Darina Allen: Three new Ottolenghi recipes to try that are a playful spin on comfort food

This gorgeous new book celebrates the joy of comfort food.

Three delicious recipes from Ottolenghi COMFORT by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh

Ottolenghi fans, of which there are millions around the world, will be thrilled to hear that Yotam and his brilliant team of ‘hungries’ have done it again.

Comfort food Ottolenghi style, jumps off the shelf with an eye popping cover in a rich melange of oranges, reds, pinks, yellows, and greens designed by Gaz Hildebrand. A team of three, Verena Lochmuller, Helen Goh and Tara Wigley worked together with Yotam each bringing their very own personal memories of childhood, their travels and their individual interpretation of comfort food.

Between them, they cover quite a bit of global ground. Yotam takes in Italy and Germany (from his parents), Jerusalem to Amsterdam where he lived and “ate his body weight in croquettes” to London.

Helen’s journey stretches from China from her grandparents to Malaysia, then on to Melbourne where she was raised. Verena’s experience takes in Germany and Scotland, to New York where she trained. Tara from London is an alumna of the Ballymaloe Cookery School and has been a longtime collaborator of Yotam’s.

So what’s comfort food for you? It’s definitely true to say that no one size fits all. It’s probably food we grew up with as children, entangled with happy memories of family, home, warm kitchens, mum or gran in their aprons. It could be mac and cheese, spaghetti bolognese, a bowl of slithery noodles. For me, it’s the smell of a tray of mummy’s sweet scones coming out of the Aga as I rushed in from school, a pot of scalloped potato dotted with little pieces of beef kidney, or the soothing bowl of chunky vegetable soup in winter.

So of course, it depends on where you come from, those who have been misplaced or travelled and lived around the globe will have very different cravings, ramen to borscht, dahl to dumplings — or it could be a sauce or condiment, Marmite, Coleman’s Mustard, Tabasco, Ballymaloe Relish that bring memories flooding back of happy times around the kitchen table or sitting on the sofa in front of the fire. But back to comfort — this gorgeous new book, full of recipes that celebrate the joy of comfort food.

As ever, there are so many delicious riffs: A bowl of pasta becomes caramelised onion orecchiette which with hazelnuts and crispy sage, a warming soup is cheesy bread soup with Savoy cabbage and cavolo Nero and a plate of mash transformed into garlic, aligot potato with leeks and thyme.

The authors explore the elements of comfort in the book: Who to eat with; what we eat; and finally how we eat. Ottolenghi says: “This book is full of dishes which feel familiar yet fresh. It is also very much about our personal journeys and all the stories these journeys contain.

“Food and words have an incredible power to connect. I hope that these recipes become for you what they are for us, reassuring on one hand and eye opening on the other.”

What’s not to like about that?

Chicken with Steph’s Spice

recipe by:Yotam Ottolenghi

A lot of time has passed since the recipe for Steph’s roasted jerk-spiced meats was handed on, passed around the kitchen, scribbled down on a scrap of paper, but it’s been with Helen ever since.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 6 hours 0 mins

Cooking Time

 45 mins

Total Time

 6 hours 45 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 tsp whole allspice

• berries (aka pimento)

• 2 bay leaves, roughly torn

• 1.5 tsp hot chilli powder

• 1.5 tsp paprika

• 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon

• 0.5 tsp mixed spice (the sweet one, like pumpkin spice)

• 25g light soft brown sugar

• 1.5 tbsp runny honey

• 1-2 green jalapeno chillies, finely chopped

• 1-2 red Scotch bonnet (habanero)

• chillies, finely chopped

• 1 small red onion, cut into 1cm dice (100g)

• 2 spring onions, finely chopped (30g)

• 50ml olive oil

• 1kg chicken thighs, bone in, skin on

• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

• Salt

Method

1. Put the allspice and bay leaves into a dry pan and toast them for 1-2 minutes, until the bay leaves have blistered.

2. Using a pestle and mortar, crush to a powder, then tip into a large bowl along with all the remaining ingredients apart from the chicken and vinegar.

3. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, mix well tocombine, then add the chicken.

4. Massage well, so that all the thighs are coated, then keep in the fridge, covered, for at least six hours (or overnight).

5. Half an hour before you are going to cook the chicken, take it out of the fridge, add the vinegar and toss to combine.

6. Heat the oven to 180˚C fan.

7. Spread the chicken out on a large parchment-lined baking tray, skin side up.

8. Bake for about 45 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through, until crisp and golden brown.

9. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Butter Beans with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

recipe by:Yotam Ottolenghi

This dish works well as part of a mezze spread, or can be eaten as it is, with something like crumbled feta or olives on top.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 1 hours 30 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 45 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 500g cherry tomatoes

• 85ml olive oil

• 1 onion, finely diced (150g)

• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 2 tsp dried oregano

• 2 tsp thyme leaves, roughly chopped, plus a few whole thyme leaves to garnish

• 1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and lightly crushed

• 1 fresh bay leaf

• 80ml dry white wine

• 2 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 x 700g jar of good-quality butter beans, drained and rinsed

• Salt and black pepper

• To serve

• 75g thick Greek-style yoghurt

• Thick slices of sourdough (or any crusty) bread, toasted (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 210°C fan.

