 2019

    First time making this recipe, so I followed the quantities rather than guessing! Great. The almonds are a very nice touch. Would definitely make again. Served with the turkey & courgette burgers on this occasion.

• Slow-cooked lamb shoulder with mint and cumin

  • JennyHay on December 26, 2018

    I used the marinade paste only, and didn't include the vegetables. Flavours were superb. This is now my new go to marinade for slow roasted lamb shoulder.

  • Nossovitzky on May 19, 2019

    This is definitely a recipe to read first - overnight marination and then 6.5 hours cooking. The celeriac in the dish is great and I think adds a lot of flavour, but I didn't love the marinade paste.

  • knittingfrog on September 21, 2019

    Made the recipe with no change. Thoroughly disappointed. I was expecting aromatic flavours but what I got was... Reminiscent of grass clippings with nowhere near enough salt. And no juice despite an excellent seal (I scalded my hand with the steam when I opened it up). Oh Yotam how could you do this to me?

  • Ro_ on January 12, 2020

    Oh, this was so disappointing! I made the marinade and thought it seemed delicious, I love the idea of loads of mint, lemon and cumin/coriander with lamb. I nurtured it through the first few hours of cooking, basting etc and everything looked fine. But I took my eye off the ball towards the end, and didn't check on it because I was doing other stuff - it ended up completley dried out, the outside and the veg totally burnt with no juices left in the pan. I used a 1.4kg lamb shoulder and had reduced the cooking times accordingly, but even so it wasn't enough to save it. What a shame, I do partly blame myself for not checking and removing it from the oven earlier, but I do think the recipe should have pointed out that during the last 1.5 hours of cooking time without the foil, a close eye needs to be kept on it.

  • etcjm on April 11, 2019

    I used the marinade as well with a leg of lamb cooked for 2 hours. It was good. Not sure it's what I'd go to next time but it might be different with the shoulder. The leftovers had the flavour of mint, but surprisingly the small amount of fenugreek came through which I didn't particularly like.

• Spring roast chicken with preserved lemon

  • JennyHay on December 27, 2018

    Simple to prepare and the flavours are subtle. I used a different roasting method.

  • Barb_N on April 03, 2019

    If Lemony Snicket had a signature dish, this would be it. It is lemony, salty and simple to prepare. I roasted it on top of tiny new potatoes and served with roasted vegetables (carrots, spring onions and quartered mushrooms) despite my plan to make another Ottolenghi recipe. It doesn’t say so in the recipe, but the photo shows a halved lemon in the cavity- something necessary to prevent the breasts from drying out during roasting.

  • Ro_ on January 20, 2020

    This was super-lemony and really delicious. It went down really well. I put foil over the chicken for part of the cooking time, as it looked like it was going to burn on the top. 90m in the oven for a 1.9kg chicken was perfect, the bird stayed really juicy and moist.

• Thai sticky rice with crispy ginger, chilli and peanuts

  • JennyHay on April 12, 2019

    I used Vietnamese mint instead of coriander and absolutely loved the dish. Served it with the Miso chicken on page 230. A superb combination.

  • anya_sf on July 03, 2019

    I cooked the sticky rice in the rice cooker so I didn't have to monitor it. The topping was not a winner for me - coriander stems were too chewy and the flavor was lacking something (salt?). I might try it again with coriander leaves or mint as suggested by JennyHay, and would definitely add more salt. I used red Thai chilies which were quite spicy, which I liked, but my son couldn't eat, so I'll substitute a milder chile next time.

• Corsican pie with courgette flowers

  • pomona on April 28, 2019

    Modified a lot because of what I had to hand and what I wanted to do (turn a huge bunch of silver beet into something that would fit in the fridge) but of course, still very tasty.

  • EmilyR on July 05, 2018

    This turned out nicely as others have stated. I was excited because everything was growing straight in my garden. I probably should have grabbed a few zucchini blossoms, but just had zucchini noodles on the side. This pairs wonderfully with wine.

  • Zosia on August 04, 2015

    I was inspired by a bunch of Swiss chard and Rutabaga's review to make this recipe. I was missing sage, and zucchini ribbons replaced the flowers. I also used the recommended substitute of ricotta cheese and included the chard stems. It was as delicious as already reported.

  • Rutabaga on August 02, 2015

    Delicious! Ottolenghi really knows how to put together a stunning savory pie. I admit my husband and I enjoyed it more than our four-year-old did (although I think his objections were mostly bluster). I did make some changes, but stayed true to the heart of the recipe. For cheese, I used a mix of feta and Manchego, then added crumbles of goat cheese on top. Since I had no parsley, I added a little chopped basil, and instead of celery, I chopped the chard stem and added that to the mix. While I only had male zucchini blossoms, which means no cute baby zucchinis, the blossoms themselves were a beautiful addition and made the pie stand out above the typical Greek veggie pastry. For the pastry base, I used the rough puff recipe from the Ottolenghi cookbook, which worked very well.

  • Penchantforproduce on June 10, 2017

    Used 1/4 of a red onion finely chopped. Substituted chard stems for celery. 50 grams feta. 30 grams pecorino. 3 Tbsp ricotta. Used frozen gluten-free puff pastry (rectangle, not circle) Sautéed onion, then added stems for 2 mins before adding chard which I cooked until just wilted. Transferred to large bowl before stirring in lemon zest pine nuts and salt and pepper. Added cheeses after fully cooled. Cooked 25 mins.

• Fennel with capers and olives

  • ncollyer on November 15, 2014

    Very tasty. I used the suggested versus substitute and it gave a nice complexity to the sauce. Will make again.

  • dinnermints on February 28, 2016

    Great flavor, and lovely rustic-looking dish. I used high heat in my cast iron skillet to get the fennel slices good and browned. The ricotta was a delightful addition. I also used the verjuice substitution and found it worked well.

  • dinnermints on September 25, 2020

    Update: still fabulous. Turned out a bit salty this time, but I also didn't serve it with the ricotta, which would have cut that a bit. Also, I don't have a vent hood over my oven, and this smoked up the kitchen/house quite a bit - would have to make it in advance if serving to guests.

  • anya_sf on September 03, 2018

    I also used the verjus substitute. Needed to braise the fennel for about 20 minutes, and had to add extra liquid, to become tender. Served as a side dish, so skipped the ricotta, but I imagine it would taste great. We enjoyed this dish.

  • finebec on September 22, 2018

    guest worthy. critical to slice to size indicated. best to find smaller fennel. and don't forget to turn on the vent over range.

• Super French toast

  • twoyolks on November 24, 2015

    This is very rich. The texture of the French toast is a little odd because of the "cooking like bread pudding" step. I really liked the additional of the orange flavor in the cream.

  • anya_sf on May 14, 2017

    I used 2% milk and half-and-half, rather than whole milk and cream. I baked the "bread pudding" and cut it into slices the day before. It was really quick to fry the next morning. There was extra custard. The texture is definitely denser and eggier than traditional French toast, but we really liked it. The flavor was delicious. Be careful when frying as the sugar and butter burn easily; I had to turn down the heat. We skipped the sour cream and served it with berries and maple syrup.

• Oven chips with oregano and feta

  • twoyolks on April 30, 2020

    This seems like it's inspired by a "loaded-fries" recipe but it falls a bit flat. There's way too much salt on the fries (particularly with the cheese). I liked the cheese but the cheese doesn't really stick to the fries so it's hard to eat together. I will say that the oven fries got quite crispy which is unusual.

  • sshieff on April 20, 2019

    This has become a time-and-again favorite. I par-cook the spuds, toss with semolina and a little salt and roast very hot (see Nigella Lawson's best-ever roast potatoes in "Feast"). We use fresh and/or dried oregano, depending on the season - and salt to taste. Of all recipes, this one is a blue-print rather than an instruction. Use your imagination, and remember Samin Nosrat's advice about salt - the feta will add a layer, so add as much table salt as you think will suit your own preferences. You can always add more later.

  • Rutabaga on May 01, 2020

    These fries are indeed very crisp, especially the leftovers, which I reheated in the oven the next day. I found the salt to be about right, but that will depend on the saltiness of your feta, which I find varies greatly among different brands. Chopped fresh oregano added a relatively mild herbal note, but I think the sharper taste of dried would also be welcome. They remind me of the feta fries we used to get at a local fast food Greek restaurant in college.

  • Ro_ on July 04, 2020

    I didn't totally love this. Agree with the other comments re: too much salt and too much oregano. I absolutely love feta cheese, but in this case I don't think it actually works that well with chips. The method for cooking the chips was good, but I always find that par-boiling is a somewhat unnecessary step nonetheless.

  • Lsblackburn1 on September 22, 2020

    I was disappointed with these. I let them cook for 70 minutes and they still didn’t seem browned or crisp enough, but was getting impatient. Kind of mushy in the middle. For all the extra work, I think I prefer just my usual roast new potatoes (no recipe required for that!)

  • riley on November 25, 2018

    I was disappointed with this recipe. Really thought it would be a favorite. Little too salty (I'm a salt addict) and a little too much oregano. The individual ingredients are flavors I love, but it just didn't sing when combined. Edible, not terrible, but not going to crave.

  • jenburkholder on August 10, 2020

    We loved these. Simple but so good, just good technique. We subbed in fresh oregano, since it was looking lonely out in the garden.

