Eye for a Recipe

This recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Comfort is exactly what the cookbook title says—comfort food at its best. Roast eggplant pieces for a half hour and then add tomatoes, oregano, basil, garlic, a red chile, tomato paste, sugar, butter and fusilli or other short, dried pasta. Add boiling water, cover and cook for another half hour. Stir and cook, uncovered, for another 10 or 15 minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes and then serve sprinkled with cheese and fresh herbs. Cook’s note: It took longer than 30 minutes for the pasta to cook; the next time I make this I will partially cook it in boiling water before adding it to the other ingredients.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Unico tomatoes and No Name tomato paste are additive-free. Check the oregano to make sure it does not contain colour or anti-caking agents. Use a butter that contains only milk or cream, with no colour added. Genuine parmesan contains no colour or additives; check for the name on the rind.

The pasta cooks with the sauce in this one-pot meal

Tomato and eggplant one-pot baked pasta

Ingredients:

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

2 eggplants, quartered lengthways, then each quarter cut in half widthways (1 lb 2 oz/500 g)

Salt and black pepper

12 ¼ oz (350 g) cherry tomatoes, half sliced, the rest left whole

14 oz (400 g) can diced tomatoes

1 tsp (5 ml) dried oregano

1 cup (20 g) basil leaves, roughly torn, plus a few extra leaves to serve

6 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

1 red chile, cut in half lengthways, stem left intact

2 tbsp (30 ml) tomato paste

1 tsp (5 ml) icing sugar (or granulated sugar whirred in a food processor until it is powdery)

7 tbsp (100 g) unsalted butter, cut into ¾-inch/2-cm cubes

9 oz (250 g) dried fusilli, or other short, dried pasta

1 2/3 cups (400 ml) boiling water

1/3 oz (10 g) parsley, roughly chopped

1 ½ oz (40 g) parmesan, finely grated

Salt and black pepper

Preparation:

Heat the oven to 425 F (220 C). Put the oil in a large ovenproof sauté pan for which you have a lid, then lay in the eggplants, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Toss to combine, then arrange the eggplants skin side down in the pan. Roast for 30 minutes, until nicely golden and starting to catch in places.

Add the remaining ingredients apart from the water, parsley and parmesan to the pan, then add 1 2/3 cup (400 ml) just-boiled water and stir in a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Don’t worry if all the pasta is not completely covered with liquid at this stage. Cover and bake for another 30 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the pasta is tender.

After the pasta has been in the oven for 30 minutes, give everything a good stir and cook uncovered for a final 10–15 minutes, until the sauce clings to the pasta and is starting to catch in places. Remove, leave to sit for 10 minutes, then serve with the parsley, parmesan and extra basil leaves sprinkled over the top. Serves 4.

From Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi

If you are looking for something different for dinner on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, consider this whole roasted sea bass from Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi. Make a quick sauce and spread cabbage leaves and scallions on a baking sheet. Place the fish on top and sprinkle with ginger. Cover with foil and roast for about 40 minutes. Sprinkle scallions and chili pepper over the fish, pour hot oil over to crisp the skin and serve with the vegetables and sauce.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I use Imagine Organic chicken stock, tamari instead of soy sauce, Foreman pure sesame oil and Mitsukan mirin rice wine.

Make the sauce

Spread red cabbage leaves and scallions on a baking sheet

Place fish on baking sheet and sprinkle with ginger

Roast fish and then top with hot oil, scallions and chili pepper

Serve with the sauce and garnish with cilantro

Ingredients:

For the sauce

7 tbsp (100 ml) chicken stock

2 tbsp (30 ml) sesame oil

2 tbsp (30 ml) Shaoxing rice wine (or dry sherry instead)

3½ tbsp (52.5 ml) light soy sauce

1 tbsp (15 ml) sugar

For the fish

1 whole sea bass (about 2 lbs/1 kg and 18 inches/45 cm long), scaled, gutted and rinsed

Coarse sea salt

10 scallions, trimmed

1 small medium white cabbage, cut in half, core cut out, and leaves separated one by one

1 ½ -inch (3.5 cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned

1 red chili deseeded and julienned

5 tbsp (75 ml) canola or peanut oil

½ cup (10 g) coriander leaves

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C)

Put all the sauce ingredients in a small pan, put on a high heat and, once boiling, cook for a minute, swirling the pan slightly so the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Cut five ¼-inch (0.5 cm) deep and 3 ¼-inch (8-cm) long diagonal slits on both sides of the fish. Sprinkle a teaspoon (5 ml) of salt evenly over one side of the fish and rub in; repeat on the other side with another teaspoon (5 ml) of salt.

