Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love

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Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Start with the pepper sauce: put the peppers and tomato on a medium baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, and toss them with one tablespoon of oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Drizzle the garlic heads with a little oil, wrap tightly in foil and place them to one side of the tray. Roast for 35 minutes, or until the pepper skins are well charred and the garlic has softened. Make the chilli oil by putting the oil and chilli flakes into a small frying pan and placing it on a medium heat. Cook for four minutes, then add the paprika and remove from the heat. Set aside. p 158 Herby cabbage and potato gratin with Gruyére and Ricotta--this was good (husband LOVED it). But IMO not worth the amount of time it took. The recipe says prep time of 15 min, but I think that is a typo for 1 hour 15 min. I spent 1 hour 20 chopping, mixing, and deconstructing a green cabbage (it takes forever!!).

Our commitment to the championing of vegetables, as well as unusual ingredients has led to what some call “The Ottolenghi effect”. This is shorthand for the creation of a meal which is full of colour, flavour, bounty and sunshine. The only issue I have with the book is that the binding is not designed to lie flat. I expect that that problem may solve itself the more it gets used. No one -- except for myself -- seems to like Brussels sprouts in my house but when I serve the Brussels Sprout and Parmesan Salad w/ Lemon Dressing no one complains! This recipe has the home cook prepare the Brussels sprouts in two ways: raw and roasted. The raw sprouts get thinly shaved, while the others are roasted whole until well-browned. Then the Brussels sprouts are mixed with thinly sliced kale leaves, sliced red onion, basil leaves, and toasted hazelnuts. It's the dressing, made from lemon juice, garlic, mustard, and Parmesan cheese that really makes the salad (my mouth waters at the thought of it!).Mix the gherkins, herbs, the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice, five tablespoons of oil, one eighth of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Spoon this all over the potato mixture. Mix all the toasted seeds and the chilli, and sprinkle over the top. Serve at room temperature or cold. Drain the warm beans in a sieve set over a bowl, then add them and 100ml of their cooking liquid to the herb mixture, mixing well to combine. You want the beans to be well coated and for the whole mixture to be saucy (but not overly wet), so add a couple of tablespoons more of the cooking liquid if you wish (discard the rest). I love the concept: cook from your pantry, use up those neglected ingredients. There are lots of flavor combinations that are new to me and that I'm excited to try. I've made three of the recipes, and a couple fell flat. I'd rate them 3, 3, and 5 out of 5 respectively. The potatoes with aioli and buttered pine nuts was my favorite, though quite heavy. I feel like the recipe collection should be curated a little more tightly, and the recipes tested on a wider audience, though I'll continue to try several more and update my rating accordingly. You can tell a lot about a person from what they keep stashed on ice. This is what we always have to hand. Peel the peppers and tomato, discarding the skins, and put the flesh into a food processor. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their papery skins and add to the machine along with the vinegar, maple syrup, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Blitz for a few seconds, then, with the motor running, slowly drizzle in the remaining three tablespoons of oil until the sauce is smooth.

Transfer to a large, lipped platter and drizzle over half the tahini sauce and all the chilli oil. Sprinkle with half the pitta and serve warm, with the extra tahini and pitta alongside. The authors encourage you to get creative. Each recipe has suggestions of alternative ingredients, etc., and a space to make notes of what variations you've tried. From the New York Timesbestselling author and his superteam of chefs, this is Ottolenghi, unplugged:85+ irresistible recipes for relaxed, flexible home cookingthat will bring the love to every shelf in your pantry, fridge, and freezer.A friend gave me Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love for Christmas (2021). I've been thumbing through it for two months, reading through the lists of ingredients and contemplating how interesting they all seemed. This past week, I dug in and made two of the main course dishes. Both were delicious. With both grilling and roasting, there is a lot of heat involved. My top tip for you is not to make this on a boiling hot day, like I did, unless you enjoy sweltering over the stove. That minor gripe is the worst thing I can say about the whole experience though; the process was pretty simple and the end result irrefutably delicious. The blitzed, char-grilled vegetables were faintly reminiscent of romesco and made an unexpectedly creamy pasta sauce that felt hearty enough for autumn, yet light enough for an unseasonably hot day. The roasted aubergine added some nice texture, and the tahini dressing, with lemon juice and garlic, added some zing and set the whole thing off nicely. Needless to say, I will definitely make this one again. Whether they're conjuring up new recipes or cooking for themselves at home, the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen team do what we all do: they raid their kitchens. But then, they turn whatever they find into approachable creations with an 'Ottolenghi' twist. ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Boston Globe, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Epicurious, Serious Eats