• Brown rice with caramelised onions and black garlic

  • meggan on July 15, 2019

    Delicious and healthy - we added soft boiled eggs.

  • e_ballad on June 11, 2019

    A tasty side dish that really shows off the flavour of the black garlic. I don’t think the drizzle of Greek yoghurt added a great deal to the dish.

  • Skamper on May 01, 2020

    Very umami. Made a half batch as lunch for two, using leftover brown rice. I omitted the yogurt and topped with a fried egg to up the protein, but it really needs an acid or spicy note to counter the sweetness of the onions and black garlic (first time using)

• Herby courgettes and peas and semolina porridge

  • Nossovitzky on May 19, 2019

    Tarragon with zucchini and peas is great - would make that bit to go over pasta I think, the semolina's texture was too similar and everything was a bit soft.

  • Jojobuch on April 28, 2020

    Liked the flavors in this - the pine nuts add a bit of a contrast texture-wise

• Red onions with walnut salsa

  • SugarFree_Vegan on October 25, 2015

    Pg 176 - We loved the onions along with the salsa (although I felt that the salsa was a bit too vinegary even for me and I usually adore sharp food), we served this alongside Yotam's Squash with Cardamom and Nigella Seeds (pg 172 - same book) and some artisan bread for a great late supper.

  • KarinaFrancis on April 23, 2020

    A nice dish from simple ingredients, I subbed regular feta for goats cheese and pecans for the walnuts.

  • Barb_N on January 04, 2015

    I wanted to love, or even like this recipe. The onions just didn't work- perhaps if they were grilled so they were still crunchy but charred, but they ended up a little soft and didn't add to the dish, even though they are supposed to be the star. It is worth trying again because of the walnut 'salsa'.

  • luluf on June 29, 2020

    I had the oven 20 degrees higher because I was making the tomato and onion tart from the same book and my onions did get nice and crispy on the bottom shelf. As we had made the salsa an hour earlier than the onions were ready, it had absorbed the liquid so I put in a little more olive oil so perhaps that made it less sharp. We all thought this was absolutely delicious and will be making it regularly

• Beef tomato carpaccio with spring onion and ginger salsa

  • jackiecat on June 22, 2020

    AKA Beefsteak tomato carpaccio in my Kindle edition

  • Ro_ on June 22, 2020

    This is the third tomato dish I've tried from this book, and they've all been outstanding including this one. I loved the ginger with the tomato, unusual and delicious.

  • StephEpices on August 26, 2019

    This is a perfect side and a good change from making the tomatoes with sumac salad every day during tomato season.

• Tagliatelle with walnuts and lemon

  • Yildiz100 on November 28, 2016

    Very good, worth doing again, but maybe not right away with so many years good pasta recipes out there. I had to use dried sage and was afraid of overdoing it, so I started with about half a teaspoon. I added about 50% more at the end and it definitely woke the dish up. The toasted walnuts were divine -my new favorite pasta ingredient.

  • Tealismyname on March 08, 2016

    One of the first recipes I made from this. I used fresh pasta but you could definitely substitute for a fettuccini if you need to. I've been thinking of trying this with pecans for someone who is allergic to walnuts.

  • finebec on September 22, 2018

    Will try again using best possible pasta type, i.e. one from Italy; the best Whole Foods had to offer was just too bland.

  • TCDunlop on September 22, 2020

    I really enjoyed this. Simple, but delivers more taste than many simple recipes. I used mixed bits rather than just walnuts as that’s what I had in. And forgot to toast them! But would def do again.

• Garry's stir-fried cabbage with garlic and chilli

  • Yildiz100 on May 13, 2019

    Tasty, but I would like it better if the cabbage leaves were chopped slightly smaller rather than just ripped in half.

  • cjross on October 21, 2018

    As the description says, this is a quick way to eat a lot of cabbage!

  • kitchen_chick on July 22, 2019

    I chopped the cabbage into smaller pieces (but still on the large size), and I added the thickest pieces to the wok first. I also used some pickled piquante and slightly sweet chiles because I didn’t have any fresh red chiles on hand, and it was delicious.

• Carrot and mung bean salad

  • eeeve on May 26, 2015

    Hmmm, afraid this wasn't for us. Somehow the texture and flavours weren't right, the garlicky dressing was way too strong, and eating it sadly felt like a chore. Admittedly, we didn't caramelise the carrots but grated and added them raw, which may be totally where we'd gone wrong, but we really don't feel like repeating it either way.

  • j_knapp on May 08, 2015

    Substitute puy lentils for mung beans

  • Penchantforproduce on May 22, 2017

    We made this and loved it but made changes which I believe contributed to us enjoying the results. We omitted the garlic as neither of us likes it. We also reduced the amount of fat needed in the first step (carrot cooking) to 1 TBSP and used butter in place of the oil for this part of the recipe (used olive oil to fry the seeds.) The mung beans we used were from TruRoots and had been previously sprouted and dehydrated. We rehydrated these by covering with boiling water and allowing them to soak for a few hours, this created great texture. As it is spring, our carrots were small and young and needed far less cooking time than what was called for. I needed to pour off some of the water after about 3 minutes of boiling then added more butter to compensate for what I poured off and also added a drizzle of honey. We left the cilantro leaves whole rather than chopping which makes them more like leafy greens in the dish.

  • runoutofshelves on September 16, 2014

    made it in a hurry, a terrific light lunch full of flavour, I weakened and had it with a glass of white wine

  • e_ballad on September 28, 2019

    Loved this. Quite easy to pull together, but true to any Ottolenghi dish, there’s quite a few pans to clean afterwards.

• Sort-of-Waldorf

  • mondraussie on February 07, 2016

    Without a doubt the best coleslaw I've ever eaten!

  • macfadden on July 12, 2016

    Good stuff. Turned out I had less sour cream than I thought I did, but the recipe worked fine with only 1/3 cup.

  • Niemie on March 24, 2017

    I replaced the sour cream with yogurt and had great success.

• Two bean and two lime salad

  • KarinaFrancis on August 18, 2020

    I used peas in place of the edamame, only 1 chilli and parsley because I didn’t have any coriander. I thought was delicious and would make it this way again. Great side dish

  • anya_sf on May 05, 2020

    I just had half the green beans, but the full amount of edamame. Half the dressing was just right. I reduced the chile to 1/2 jalapeno so it wouldn't be too spicy for my son and thought the level of heat was pleasant - in the background, not the forefront. We really enjoyed this dish.

  • PQPantry on December 30, 2018

    Peas add a sweeter note to the dish vs edamame. Go easy on the green chili - used 1 large jalapeño instead of 2 small - it overwhelmed the dish. Visually a very attractive dish. Followed recipe very closely, sadly not a hit with the family and guests.

• Ricotta and oregano meatballs

  • KarinaFrancis on July 01, 2020

    Omg these were fantastic! The flavour of the meatballs was delicious and the texture was super light from the ricotta. The mixture was very soft so we cooked the meatballs in a very hot oven before adding them to the sauce and they held together beautifully. The silver fox said “can we pleeeease make these again?” Winner!

  • Rinshin on March 12, 2019

    Did not have problems of crumbly texture, but had problems with meatballs sticking using non-stick frying pan and abandoned frying in favor of baking them in 400f oven for about 25 min. These meatballs have sticky texture when raw due to fair amount of ricotta and parmesan cheese. Even with baking, there was some sticking. Loved the taste of the sauce which was very different from regular marinara because of chicken stock addition. The final dish was well balanced in flavor and meatballs had excellent texture and taste. Some might find the meatballs a little too soft in texture but we loved the texture served alone in a sauce like this. Because very soft textured, these meatballs need to be handled very, very gently.

  • Rachaelsb on November 22, 2019

    Yum! Meatballs had great texture and flavor. Sauce was differently delicious.

  • cultus.girl on October 27, 2018

    This is a lovely recipe with beautiful flavour. Next time I would use breadcrumbs made from Italian bread which have a bit of “body”. My balls were a little crumbly.

  • Silverscreensuppers on December 04, 2018

    I thought these were delicious. Boyfriend made the sauce while I made the meatballs which was fun. I used breadcrumbs from homemade walnut bread which gave the balls a perfect texture I thought. Yummy!

  • Ro_ on January 24, 2020

    These were lovely. I had to reduce the cooking time a little as pressed for time, but I don't think they suffered for it. The texture was great, very moist. No problems with breaking up in the pan. I should have added more salt though to the meatball mix.

  • kateroni on December 28, 2018

    I made this for dinner for my husband and young kiddos, and it was a huge hit! Possibly our most favourite new recipe we've tried in months. The meatballs were a great texture, and the sauce was delicious. Bookmarking it as solid recipe to serve guests (as I can do most of the prep etc in advance, have the meatballs and sauce ready to cook before guests come).

  • MissKoo on July 15, 2020

    OMGilicious! These are just amazing, so light and flavorful. Everyone raved about them. Made a night ahead as they do take time; flavors just improved from that resting time. Opted to broil the meatballs on sheet pan about 4-5 minutes per side before placing in sauce rather than sauté to keep them together better. If you do mis en place and are in a hurry, do note that certain ingredients -- the onions, garlic, chopped oregano -- are halved. Half in the meatballs, half in the wonderful sauce. Recipe explains that, of course, but sidebar list of ingredients does not include the magic word "divided" by those ingredients.