Cut eight of the scallions into 2-inch (5-cm) lengths and set aside in a small bowl; finely slice the remaining two onions and set those aside in a separate bowl.

Line a large, high-sided 12-inch x 15-inch (30-cm x 40-cm) baking tray with baking parchment and spread the cabbage and larger scallion pieces on top. Lay the fish diagonally in the tray (this helps give it a bit of extra room), then sprinkle over the ginger. Pour the sauce over the fish and cover the tray tightly with foil.

Roast for 40 minutes, basting twice, until the fish is cooked through. To make sure it’s done, gently insert a knife into one of the slits and check that the flesh comes away from the bones and is no longer transparent. Sprinkle over the reserved finely sliced scallions and the chili, and set aside.

Pour the oil into a small pan and place on a high heat for about two minutes, until it starts to smoke. Very carefully pour this evenly over the fish, so that it starts to crisp the skin and vegetables.

You can serve the fish at the table in its baking tray, or arrange the cabbage leaves and chunks of scallions on a larger platter – you’ll need to pull them out from under the fish – and carefully lift out the fish to sit on top. Pour over the cooking sauce and serve at once, with coriander scattered on top. Serves 4.

From Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi

This recipe from Simple, by Yotam Ottolengthi, is a nice break from the rich food we’ve all been eating over the holidays. Fish cakes are topped with yogurt, onion, mango and chile and served on corn tortillas. It looks and tastes great. I omitted the mango.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure the yogurt and tortillas are additive-free. I make my own tortillas with masa harina flour, salt and water.

Prepare onion, chile and yogurt

Form fish mixture into round cakes and fry

Cook for about three minutes per side

Place fish cake on tortilla and top with yogurt, onion and chile

Ingredients:

1 lb (450 g) sustainably sourced plaice fillets (or similar white fish), skinned, pin-boned and cut into 1-inch (2-3cm) chunks
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 egg
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) cumin seeds, toasted and finely crushed
4 limes, zest finely grated, then cut into halves, to serve
Salt
1 cup (20 g) coriander leaves, finely chopped
½ cup (125 g) Greek-style yogurt
½ red onion, peeled and very finely sliced (use a mandolin, ideally)
⅓ mango, peeled and cut into julienne strips
1 red chile, deseeded and cut into julienne strips
3 tbsp (45 ml) vegetable oil
12 corn tortillas (6-inch/15cm-wide ones)

Preparation:

Put the fish, garlic and egg in the bowl of a food processor with a teaspoon (5 ml) of cumin, three-quarters of the lime zest and three-quarters (3.75 ml) of a teaspoon of salt. Blitz briefly to a rough paste, then tip into a medium bowl. Stir in half the coriander, then form the mix into 12 round fishcakes. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes (and up to four hours), to firm up.

In a small bowl, mix the yogurt with the remaining half-teaspoon (2.5 ml) of cumin, the remaining lime zest and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt (0.6 ml).

In a second small bowl, combine the onion, mango and chile.

Heat the oil in a large, nonstick frying pan on a medium-high flame, then fry the fishcakes in batches for two to three minutes a side, until golden-brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper.

Warm the tacos in a dry frying pan or in the oven and cut the fishcakes in half. Top each taco with two fishcake halves and a spoonful each of the yoghurt and the mango salsa, and sprinkle with coriander. Serve with a lime half. Makes 12 tacos.

From Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi

This recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, Simple, is simply fantastic. Cut potatoes into fries and parboil. Toss with oil and salt and bake for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, fry sliced garlic in oil until golden. Toss the potatoes with the oil and bake for another few minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with dried oregano and feta and serve. So good!

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use a brand of feta cheese with all-natural ingredients.

Parboil potatoes and place on parchment-lined baking sheet

Bake until tender and golden, then toss with garlic oil

Sprinkle with oregano and feta and serve

Ingredients:

4 ½ lbs (2 kg) yellow potatoes, unpeeled and cut into ¾-inch- (2-cm-) wide fries

6 tbsp (90 ml) sunflower or canola oil

Flaked sea salt

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tsp (10 ml) dried oregano

5 ¼ oz (150 g) feta, roughly crumbled

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 F (232 C).

Place a large pot filled with plenty of salted water over high heat. Once boiling, add the potatoes and cook for 7-8 minutes, until starting to soften at the edges but still holding their shape. Drain and set aside to dry out for 5 minutes, then transfer to a large bowl. Add the sunflower or canola oil along with 1 tbsp (15 ml) salt (I used less; about 1 tsp/5 ml) and mix well.