2. Toss the tomatoes with two teaspoons of the oil and spread them on a parchment-lined baking tray. Roast for 20 minutes, until the skins have loosened, and the tomatoes are soft and have shrunk a little.

3. Remove from the oven and transfer the tomatoes, along with all their juices, to a shallow bowl to cool. Re-line the baking tray with a fresh sheet of baking parchment and reduce the oven temperature to 100°C fan.

4. Once cool enough to handle, pinch the skins off the tomatoes and place the skins on the lined baking tray. Return the tray to the oven for about 45 minutes, until the skins are dry and crisp, giving them a good stir a couple of times during baking. Set the skinless tomatoes aside.

5. Put the remaining 75ml of oil into a medium saucepan and place on a medium heat.

6. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, fennel seeds, and bay leaf and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the onion has softened, but has not taken on too much colour.

7. Add the wine, simmer for two minutes to reduce, then add the paprika. Cook for another minute, then add the reserved tomato flesh, along with one teaspoon of salt. Simmer gently for about 15minutes, stirring often so that the tomatoes break down.

8. Add the beans and a good grind of pepper and stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes, just to warm through, then remove from the heat. Spread the yoghurt over a serving plate and then pile the beans on top.

9. Crumble over the dried tomato skins, finish with a sprinkling of thyme leaves and serve.

Verena’s Potato Salad

recipe by:Yotam Ottolenghi

We’ve strayed from tradition and added some pancetta and a welcome freshness from some chopped cucumber.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 2 hours 0 mins

Cooking Time

 45 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 45 mins

Course

 Side

Ingredients

• 500g Pink Fir or Charlotte (or other waxy) potatoes

• 75ml olive oil

• 1 small onion, finely chopped (125g)

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 175ml chicken stock

• 2 tsp Dijon mustard

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• ½ tsp black peppercorns, coarsely crushed in a pestle and mortar

• 15g chives: 10g finely chopped and 5g cut into one-and-a-half lengths

• 75g pack of diced smoked pancetta

• 1 tsp paprika

• ¼ cucumber, sliced lengthways, deseeded and cut into ½cm dice (100g)

• Salt

Method

1. Put the potatoes into a medium saucepan, for which you have a lid. Add just enough water to cover, salt generously and place on a medium-high heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 20-25 minutes, until just tender. Drain and once cool enough to handle, remove the skins from the potatoes and slice into half cm-thick rounds. Set aside in a medium bowl.

2. Put 2 tablespoons of the oil into a medium sauté pan and place on a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring regularly, until caramelised. Add the garlic and stock, bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Add the mustard, vinegar, just over 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper and another 2 tablespoons of oil. Whisk to combine, then pour the mixture over the potatoes. Mix gently but thoroughly: it will look wet (and some of the potatoes will break up), but this is normal. Set aside for about two hours, for the potatoes to soak up about half the broth, and then stir in the finely chopped chives.

3. Meanwhile, wipe clean the sauté pan and place on a medium-high heat. Add the pancetta, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta is crispy. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper - leave about 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan, and set aside. Once cool, finely chop the pancetta into crumbs.

4. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the fat in the pan, along with the paprika. Stir for 30 seconds or so, until fragrant, then remove from the heat.

5. When ready to serve, fold the cucumber into the potato salad and transfer to a serving plate. Scatter over the pancetta crumbs, along with the cut chives. Spoon over the paprika oil and serve.

All recipes from Ottolenghi COMFORT by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh, published by Ebury Press.

Hot Tips

Glut of windfall apples

Wash and cut out bruised bits, coarsely chop up skin, pips, stalks etc, cover with water, maybe add a few cloves or sweet geranium. Bring to the boil and cook until they collapse. Strain in a muslin bag or even a clean, old pillowcase until all the juice has dripped through. Make into apple jelly or just freeze in gallon containers to make apple jelly during winter. Remember not to fill to the top to allow for the liquid to expand as it freezes.

Book of the week

Dad Food is a brilliant title for a cookbook — it
conjures up images of delicious, simple, gutsy food cooked by dad for family suppers. Dylan McGrath is one of Ireland’s youngest chefs to be awarded a Michelin star and well known as a judge on MasterChef Ireland and his TV show Dylan McGrath’s Secret Service, which taught folks from marginalised backgrounds kitchen skills. Dads, Dylan is determined to get you into the kitchen. The end result will be scrumptious. Available from October 24, published by Gill Books