• Rose harissa chickpeas with flaked cod

  • KarinaFrancis on July 14, 2020

    What a great dish, like others we made this for dinner so a bit of bread on the side was needed. The flavours are punchy for so few ingredients and short cooking time. I didn’t have preserved lemon so used some grated rind and a squeeze of lemon at the end. Absolutely will make this again

  • mharriman on July 17, 2020

    My husband and I loved this dish. I nearly doubled the cod amount, using 12 ounces to make a dinner entree. I reduced the Rose Harissa a bit. It was still very spicy hot for me but husband thought the spice was perfect. I found that cutting the cod whole slightly still frozen produced very nice small squares. Served with bread as suggested. Also served with Ottolenghi’s baby spinach, date, almond, and pita bread salad ( Jerusalem) which went well with this. Will definitely repeat.

  • klipper on February 20, 2019

    Great stuff - really simple to make but the rose harissa and preserved lemons give it a real depth of flavour. Definitely going on the rotation - also tasty & impressive enough for a dinner party. Winner!

  • kitchen_chick on July 18, 2019

    Nice and easy dinner. I added extra lemon juice at the end to add a more vibrant note to the dish.

  • anya_sf on May 09, 2019

    Since we were having it for dinner, I doubled the recipe, and only a little was left over. I worried that the preserved lemon would be too strong, so I did not double that, and was happy with the amount. I used half chicken stock, half water in place of vegetable broth. This was a quick weeknight meal, delicious with the suggested crusty bread and wilted greens.

  • jenniebakes on November 02, 2018

    This is an excellent dish - inexpensive, and by my reckoning actually simple, but with complex flavors. I made it using regular harissa, as I haven't found a source for rose harissa yet, but it was still savory and delicious. Unfortunately nobody else in my house will eat it, but I'll definitely make it again for lunch for myself - possibly regularly.

  • Richardbagnall on February 23, 2020

    This is easy to cook and quite delicious. Quick, easy and light on the washing up. Will impress for a dinner party as well as supper at home.

• Stuffed courgettes with pine nut salsa

  • KarinaFrancis on February 06, 2020

    Really liked these, especially the salsa which gave it a nice brightness. Next time I'll up the quantities of the salsa. We subbed brioche for the sourdough, which might have messed with the texture a little but we were happy with the flavour. Will make it again very soon with sourdough.

  • kitchen_chick on May 03, 2020

    I used a vegan "parmesan" and it worked just fine! I also used panko because I didn't have any bread. When I use panko as a sub for breadcrumbs, I always use somewhat less than the recipe calls for by weight and add a little bit of water (less than you think you'll need), mix it up, and let it sit a bit to absorb the water so it can mimic fresh breadcrumbs. I did have to cook my zucchini longer than the recipe says, and I ended up using the broiler to brown the top.

• Legume (noodle) soup

  • BigOrangeTiger on October 31, 2020

    For those wanting British measurements (a cup of spring onions? seriously??) here's a link: https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/legume-noodle-soup

  • dinnermints on January 17, 2016

    This was good, but took forever. Both the lima beans and split peas (maybe mine were old?) took much longer to cook than the recipe says. I also didn't soak the beans with baking soda, which I find leaves an unpleasant aftertaste and negatively affects the nutritional value of the beans. Next time I would plan to cook the split peas for 1.5 hours, and then cook the lima beans and chickpeas the night before. Or....could cook onions/garlic on high in the slow cooker (with lid off) and then add pre-soaked lima beans, chickpeas and stock (maybe a couple of extra cups of stock), and cook slowly during the day. Needed more salt, at least 1/2 tsp extra. The lime was fantastic. Also, next time would add the green onions with the noodles and add the spinach and rest of the herbs when the noodles have 5 minutes or so left to cook.

  • Brieforme on April 27, 2015

    This is a strange and surprising recipe. Tasty.

  • Lepa on November 09, 2017

    This was pretty good but, as others noted, it takes a very long time and I'm not convinced it is worth it. I make other soups that are much tastier with less work/time. In order to speed things up, I used a pressure cooker to cook the split peas/beans after I had added the sauteed onions and the whole recipe still took 1.5 hours!

  • Totallywired on June 20, 2019

    Dreamy. Hearty, warm, savoury, satisfying soup/stew. Sour cream dollop can be slowly stirred in to transform texture to a rich stroganoff-type sauce, bright with acid. As a bean fiend, thought the pasta was superfluous and would happily omit, and the onion garnish was pleasant but inessential.

• Kale and cheese pikelets

  • oakandsage on September 25, 2016

    Tasted ok but WAY too rich for my taste, and not good enough to want to eat anyway.

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    Much better hot than reheated.

• Urad dal with coconut and coriander

  • oakandsage on September 16, 2016

    I did the version of this that appeared in the Guardian, rather than the version in Plenty More, so I'm not sure if it was the same. I did it in the pressure cooker and it came out thick and rich and flavorful - I didn't have a problem with it being watery or bland. I grind my own garam masala, which probably has an impact on the flavor.

  • dinnermints on December 15, 2014

    I really wanted to like this recipe, but have to agree with the other person who rated it a three. It both tasted and looked watery despite doing a "rapid boil" at the end as recommended in the recipe for an additional 15-20min. And overall, it just needed more flavor. That being said, I did add the garam masala closer to the end of the cooking time, as several websites mentioned that adding it at the beginning of a recipe could produce a bitter flavor. This is the first time I've cooked with urad dal - delicious, and nice that they hold their shape. As for the coconut, this is the second time I've purchased a coconut to make something in this book and the coconut turned out to be rotten....have a lot to learn about coconut selection. If you've read this far in this review and have some tricks of the trade on this front, I'm all ears.

  • tekobo on February 26, 2017

    Made with white urad dal and didn't soak. Came out nutty and with a slight bite and tasted great. When I select coconuts I shake them to see if they have liquid in and have never had any problems with the quality - may have more to do with our local shop than my skill at selecting coconuts!

• Butternut squash with buckwheat polenta and tempura lemon

  • dinnermints on April 29, 2015

    This was good, but not sure if it was worth the work. The tempura lemon would have helped, but I ran out of time to do it. I didn't rate this because I think it may have been a bit lost on me due to currently having no sense of smell.

  • Tealismyname on March 17, 2016

    Good, but not great. The butternut squash was absolutely delicious but felt that the polenta was missing something. According to Ottolenghi's alterations I made this with only polenta, so maybe if I had toasted the buckwheat it would have given it more texture. Like the other poster, I did not make the tempura lemon. I did sprinkle a tiny bit of feta which added a bit. This is definitely more of a side dish rather than a main dish. Using the leftover polenta to make polenta cakes for dinner tonight.

• Lentils, radicchio and walnuts with manuka honey

  • dinnermints on May 18, 2016

    Very nice flavor. I made 1.5 recipe, used 3/4 tsp maras chile pepper, doubled the herbs, and used a whole head of radicchio. I might use a bit less honey next time - maybe 120g (instead of 150g for 1.5 recipe). There was a little more honey paste than I needed, so I drizzled it over the walnuts before baking...next time I'd reserve it, since it just made honey leather between the walnuts (reserved honey paste would be great on bread served alongside, or just eaten with a spoon, truth be told). For a weeknight, next time I'd try to prep the herbs and nuts the night before.

• Globe artichoke and mozzarella with candied lemon

  • dinnermints on May 27, 2017

    Good, with some buts. Extracting the artichoke hearts was a pain. For people who are used to doing this, it will be no big deal, but it took me a bit and then all the leaves went to waste (this was my first - possibly last - time attempting this). Next time I'd use frozen or canned. Buffalo mozz was good, but fresh mozz probably would've been just as good. I skimped on the oil (1/4 instead of 1/2 cup)....maybe that is enough oil, but next time I'd toss the lettuce, artichoke, and herbs + oil all together, then add the rest. Needed more salt, and I added more than a "tiny amount" of the candied rind syrup (next time would add even more).

  • lou_weez on February 26, 2018

    This was really delicious. I did, however, use a jar of marinated artichoke hearts and baby bocconcini instead of mozzarella. I also added all the candied lemon syrup otherwise, I feel, the oil would have overpowered the dish.

• Butternut tataki and udon noodle salad

  • dinnermints on December 19, 2015

    Good flavor and would make again, but would roast squash batons instead of grilling all of these small vegetable pieces, which took forever.

• Courgette 'baba ganoush'

  • dinnermints on August 01, 2017

    Huh. After seeing reviews of this on Serious Eats and elsewhere online, I was sure this would be a pants-knocker-offer, but for me, not so. I wish I knew how much zucchini flesh one was supposed to have ended up with - the smaller zucchini from my garden were a bit of a pain in the butt; larger zucchini would've been easier and probably would've produced more flesh. I do like Roquefort, but in this case it seemed to overwhelm the dish, would use goat cheese instead. The goat's milk yogurt was fun to try, but in a pinch, using regular yogurt + goat cheese is probably a good approximation. Also...is that egg necessary? Did it get cooked enough? The sauce was very runny, and I cooked it longer than it said to. I'm maybe overly squeamish on that front. I'd omit it next time and just heat the yogurt + goat cheese til warm. Ground the salt + garlic in a mortar and pestle. *Might* try it again with the changes.

  • leahorowitz on July 20, 2015

    A nice variation on baba ganoush. Don't like roquefort, used some feta cubes instead. My (rather thin) courgettes were done after about 30 minutes in the oven.

• Squash with labneh and pickled walnut salsa

  • dinnermints on November 14, 2016

    This was okay....perhaps it suffered due to my tweaks. I used kabocha squash, and that maybe wasn't the best fit for this recipe (also roasted it instead of grilling); used greek yogurt instead of labneh, and goat cheese would have been better. But even then, I'd use more salsa. Still, not sure if I'd make it again.

  • MmeFleiss on January 23, 2018

    This was much better with goat cheese than labneh. It was too acidic when the pickled walnut salsa was combined with the latter.

• Pot barley and lentils with mushrooms and sweet spices

  • dinnermints on March 18, 2018

    The flavor builds as you eat this, and what flavor: robust, earthy, and meaty. I forgot to soak the hulled barley, but it wasn't a big deal - just cooked it for 30-40min before adding the lentils (think it would need to be cooked longer than 15-20 min even after being soaked). We caramelized the onions instead of frying them. It took closer to 10-12 minutes to boil the liquid down after adding the porcinis, but otherwise not many changes. Delicious.

• Seared girolles with black glutinous rice

  • dinnermints on December 19, 2015

    Okay, but didn't love it. I'd cook the black glutinous rice again this way, though, and would try the less expensive oyster mushrooms if I made it again.

• Mixed vegetables and yoghurt with green chilli oil

  • dinnermints on February 11, 2018

    Excellent! We also roasted everything instead of frying - turned up the oven to 425 for the zucchini, eggplant, and bell pepper, and roasted them for 20 minutes in two batches (altogether one hour of roasting including the tomatoes). Next time I'd salt the vegetables before roasting; maybe 3/4 - 1 tsp altogether. Strangely, the serrano pepper we used was about as spicy as a bell pepper - have never encountered that before. We ended up adding a cayenne pepper as well.

  • leahorowitz on September 09, 2016

    Easy and delicious, the three components really complement each other. Instead of frying the vegetables I roasted everything in the oven (seemed like a waste of energy to turn on the oven only for the tomatoes and it's probably healthier as well).

• Roasted Brussels sprouts with pomelo and star anise

  • dinnermints on March 23, 2016

    Fantastic flavors. I used one less tablespoon of olive oil for roasting, and that worked out fine.

  • moppe on November 07, 2015

    Delicious, love the grapefruit marinated in the star anise and cinammon syrup. Works great with brussels sprout. Will make again.

• Fregola and artichoke pilaf

  • dinnermints on February 14, 2018

    This made for a delicious weeknight Valentine's Day meal. I used one can of artichokes instead of fresh, and used mograbiah instead of fregola. I cooked the mograbiah for 23 minutes and it still could've used a bit more; think it's bigger than fregola. I quartered the olives, and in the chile sauce amped up the garlic by a clove or two and decreased the oil by 1 T. For the lemon, 40g ended up being a little less than half of a regular-size preserved Meyer lemon. I'll definitely be making the chile sauce again - would be fantastic on tacos, for a start. Served this with poached eggs on top.

• Hot and sour mushroom soup

  • dinnermints on December 31, 2014

    This soup had great flavor, BUT - this recipe has an error in it! DO NOT add the enoki and white mushroom to the stock to cook for 45 minutes! They're supposed to be added after the stock has been strained. In the recipe (in the U.S. version), you'll see that they're added twice. Unfortunately I didn't see this error until it was too late, and sadly strained the mushrooms out with the rest of the stock veggies because after 45 min all of their flavor went into the broth. I double-checked with the online version on the Guardian's website to be sure. I think the tamarind paste is also supposed to be added at the end instead of to the stock. Otherwise, would make this soup again, making the stock the night before.

• Spring onion soup

  • dinnermints on May 05, 2019

    All I wrote on this recipe the first time I made it was "YUM!", which failed to remind me how much time the prep work takes for this soup. It is still delicious, but I'll wait to make it again until I have substantial time or several nights to prep in advance. I also added about 1/2 tsp more salt, and would add the kashk (or greek yogurt and parmesan mixture, in my case) to individual servings instead of to the soup pot.

  • finebec on September 22, 2018

    Stunning, worth making a broth for. Kashk adds an interesting contrast to the sweetness of peas. That sweetness does not survive refrigeration and reheating.

• Miso vegetables and rice with black sesame dressing

  • dinnermints on May 01, 2015

    This was good, and I'd probably make it again. I used kombu to make dashi, and I think the dashi stock powder would've been quicker and more flavorful. I used sweet brown rice instead of sushi rice, and that worked out well (1.5 cups dry to 3 cups water for 45min then let it sit for 10min - was maybe a bit too much water). Next time I'd try seasoning the rice a bit and/or either wouldn't reduce the sauce quite so much or make a bit more sauce. It does look lovely with the black sesame seed dressing.

  • Rutabaga on March 22, 2020

    This was good, but not as flavorful as I'd expected, primarily because the vegetables didn't seem to soak up much extra flavor from the simmering liquid. I didn't use dashi, as my older son is sensitive to seaweed, so perhaps that was part of it. For vegetables, I used broccolini, carrot, haricot vert, and cucumber. The peanut sesame dressing is good, and provides a welcome crunch as well as protein, making it substantial enough for a light vegetarian meal. The veggies were cold by the time the simmering liquid cooked done to a sauce, which was fine, but I prefer them served hot. Personally, I think a good hot sauce, such as sriracha or gochujang, is an ideal addition.

• Seaweed, ginger and carrot salad

  • dinnermints on July 04, 2017

    Not going to rate this, because I clearly need more practice dealing with seaweed. Not only did I end up with large, flubbery pieces of seaweed (overcooked per O's instructions), but 1.5oz of seaweed ends up being a LOT when reconstituted. Next time I'd search specifically for sea spaghetti, and would maybe just soak it instead of cooking it. And would dry it more thoroughly; maybe roll it in a couple of dishtowels. I ended up having to drain it, and with that went a bunch of the vinegar/salt. Otherwise the flavor was good. Will try again sometime.

  • dinnermints on February 12, 2018

    Update: made this again using hijiki that we soaked in cold water for 30min = perfect (did NOT then cook the hijiki with the carrots; just drained it when it was ready). Apparently if you consume hijiki often in large quantities, it can be bad for you, but infrequently in small quantities seems to be no big deal (although I'd be happy to find an alternative). Used Persian cukes and didn't peel them, and you need at least two mangoes. Also used roasted peanut oil. So refreshing and delicious this time around! Five stars.

• Fancy coleslaw

  • dinnermints on May 26, 2015

    Wonderful. I made this for my husband's birthday BBQ party, and it was perfect.

  • stockholm28 on July 04, 2015

    I liked this slaw, but thought the dill was a little heavy-handed. If I made it again, I'd cut back on the dill. I also would have preferred a little more cabbage and a little less radicchio. I loved the spiced cashews and made double the recipe of those.

• Raw beetroot and herb salad

  • dinnermints on February 28, 2016

    Delicious, added some garlic chives because they happened to be in my garden. I used a combination of golden and red beets - very pretty. Could possibly serve 5.

  • leahorowitz on October 09, 2014

    Very quick when using a mandoline, very fresh tasting with a nice crunch.

  • Alfazed on August 09, 2015

    Love this salad, I've made it 4 times now. I think there are too many herbs, so I dial it back a bit (and the tarragon can be a bit intense, so it's good to check balance rather than just use the stated amounts). The crunch of the beets and nuts/seeds is great, and I love how the beets are not sweet.

• Celery salad with feta and soft-boiled egg

  • dinnermints on February 15, 2015

    This recipe was okay, but it was a lot of work for not being much of a show-stopper. However, it is very satisfying - lots of crunchy vegetables, and by the time you're done chewing, you feel like you've done sufficient jaw-work to feel full. It's a great way to make use of your mandoline, if you have one. I would change the thickness and size of the bell peppers, as IMO, they stood out unnecessarily from the rest of the salad. I'd slice them about the same thickness as celery, and then cut the strips in half so they're not so long. Here's a great vid on making/peeling soft-boiled eggs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1_0UYAlzEU Would've liked a wee bit more heat - used jalapenos, but would try serranos next time. Would also segment the lemons the night before if possible, as that took some time.

  • Lizzzzy on October 04, 2016

    Delicious had for lunch as part of my 2 day diet. Loved everything about it, yes a bit of work but worth it.

• Pomelo salad

  • dinnermints on January 15, 2018

    Good, although I'm not completely convinced it's worth the effort (as is his grapefruit salad). Wish I'd remembered to add a bit of fish sauce per the recipe notes; that would've upped the flavor. I also used arugula instead of watercress.

  • Zosia on June 04, 2015

    Quite a bit of prep required for this but the result was worth the effort: the flavours were fresh and vibrant and the salad had enough textural contrast to keep it interesting. I omitted the raw shallots (not a fan) and used arugula in place of watercress.

  • finebec on September 22, 2018

    Disagree with Otto. not "worth a bit of peeling effort" as it much more than a bit.

• Blackcurrant friands

  • dinnermints on February 11, 2018

    Delightful! We made them with blueberries; would love to try with raspberries. We got nine cakes in a regular muffin tin by filling the cups to the top (since they don't rise); next time I'd make them in a mini-muffin tin. We also added 1 T black currant preserves, reducing the sugar by 1 T as well. There was way too much glaze, though, and it was super heavy - whereas in his photo, the glaze looks light. Would cut the glaze in half and use more lemon juice.

  • moppe on April 25, 2015

    These were way too greasy for my liking. Still, they tasted good. I will probably try them again with less butter (maybe about 75 g).

  • Poppyseedbagel on May 17, 2015

    I didn't think they were too greasy! I used the recipe idea, but for lack of black currants made them with loganberries & red currants, toasted walnuts instead of pistachios, and ground cardamom instead of cinnamon. They were gorgeous, but not really the recipe...

  • lindamck on August 26, 2016

    The size muffin tin Ottolenghi wanted was too small for the amt. of batter. I used my jumbo tin to get the 6 muffins, otherwise it seems you'd get twelve.

• Caramelised brandy pears with fennel seed crackers

  • dinnermints on March 18, 2018

    Finally got to try this whimsical and delicious dessert. My friends made the cracker part, and said they had to add more water/oil, or it definitely wouldn't have been a soft dough. 400 was a better oven temp, as they burnt after 3 minutes at 475. Also, could halve the cracker dough, since it makes 14 more crackers than needed (though they are delicious). And adding butter to a very hot pan...how does one do that and avoid burning the butter? Regardless, excellent flavor combo, and fun somehow to serve pears with a big puffy cracker.

• Esme's old-fashioned apple and rhubarb pudding

  • dinnermints on August 11, 2019

    Hm. I baked this for two hours in a toaster convection oven, at 300, and while it was probably too close to the heating element (2/3 of the topping ended up burnt), 325 would probably be too high in a conventional oven (in the online version, the oven temp is 150 C, which translates to 300). Not sure I'd try this again.

• Set 'cheesecake' with plum compote

  • leahorowitz on September 21, 2014

    Works well with apricots instead of plums. The cheesecake part of the dessert is very rich due to the mascarpone.

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    Crumble likely to get overdone. should be watched carefully. good quality cream and cream cheese (e.g. not supermarket brand with lots of gum in it) makes a big difference

• Tart apple and celeriac salad

  • leahorowitz on April 14, 2020

    Made the vegetables as a side (no quinoa). The sweet/sour/spicy combination goes well with the celeriac. I used white balsamic as the vinegar for marinating the onions and should have dialed down the amount of sugar accordingly. I also used the marinade as dressing afterwards and the whole salad turned out a little too sweet. With this change I will surely make this recipe again!

  • joanhuguet on January 12, 2015

    As Ottolenghi states, a wonderful, bright winter side. I found this to be a nice change from the typical mayo-based celery root salad. Held surprisingly well overnight, with good texture and limited browning - suitable for packing in lunches.

  • chocobar on January 21, 2018

    Nice salad :) Half olive oil is ok

• Gnocchi alla Romana

  • greedyrosie on June 28, 2020

    I thought this was delicious. I messed up somewhat on the rolling in clingfilm, but even though I couldn’t get tight rolls, they stayed together well enough to slice cleanly after chilling. I served this with some fresh tomato and garlic sauce.

  • joneshayley on April 19, 2020

    I found this relatively easy to make, and worth making as my whole family loved it. Effort to taste ratio is great as they were cheesy, salty and unctuous- looked beautiful too. I’d make this for family or for a dinner party. I’d make sure to use good cheese though.

  • anya_sf on April 11, 2020

    The gnocchi weren't hard to make, although the semolina thickened almost immediately upon mixing with the milk. Although the logs seemed somewhat loose and misshapen, they were easy to slice after chilling. We had this as a main with a crisp green salad, as suggested. Three of us nearly ate all of it. I quite liked it. My son only liked the broiled cheesy top parts; he wanted more cheese (and flavor) overall. Some rosemary might be nice in them.

• Pizza bianca with potato, anchovy and sage

  • stockholm28 on February 21, 2019

    This is pizza topped with a cheese mixture (mascarpone, romano, anchovy, sage, lemon zest, and black pepper), green onions, and thinly sliced roasted potatoes. It is very rich. I liked it, but didn’t love it. I would have liked more dough with a slightly thinner spread of the cheese.

  • Rutabaga on December 08, 2018

    This pizza is absolutely delicious. What makes it simple, in my opinion, is that the different components can be easily prepared in advance. I doubled the recipe, which was just the right amount to make one big pizza using a half sheet pan. Possibly because of the size, it took almost 20 minutes to fully bake. Since my potatoes had started to turn green, I peeled them. Even though I weighed them after peeling to be sure I had the right amount, I felt I could have used just a little more. I also used only about half the amount of sage called for, as I was afraid the flavor would be overpowering. But in retrospect, I think the full amount would have been fine, as it was pretty mild. I didn't have anchovies, but used a couple of tablespoons of leftover anchovy oil from the jar.

  • Lepa on January 21, 2019

    This was very good but if I make it again I'll make more dough (like the other poster) and make it into a proper pizza. The recipe as written had only enough dough for two tiny, very thin little squares. There also weren't enough potatoes for the topping and I used 8 oz of potatoes instead of the 6 oz. called for in the recipe. The flavor combination- and especially the cheese/sage/anchovy spread- was delicious so I think it's worth working out the kinks.

  • Ro_ on July 04, 2020

    I must admit that I used a roll of ready-made pizza dough instead of making the dough in the recipe. I kept the quantities for the topping the same, and it worked out perfectly for my single rectangle pizza. We really loved the flavours of this: I found it's the kind of thing that really grows on you with every bite, and is very moreish. I will make again.

• Fishcake tacos with mango, lime and cumin yoghurt

  • cjross on October 24, 2018

    Used tilapia for the fish. Turned out well. Would make again.

  • lou_weez on October 29, 2018

    Used lemon as I didn't have any limes and also served with lettuce. Nice enough for a summer meal and I would make it again because it was so quick and easy.

• Steamed aubergine with sesame and spring onions

  • Rinshin on May 25, 2015

    Not bad, but could be better. The taste is tad too sweet for me but it's not cloyingly sweet. By itself, it's a standard Japanese and Asian eggplant preparation. I dressed it up with the addition of char grilled shishito peppers for some textural contrast. I felt that amount of dressing/sauce could have been doubled for the amount of eggplant and photo in the book was not true to it's amount. Used Chinese eggplant.

  • Boffcat on January 14, 2018

    We enjoyed this (Mike was a particular fan), though I agree with the previous reviewer that the dressing quantities seemed a little skimpy for the amount of aubergine, and the photograph in the book suggested a more generous ratio. Preparation was nice and straightforward, and it's welcome to find an aubergine dish that doesn't involve cooking it in any oil.

  • finebec on September 22, 2018

    Increased the scallion and the ginger as my eggplant was not very tasty (although from farmer's market, LOL)

• Lamb bake with tahini sauce and tomatoes

  • Rachaelsb on November 08, 2019

    More work than I expected...I thought this was Ottolenghi Simple! But good, different not too heavy flavor -just make sure really squeeze vegetables well - mine didn't quite hold together as well as I hoped.

• Tomato and roasted lemon salad

  • VineTomato on May 17, 2020

    Nice salad although I would serve this as part of a mezze rather than 'the side' or main event. I served with oven roasted salmon. The roast lemons were incredible, but I found the onion a little overpowering.

  • Barb_N on January 16, 2015

    I made a variation of this I found on the Kitchn- using the dressing to baste chicken and roasting with sliced citrus to get the charred effect. Great flavors without having to wait for tomato season. I would cut way down on the olive oil- the chicken doesn't need it. I plan to make the real recipe when summer comes around.

  • Rutabaga on January 26, 2015

    I admit it's a bit unfair for me to rate this recipe with three stars, as I have the feeling that with better ingredients it would be a solid four for me. It didn't quite come together, and I think a lackluster pomegranate and winter tomatoes were the culprit. Also, I didn't have red onion on hand, so substituted scallions, which just weren't the best match. The roasted lemon is intriguing, but needed stronger flavors from the other ingredients in order to match its potency. Too bad pomegranates and cherry tomatoes don't come into season together around here! Still, I want to try it again with a better pomegranate and (hopefully) tastier tomatoes.

  • JLDuck on December 14, 2017

    With seasonal ingredients and fresh pomegranate this recipe is very delicious.

  • finebec on September 22, 2018

    definitely a keeper. high quality pomegranate molasses a must. After trying several, I now use "pomegranate paste" from Nader. I am lucky to have a Persian market nearby.

• Gem lettuce with fridge-raid dressing

  • joneshayley on April 19, 2020

    Everyone loved this salad, the dressing especially. Even the children ate it with gusto

  • Ro_ on May 31, 2020

    This was nice, but there was a slightly bitter edge to the dressing even after fiddling with the balance at the end. I've made similar avocado/herb dressings from Allegra McEvedy and Nigella Lawson recipes which I prefer.