Tip the potatoes and oil onto two large parchment-lined baking sheets, so that they are not overcrowded and bake for 40-50 minutes, stirring a few times, until golden brown and crisp.

About 5 minutes before the fries are ready, heat the olive oil and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Fry gently for 3-4 minutes, until the garlic is pale golden brown. Take the cooked fries out of the oven and pour the olive oil and garlic over them, then return to the oven for a further 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and, while piping hot, sprinkle with the oregano and feta. Serve at once. Serves 6.

From Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi

This delicious recipe from Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi has several steps, but the end result is well worth it. Hearty root vegetables are mashed with butter, maple syrup, spices and cooked lentils, then topped with shallots that have been braised in wine, stock and thyme. Cook’s Note: To make your own caster sugar, place regular white sugar in a spice grinder and process until it is very fine, about the consistency of icing sugar.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I used a red wine from Frogpond Farm, which does not add sulfites to its wines. I also used Imagine stock and butter that contains only cream. Check your dry spices to make sure they don’t contain colour or anti-caking agents.

Brown shallots and then braise

Reduce braising sauce and add butter

Cook vegetables until tender

Le Puy lentils work best for this recipe because they hold their shape

Root Mash with Wine-Braised Shallots

Ingredients:

For the shallots

2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil

1 1/3 lb (600 g) shallots, peeled

1 2/3 cups (400 ml) red wine

200 ml vegetable stock

2 bay leaves

1 tsp (5 ml) whole black peppercorns

4 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tbsp (15 ml) caster sugar

Salt

2 tbsp (30 g) butter

For the lentils and vegetables

1/3 cup (80 g) puy lentils

½ celery root (300 g), peeled and cut into chunks

2 carrots (300 g), peeled and cut into chunks

½ kabocha squash (300 g), or other type, peeled and cut into chunks

2 sweet potatoes (600 g), peeled and cut into chunks

5 tbsp (70 g) butter, diced

2 tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup

1½ tsp (7.5 ml) ground cumin

Salt and black pepper

Preparation:

Put the oil and shallots in a heavy pan and fry, stirring occasionally, for five minutes until well coloured. Add the wine, stock, bay, peppercorns, thyme, sugar and a ¾ tsp (3 ml) salt, cover and simmer for an hour. Remove the lid, raise the heat and boil until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove the shallots and keep them warm. Stir butter into sauce and set aside until ready to use.

Meanwhile, simmer the lentils in plenty of water until tender (about 25 minutes), drain and set aside.

Half fill a medium pan with water, bring to a boil, add the celery root and carrot and, after 10 minutes, the squash and sweet potato. Ten to 15 minutes later, they should be done.

Drain the veg, shaking off as much liquid as possible, and mash well with a potato masher. Mix in the butter, maple syrup, cumin and cooked lentils and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, top the mash with shallots and pour sauce over the top. Serves 6.

From Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi

Plenty, by Yotam Ottlenghi is a fabulous cookbook filled with unusual and delicious vegetable recipes. This pasta and fried zucchini recipe is a great way to use up your overflowing zucchini and herb gardens. Cook’s Note – You can substitute peas for the edamame.

Fry the zucchini until golden brown

Make the basil sauce

Pasta and Fried Zucchini Salad

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I use Eden Organic brand red wine vinegar, which contains only naturally occurring sulfites. Unico capers are additive-free and look for mozzarella with no preservatives or colour.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup (150 ml) sunflower oil

3 medium zucchini, cut into ¼-inch-thick (0.6 cm) slices

1 ½ tablespoons (25 ml) red wine vinegar

¾ cup (175 ml) frozen edamame

2 cups (500 ml) basil leaves, coarsely chopped

¼ cup (60 ml) parsley leaves

1/3 cup (75 ml) olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

9 ounces (255 g) penne or other short pasta

Zest of 1 lemon, grated

1 ½ tablespoons (25 ml) capers

7 ounces (198 g) buffalo mozzarella, torn into chunks

Preparation:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

While you’re waiting, in a medium saucepan or skillet, heat sunflower oil over medium-high heat. Fry zucchini slices in batches for about 3 to 4 minutes, flipping once, until golden on both sides.

Drain in colander, then transfer to a large bowl and pour vinegar on top. Set aside.

In the hot water, cook edamame for 3 minutes. Drain and run under cold water and set aside to dry.

Combine half of basil and all of the parsley and olive oil in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth, then season with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta until al dente; drain and rinse under cold water. Transfer pasta back to empty pot. Add fried zucchini and any juices, basil-parsley oil, edamame, lemon zest, capers and mozzarella. Stir gently together, then season generously with salt and pepper. Right before you serve it, stir in remaining basil leaves. Serves 4.

From Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi