BOLD AND SIMPLE RECIPES
Unique dishes from Yotam Ottolenghi
The joy of London-based chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes lies in their bold flavours and simplicity. In the first recipe I tried from NOPI: The Cookbook (Appetite by Random House, 2015), these qualities presented themselves in the form of a slow-roasted celery root. It took three ingredients and three hours of passive cooking time, according to Ottolenghi and co-author Ramael Scully’s instruction. A straightforward recipe, one of the easiest in a collection of restaurant food designed for the home kitchen. The celery root itself is not necessarily a looker, but it was deliciously transformed by the process and perfect as a standalone starter, skin and all.
NOPI: The Cookbook includes more than 120 recipes with their roots in the eponymous Sohobased restaurant. Scully is head chef at NOPI and has been working with Ottolenghi for more than 10 years. He was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, raised in Sydney, Australia, and when he first joined Ottolenghi’s delis in 2004, he brought a whole new host of ingredients and flavours.
Ottolenghi says in an interview, “I’ve always been interested in how recipes came to be, what the cultural background of a dish is, or even if it’s a modern dish, what led to it. And Scully is really good in that respect because he’s had a very varied upbringing. I think that’s what makes his food even more exciting — that it relates to stories.”
Scully says most of the dishes in the book were developed over many years and coloured by adventures with chef friends, his family and his mother, in particular, who is of Chinese and Indian heritage.
Fans of Ottolenghi’s previous books, such as Plenty More (Appetite by Random House, 2014), and Jerusalem: A Cookbook (Appetite by Random House, 2012), will be familiar with Middle Eastern ingredients such as sumac, pomegranate molasses and za’atar.
Now the pair is hoping home cooks will be as compelled to build out their pantries to include Asian ingredients such as black garlic, curry leaves and palm sugar. They are firm believers that seeking out new ingredients should be fun, rather than intimidating. Don’t have time to seek out pandan leaves? Substitute a vanilla bean.
“It was really important for me to do a book that is like the other books,” says Ottolenghi. “It’s very different from the other books to a certain degree, but also the same in the sense that it takes the reader on a certain journey and lands them in their own kitchen ... .”
1. Place all ingredients for pickled beets in medium saucepan, add 1 tbsp (15 mL) salt. Pour over 3 ½ cups (875 mL) water — beets should be submerged — and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, for 35 to 40 minutes, until soft. Remove from heat and set aside until cool. Lift out beets; peel and cut into 1/3inch (1-cm) dice. Strain pickling liquid and discard bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns. Return liquid to pan; simmer over medium heat for 25 minutes, until reduced to 2½ cups (625 mL). Set aside to cool, then pour liquid over beets. Keep in fridge for 24 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 390 F (200 C). Lightly grease 8 ramekins or soufflé dishes, each measuring 4½ inches (12 cm) wide, and place circle of parchment paper in bottom of each.
3. Place all ingredients for cheesecake base in food processor with ½ tsp (2.5 mL) salt. Blitz well to form fine crumbs, then divide among ramekins, pressing down evenly and firmly. Set aside until ready to use.
4. Place butter for cheesecake in small pan and add leek. Cook over medium heat for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until leek is soft but retains colour. Set aside to cool; transfer to large mixing bowl along with cream cheese, crème fraîche, heavy cream, garlic, chives, basil, 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) salt, and grinding of black pepper. Mix well to form smooth paste before adding blue cheese and eggs. Fold gently; pour mixture into individual ramekins. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until skewer inserted into middle of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and serve, in ramekins or soufflé bowls, with drizzle of honey, hazelnuts and sprinkle basil on top. The pickled beets, drained, can be spooned onto cakes before garnishes or served alongside.