• Courgette, thyme and walnut salad

  • joneshayley on April 19, 2020

    Brilliant salad - the walnuts add a delightful crunch, and the garlic lemon infused oil makes the dressing interesting and unusual.

• Tomato, chard and spinach with toasted almonds

  • Zosia on October 19, 2018

    The base tomato-chard recipe is good but the finishing touches of fresh spinach and herbs, the juice and zest of some limes, and toasted almonds make it quite special. I made the tomato-chard mixture the night before and reheated it just before it was needed, adding the remaining ingredients at the very end. I served it hot with the book's seeded chicken schnitzel.

  • EmmaJaneDay on May 17, 2020

    This was yum and easy to make. Will definitely be making this again

• Shallow-fried potatoes with rosemary and sumac

  • Zosia on November 05, 2018

    I'm not rating this recipe as I didn't follow the method, oven-roasting the potatoes instead. My family loves garlicky, herby, crispy potatoes and really enjoyed the bright citrus tang the sumac brought to this classic combination.

  • Rutabaga on February 14, 2019

    These well-seasoned potatoes are fried in plenty of oil (I used rice bran oil), so it would be hard not to like them. Although they require frequent stirring, they're still pretty low maintenance, as you can easily work on other dishes in between stirs. The flavor is great, but man, there is a lot of oil! I used about 50% more potatoes than called for, yet didn't increase the oil, and it was plenty. One benefit of all the oil, aside from taste, is that it helps prevent the potatoes from sticking, so you don't lose too many of the crispy bits.

  • Ro_ on January 20, 2020

    These were lovely. It was quite liberating to not peel the potatoes, and it added a nice texture to the dish. I didn't measure the oil and probably used less than the recommended quantity, it still turned out fine. The sumac added a subtle flavour at the end.

• Sprout salad, part two

  • ksg518 on January 09, 2018

    I've made this several times. This is a great Asian inspired salad with a nice bit of tartness. I've left out the kohlrabi when I couldn't find it. The umeboshi paste is a nice touch but I think you could substitute miso. (My local Whole Foods carries umeboshi paste so it's not impossible to find.)

• Smoked beetroot with yoghurt and caramelised macadamias

  • ksg518 on August 24, 2016

    Typical Ottolenghi -- a fair amount of work for a great result. This really doesn't take much longer than roasting beets would since you just add the smoking step in the beginning. But smoking the beets requires lots of setup. The end result is a wonderful salad of sliced sweet and smoky beets topped with a yogurt dressing. The caramelized macadamias add a great pop of sweetness and texture. If there's a downside (besides the time it takes), it would be that my kitchen still had a smoky smell the next morning.

• Stuffed courgettes

  • amandashestokes on August 12, 2015

    Really delicious! The wall of my zucchini broke during cooking, so some of the rice exploded out and most of the sauce absorbed, but it was delicious anyway. I forgot to make the yogurt sauce, but next I'll be sure to because I'm that additional layer of flavor would knock it out of the park. Full disclosure, I used a GIANT zucchini from a co-worker's garden and cut it in half for this. So, the exploding rice was my fault because I had to craft an end to the zucchini half our of a weak seed wall.

  • Rutabaga on September 20, 2015

    I won't rate this one as I overcooked the zucchini and don't feel qualified to judge. After cooking them for roughly 45 minutes, I ended up needing to leave the house, and simply turned off the store and let them zucchini sit. Hours later, I came home to find the rice had swollen to the point of sogginess, and the zucchini were quite waterlogged. Except for some of the rice that had spilled over into the cooking liquid, they were still edible, just not especially tasty (although the yogurt sauce really is a good addition). I had added extra water to the pan to help ensure everything would cook thoroughly, but in retrospect I think I added too much. This probably contributed to the sogginess, too.

  • Tealismyname on March 08, 2016

    I found it a bit difficult to scoop out the courgettes but overall it was delicious. I felt my rice needed to cook for a bit longer but the flavours were really delicious. It really isn't a pretty recipe as mentioned in the book. The yogurt sauce was fantastic!

• Quinoa porridge with grilled tomatoes and garlic

  • Rutabaga on September 26, 2016

    As usual with Ottolenghi, the flavor combination here is really superb. My quinoa did not turn out very porridge-y, however, and I was concerned that adding much more stock would overcook it. The benefit was that it could be served on a plate. It's really the blistered tomatoes and herb oil that make the dish, of course. Unfortunately, the Vitamix has difficulty blending herb oil in small amounts, so it took a long time to blend, but other than that, this is an actually a simple dish to prepare.

  • finebec on September 22, 2018

    Does not work well with red quinoa. white makes it a comfort food.

• Aubergine with black garlic

  • Rutabaga on September 29, 2016

    After I started making this dish, I realized that it was not the recipe I had intended to make - that would have been the aubergine and black garlic recipe from Nopi! Never mind, I will try that one next. The flavor of this dish is really great, definitely out of the ordinary. It's also very easy to make the separate components of this dish in advance and throw it together quickly right before serving. For herbs, I used dill and cilantro. My eggplants were getting a little old, however, and were smaller than the ones Ottolenghi used, so they became quite mushy after 30 minutes in the oven. They tasted fine, but the texture was a little odd. Worse than odd to my five-year-old, who simply did not like this dish (perhaps it's too sophisticated for his palate). Also, the recipe makes far more black garlic sauce than you need for the salad, so halve it or plan to do something with the leftovers.

  • e_ballad on May 07, 2019

    This was ok, but we weren’t wowed, unlike most Ottolenghi recipes. As already indicated by @Rutabaga, there is quite a lot of sauce. I used the online link which does not list basil in the ingredients.

• Aubergine pahi

  • Rutabaga on October 03, 2016

    I thought this was pretty good, although my husband and five-year-old weren't big fans. To be fair, I think this was at least partly because my eggplant was not too fresh and rather seedy, which gave it a slight bitterness in the finished dish. I was lacking lemongrass and curry leaves, so decided to add some cilantro to give it a little vibrancy. It would be interesting to try again with better eggplant and all of the curry paste ingredients. As swegener noted, it's not a difficult dish, but frying all of the vegetable separately takes time.

  • swegener on April 18, 2015

    This isn't so much complicated as time consuming. Each veggie has to be cooked separately for a while and if your cooking space isn't big enough has to be cooked in batches. Then it can be combined and cooked for a while. The sugar is really necessary to add balance to the dish.

  • Tabubua on November 27, 2016

    I suggest roasting the veggies in the oven rather than frying - I love this recipe but switched to roasting after the first attempt as it is a lot of frying! The roasted veggies take less effort, soak up less oil and taste even better.

• Rice noodles with spring onions and soy beans

  • Rutabaga on May 04, 2016

    I made this dish using ingredients I happened to already have on hand. This meant fewer spring onions and more edamame than Ottolenghi calls for, and no cilantro. I also used up some extra wide rice noodles from the freezer, which I have decided are not my favorite rice noodle, but worked much better here than I had expected. This was really a great, quick dinner dish, and being as it incorporates only a few very basic fresh ingredients (spring onions, lime, cilantro), this is a good recipe to reach for when you don't have much in the fridge and still want something fresh and vibrant tasting.

  • anya_sf on May 13, 2017

    I didn't have enough edamame, so I also added blanched broccoli florets. I did not use quite the full amount of green onions ("only" 4 bunches), but they actually cook down a lot, so I actually could have used more. I added crabmeat, as suggested, and we loved it.

  • Totallywired on December 14, 2018

    One of those dishes that looks like it needs something else for balance or ratio that convinces you otherwise in a subtle way.

• Brussels sprout risotto

  • Rutabaga on April 20, 2020

    This risotto is good and hearty. I left out the tarragon, and didn't have Dolcelatte, but used a ball of mozzarella di buffala instead. For more flavor, I would prefer dolcelatte or another blue cheese. The Brussels sprouts will get beautifully crispy if the oil is hot enough, making a lovely topping. Unfortunately, the kids weren't really into it. My older son seemed to like the sprouts and ate the rice without complaint, but the younger one put up a big fuss, but that was in part because he didn't like the texture of the buffalo mozzarella.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on March 04, 2017

    Lekker. Hele kleine spruitjes, niet gefrituurd, gewoon in z'n geheel gebruikt. Verder rode wijn in plaats van witte gebruikt, geen probleem.

  • anya_sf on July 30, 2017

    There was an error in the wine quantity; recipe states 2 cups, or 200 ml, which is less than 1 cup. I assumed 200 ml was correct, as that's closer to other risotto recipes. I did need to add a little extra stock (I used chicken, not vegetable), but otherwise the recipe turned out fine. I used mild blue cheese instead of Dolcelatte. The blue cheese flavor complemented the brussels sprouts nicely, but overpowered the tarragon (perhaps dolcelatte would have been better?). I think another herb would have worked here just as well. Although my sprouts were dry and not too large, they didn't really crisp up upon frying, although they did cook to just tender. I think roasted brussels sprouts, where the leaves get all browned and crispy, would have been fantastic instead of the fried sprouts. Still, overall, a nice recipe, which we enjoyed quite a bit. If you're not vegetarian, it's extra good with some crumbled, cooked bacon sprinkled on top.

• Watercress salad with quail's eggs, ricotta and seeds

  • Rutabaga on April 08, 2015

    This is a nicely balanced mix of watercress, herbs, and seeds, very fresh and bright. I downsized the salad for two, left out the eggs, and substituted goat cheese for ricotta.

• Root vegetable pies

  • Rutabaga on December 07, 2016

    These root vegetable pies have a lovely gentle curry flavor (gentle, at least, if you leave out the chile pepper as I did). Unfortunately, the filling still wasn't to my five-year-old's liking, although he did appreciate the crust. My husband said all that was missing was the beef! And while beef would actually pair very well here, these make a satisfying fall or winter meal on their own, served with a simple salad. Making six mini pies is rather fiddly, so I just patched together the scraps to make rustic lids and didn't worry about making them look pretty.

• Pea, za'atar and feta fritters

  • Rutabaga on March 08, 2019

    These have a nice flavor and texture when cooked, but the batter was very soft and wet. I ended up pressing them into patties in a frying pan to cook, which was much easier than trying to form balls and deep frying them. They also took longer to cook than indicated in the recipe, maybe 10 to 15 minutes per patty. Surprisingly (to me, at least), my seven-year-old did not like them, even though he loves peas, which is too bad, because they were pretty easy to mix together in advance and both my husband and I enjoyed them.

  • LadyCJKT on February 22, 2019

    A delicious combination of ingredients and great with some salad for a light dinner. Pleasingly, these did not feel oily as deep fried foods can sometimes do. The remaining cooked fritters also kept well overnight in the fridge for lunch the next day. I will certainly make these again.

  • JJ2018 on April 14, 2019

    Absolutely delicious - the lemon zest is a must and really comes through. Looking to minimise mess I didn’t blend the peas at all so mine were a bit chunkier but not for the worse. I also didn’t have ricotta so subbed in a little mascarpone.

• Tomato and cucumber raita

  • Rutabaga on October 09, 2019

    This is a versatile salad/side dish that would go well with a variety of Mediterranean food. We had it with pita and Anna Jones' roasted zucchini and chickpeas from A Modern Way to Cook. The chili/preserved lemon oil is delicious, but unfortunately the jalapeño I used was far hotter than I realized, making it extremely spicy. I served this on the side so that people could add the (somewhat overwhelmingly) flavorful oil to taste.

  • Jesmondgirl on February 27, 2020

    Didn’t have green chilliest so added a little zhoug to the yoghurt. Very tasty.

• Roasted whole cauliflower

  • Rutabaga on September 12, 2020

    Yum! I've made roasted cauliflower plenty of times, but always cut into florets, never whole. It worked amazingly well, and was delicious served with both tahini sauce and feta garlic sauce. I will definitely make this again.

  • Jesmondgirl on March 14, 2020

    Simple and tasty.

• Mushrooms, garlic and shallots with lemon ricotta

  • Foodycat on November 03, 2014

    I used white wine instead of Pernod. And I used a vegetable stock cube, without adding more liquid - the vegetables throw off plenty to make a good rich broth. We had it with rice. It's extraordinary how well tarragon goes with mushrooms!

• Smoky polenta chips

  • marry_bellows on November 17, 2014

    Didn't work at all. Polenta was too creamy and did not set properly. Moreover, during frying the cheese melted and I got only "shells" instead of chips.

  • coryelizabeth on July 03, 2017

    This did not work: the polenta "fries" disintegrated during frying and turned into greasy, inedible clumps. However, I'm still happy I made this, as the smoky tomato sauce was delicious and could be used for any number of things.

  • StephEpices on September 29, 2019

    Same as previous comments. Impossible to fry, so after a small test batch, I baked them at 200C for 15-20 minutes after spraying a bit of olive oil and they were perfect. The sauce was absolutely fabulous! I will use the leftover sauce on pasta.

• Tomato and almond tart

  • JLDuck on December 07, 2017

    Delicious. Be very generous with the tomatoes.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on April 28, 2017

    As often, the result depends on the quality of the ingredients: very ripe tomatoes and good puff pastry and we had a very delicious lunch!

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    Made with a skilled baker at my side, he declares it not worth doing again.

  • luluf on June 29, 2020

    Made it twice and both times, I split the butter mix when adding the eggs but it doesn’t matter because it still tasted great. Everyone loves this tart. Next time I’ll whisk the eggs and add very slowly. I definitely think it’s worth making.

• Grilled beef tomatoes with chilli, garlic and ginger

  • CallmeIshbel on October 26, 2018

    no beefsteak tomatoes, so used large truss, too much work for not enough flavour, maybe slow roasting would have made a difference

  • saarwouters on October 14, 2018

    This was absolutely delicious! I used regular tomatoes and white mustard seed. We ate them slightly cooled off, which was great.

• Mustard-marinated kale with asparagus

  • CallmeIshbel on October 26, 2018

    Used baby kale and broadbeans, really tasty dish

• Bulgur with mushrooms and feta

  • Lepa on September 24, 2018

    This was pretty good but I didn't love it.

  • saarwouters on September 16, 2018

    Wonderful hearty dish with warm autumn flavours. Never ate bulghur like this before. I did add a bit more of the feta cheese.

  • Ro_ on January 21, 2020

    It turned out I didn't have enough bulgar, so I used a mix of bulgar wheat, brown rice and quinoa. I also didn't bother removing the onions and cumin from the dish before cooking the mushrooms, I just did it all together and it seemed fine. Overall, this was a nice dish, but without the feta it would have been a bit average.

  • Lsblackburn1 on July 05, 2020

    This was an excellent side dish for grilled steaks. I used powdered cumin because I’m not a big fan of the seeds. Easy to make this a bit ahead and serve warm.

• Yoghurt and kaffir lime leaf spread

  • lizebeth on February 24, 2017

    Surprisingly tasty, this dip is now a family favourite (even with the family members who are not keen on zucchini).

• Steamed courgettes with garlic and oregano

  • saarwouters on October 14, 2018

    Easy side dish with subtle and balanced flavours, despite the raw garlic.

  • Trentinla on September 01, 2020

    loved loved loved this! so easy.. next time.. i will toast the garlic slices while frying the oregano.. the garlic raw was pretty strong

• Brunsli chocolate cookies

  • vfsalom on December 04, 2019

    The texture is wonderful, but the Chinese five spice is too savoury (containing onion powder!) and doesn't belong in a chocolate cookie at all. I'll be making this again but substituting mixed spice or a combination of cinnamon and nutmeg.

  • raybun on March 18, 2019

    They have a wonderful chewy texture, the orange zest & Chinese 5 spice really work together.

• Aromatic olive oil mash

  • Frogcake on November 25, 2018

    We really enjoyed this mash, which I served with grilled flank steak. It’s very tasty and lighter than our usual fully-loaded mashed potato recipe. Will repeat. The drizzle would be lovely on any grilled vegetables also.

  • robertofwine on March 10, 2019

    Delicious with the Bridget Jones salmon recipe. Adds a nice mellow contrast to the sweet/salty salsa that tops the fish - but the olive oil links the two recipes. Needs a bit more seasoning if served on its own, but with the salty salsa it was perfect. Will definitely make again.

• 5-spice peach and raspberry salad

  • kitchen_chick on July 14, 2019

    Made this without the shallots. It was delicious, cool, and refreshing. Lovely summer salad!

• Watermelon, green apple and lime salad

  • kitchen_chick on July 12, 2019

    Love this salad - so fresh and perfect for summer! The tart apples and lime make this work. The lemongrass adds a lovely citrus-y depth, but IMO it'll still be tasty without it. I agree that it's best to mix the fruit and dressing right before serving; however, it does hold up as leftovers. The one thing I don't get is why the recipe calls for 3 limes to get 2 tsp of zest and 3 Tbs of lime juice. I can get all that from one lime.

• Lamb siniyah

  • kitchen_chick on September 06, 2019

    Wow! Delicious! It's a large dish for two people so I made the full stew amount, but transferred half to a souffle/baking dish and topped with 1/2 the tahini sauce to finish the baking. The other half I will freeze for a later dinner and finish with a fresh topping of tahini sauce when I use it. After the first 20 minutes of baking, I used the boiler to brown the top to shave some time off the cooking.

  • Boffcat on October 04, 2018

    Delicious. I wondered at first whether there might be an omission in the recipe - it tells you to "bring to a boil" and then simmer a mixture that contains no liquid - but the tomatoes gave off plenty of liquid as the dish cooked.

• Mint and pistachio chocolate fridge cake

  • kitchen_chick on October 27, 2018

    Great chocolate dessert. When first mixing the ingredients, it seemed like the chocolate sauce barely coated the graham crackers-nut-fruit mix and made a loose matrix of a "cake", but the graham crackers swell while the cake is setting in the fridge and helps create the solid bars when fully set. I know some people really don't like raisins. You can use other fruit, but I also found the raisins fairly unobtrusive.

  • Ro_ on January 01, 2020

    I love chocolate and mint together, so this was a winner for me. I pretty much followed the instrutions but subbed dried cranberries for the sultanas since that's what I had. The texture and overall taste of the finished cake was great. Unfortunately not a lot of my household likes mint and chocolate together, so I'll definitely try it with a different flavoured chocolate another time to appeal more to them, as suggested in the recipe blurb.

• Crushed Puy lentils with tahini and cumin

  • grindabod on November 04, 2018

    Made this as a kind of dip (without the eggs) for a potluck at work. Went down great, everyone asked for the recipe. Lightly pickled the red onion with some salt and lemon juice to make the allium taste milder.

  • anya_sf on May 14, 2017

    I made this for 2 as a main course, but there were leftovers. We had it over sauteed greens with Middle Eastern bread on the side. It was quite good, but I think without the greens it would have been a bit one-dimensional. Don't skip the red onion on top; the crunchy texture is needed to break up the creaminess of the lentils.

• Slow-cooked runner beans in tomato sauce

  • lou_weez on October 14, 2018

    I had a hankering for slow cooked beans and rustled these up. The subtle warmth from the spices is lovely with the beans. I am imagining reheating the leftovers for lunch tomorrow and cracking in an egg just because I think it would be great.

• Coconut-crusted fish fingers

  • sosayi on February 06, 2019

    Sadly, while we enjoyed the flavors of this dish, the execution did not work for us. The breading and broiling instructions did not work for us (all the topping fell off and it took 3xs as long for the fish to cook as called for). I'd try varying the method in the future, possibly, as coconut and fish are much loved in our house, but I wouldn't make it again as written.

  • StephEpices on October 25, 2019

    I didn't feel like turning on the oven so I just pan fried and it came out perfect. Used blue ling.

• Seaweed spaghetti and sesame salad with tahini dressing

  • anya_sf on August 25, 2019

    My rating may not be completely fair since I basically only made the dressing, but it was good. I used soba noodles instead of seaweed spaghetti, tossed with shredded romaine lettuce, avocado cubes, and grilled zucchini slices instead of cucumber, and served with grilled mahimahi. For toppings, I used cilantro, black sesame seeds, furikake, and urfa chili flakes. I tasted the dressed noodles before and after adding the toppings, and the toppings really do make a difference in the flavor, which I found to be somewhat muddy initially. A squirt of lime juice also helped. Very tasty.

• Harissa-baked potato skins and crispy lettuce salad

  • anya_sf on July 15, 2020

    I had potato skins left over from the previous day, so the salad was easy enough to make for lunch. With rose harissa, the skins had a kick but weren't too spicy. My preserved lemon is pretty strong and salty, so I rinsed it and used less. I substituted romaine lettuce for iceberg and omitted the tarragon (didn't have). Mint might have been a good subsitute but it was fine without. Really interesting salad with an unusual but rather addictive combination of flavors.

  • JJ2018 on November 28, 2019

    Prepped the potato skins the day before. This was a lovely accompaniment to the chicken as suggested and with potato skins pre-prepped came together easily.

• Buckwheat and French bean salad

  • anya_sf on October 22, 2018

    I couldn't find tarragon so I doubled the mint. The salad was quite good. Don't skip the yogurt dressing, as it really makes the dish. We didn't want it spicy so we omitted the chili flakes and I didn't miss them.

  • Ro_ on July 01, 2020

    I really liked the textures of this dish, but flavour-wise I thought it was lacking a certain something. Needs lots of seasoning. I used a mix of buckwheat, quinoa and wild rice as it's what I had.

• Courgette and fennel with saffron crumbs

  • anya_sf on May 29, 2017

    I only made half the crumbs, but it was plenty for 3 zucchini and 1 medium fennel bulb. The crumbs take some work, but they aren't difficult. They're flavorful, and a nice touch, but not totally necessary. I don't know if they were supposed to end up crispy/crunchy, but mine were still somewhat soft, but not unpleasantly so. The vegetables needed to be grilled in batches (mine took 5 batches), but that went fairly quickly, since they only cooked 1 minute per side. They were nicely crisp-tender. I loved that they could be made somewhat ahead. If you skip the saffron crumbs (or perhaps just use regular sauteed breadcrumbs), this side dish is very quick and easy to make.

• Lightly stewed broad beans, peas and gem lettuce with Parmesan rice

  • anya_sf on May 29, 2017

    I used farro instead of rice, but otherwise followed the recipe. It was good, like comfort food - didn't wow me like some Ottolenghi recipes.

• Quinoa and fennel salad

  • finebec on September 22, 2018

    Luckily, I have middle eastern grocers who carry the beans frozen and shelled.

• Iranian style pasta

  • finebec on September 01, 2018

    Iranian pasta, kashk and GREEK not plain yogurst essential. noodles inexpensive at https://www.sadaf.com/sadaf-noodles-aash-e-reshteh-17-2961/. you will need a package and a half. next time I would put some effort in finding or making mint oil, as dried mint from WF did not make a strong enough oil.

  • finebec on September 22, 2018

    Made with Sadaf noodles. https://www.sadaf.com/sadaf-roasted-noodles-17-2965/ . Roasted means dried standard pasta. DELICIOUS ON THEIR OWN. great in dish

• Quinoa and wild garlic cakes with salbitxada sauce

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    Not well received.

• Cold rice and pandan pudding with Alphonso mango and lime syrup

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    delicious, but rice pudding in Jerusalem even better

• Fritter roulette

  • finebec on October 28, 2018

    Actually a friend did it for a more spice loving family than mine. with good results

• Whole-roasted celeriac with coriander seed oil

  • mgmcewen on November 23, 2018

    A nice way to cook celeriac though it looks pitiful

• Tofu and French beans with chraimeh sauce

  • luluf on August 03, 2020

    This was nice but I think the tofu should be cut into smaller pieces. My son made the sauce in a large shallow frying pan and because of this, I think too much liquid evaporated as I would have liked there to more lovely chraimeh sauce

  • purrviciouz on August 21, 2020

    Fantastic and quick dinner.

  • jenburkholder on August 04, 2020

    Really good, very easy. A definite repeat. I’ve also used other vegetables than haricots - broccoli, in particular worked well.

• Rice noodle salad with cucumber and poppy seeds

  • LadyCJKT on January 12, 2020

    I made this for lunch although didn't include the chilli (not a fan) or the tarragon (difficult to get locally) and really enjoyed it. The flavours are very fresh and I really enjoyed the crunch of the poppy seeds too. I will make this again for certain!

  • Ro_ on September 21, 2020

    I really enjoyed this salad: fresh, light, great textures (I love the contrast of the slippery noodles and crunchy cucumber/apple) and quite a refreshingly different flavour profile as well, not the typical Asian seasonings you might expect from a rice noodle salad. I wonder if this would hold up well if made in advance to take to a barbecue or similar, because I think it would be a popular dish. Will make again.

• Beetroot, caraway and goat's cheese bread

  • LadyCJKT on February 22, 2019

    This was every bit as good as I had thought it would be. (Although I couldn't get nigella seeds and replaced that with some ground cumin and had to use ground caraway instead of seeds.) The flavours are very complex together and texturally its very pleasing with the cheese, beetroot and pumpkin seeds. A winning recipe.

  • JJ2018 on May 24, 2019

    This was really nice and would be great with soup. I mistakenly bought precooked beetroot not in vinegar not fresh so Used this even though recipe explicitly said not to, just reducing quantity a little as it is was wet and still turned out well

• Portobello mushrooms with brioche and a poached egg

  • Ro_ on February 02, 2020

    Basically mushrooms on toast with egg on top! I took a couple of liberties with the recipe, using regular mushrooms instead of Portobello and frying the egg instead of poaching. The flavours were nice, I reduced the cinnamon slightly as it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. A solid breakfast recipe.

• Beef sirloin and basil salad

  • Ro_ on July 07, 2020

    Really nice salad. I couldn't get red endives so I used red-tipped little gem lettuce, which I prefer the taste of anyway. We like our beef super rare, so I only cooked 30 secs on each side. The only thing I'd say is that 2 pitta breads made way too many croutons for the amount of salad: I'd only use one next time.

• Crushed courgettes

  • Lsblackburn1 on July 07, 2020

    Awesome side dish for the meatballs. I found that my garlic was not soft enough to mash after only 15 minutes so I fished it out and put it in the oven for longer. Next time I’d add it at the start. Served on flat bread with feta cheese.

• Harissa beef sirloin with pepper and lemon sauce

  • etcjm on February 22, 2020

    Very good. Used rib eye steak because it was on offer and cheaper than sirloin! Really enjoyed this. I went easy on the preserved lemon as I'm still a newbie to the strong flavour and being home preserved they were on the large side. The leftover pepper mix was lovely the next day with lamb kofte. Definitely a do again. I will buy rose harissa though as the flavour might be less fiery than the brand I had in the pantry.

  • etcjm on February 22, 2020

    Very good. Used rib eye steak because it was on offer and cheaper than sirloin! Really enjoyed this. I went easy on the preserved lemon as I'm still a newbie to the strong flavour and being home preserved they were on the large side. The leftover pepper mix was lovely the next day with lamb kofte. Definitely a do again. I will buy rose harissa though as the flavour might be less fiery than the brand I had in the pantry.

• Trout tartare with burnt butter and pistachios

  • StephEpices on December 14, 2019

    This was such perfection! I used lime instead of lemon since that's all I had, but otherwise followed the exact recipe and it did not disappoint!

• Broad bean spread with roasted garlic ricotta

  • StephEpices on August 10, 2019

    This isn't one of my favorites although it was a hit when I served it. I used peppermint instead of mint by accident and I found it a bit offputting. Maybe I'll try again next summer the correct way.