Eye for a Recipe

This recipe from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi is a colourful and delicious side dish or vegetarian main dish. Roast parsnips and onions with herbs and garlic, add sweet potatoes and cherry tomatoes and then dress the tender and caramelized vegetables with lemon juice, capers, maple syrup and Dijon mustard.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use freshly squeezed lemon juice and 100 per cent pure maple syrup. I use Unico capers and President’s Choice Old-Fashioned Dijon, which are additive-free.

Start by roasting the parsnips and onions

Add the sweet potatoes, roast until tender and top with the dressing

Ingredients:

4 parsnips (1½ lbs/680 g total)

4 medium red onions

2/3 cup (165 ml) extra virgin olive oil

4 thyme sprigs

2 rosemary sprigs

1 head garlic, halved horizontally

Salt and black pepper

2 medium sweet potatoes (1¼ lbs/568 g total)

30 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice

4 tbsp (60 ml) small capers (roughly chopped if large)

½ tbsp (7.5 ml) maple syrup

½ tsp (2.5 ml) Dijon mustard

1 tbsp (15 ml) toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Peel the parsnips and cut into two or three segments, depending on their lengths. Then cut each piece lengthways into two or four. You want pieces roughly 2 inches (5 cm) long and ½-inch (1.27 cm) wide. Peel the onions and cut each into six wedges.

Place the parsnips and onions in a large mixing bowl and add ½ cup (125 ml) of the extra virgin olive oil, the thyme, rosemary, garlic, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt and some pepper. Mix well and spread out in a large roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes.

While the parsnips are cooking, trim both ends of the sweet potatoes. Cut them (with their skins) widthways in half, then each half into six wedges. Add the potatoes to the pan with the parsnips and onion and stir well. Return to the oven to roast for a further 40 to 50 minutes.

When all the vegetables are cooked through and have taken on a golden color, stir in the halved tomatoes. Roast for 10 minutes more. Meanwhile, whisk together the lemon juice, capers, maple syrup, mustard, remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil and ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt.

Pour the dressing over the roasted vegetables as soon as you take them out of the oven. Stir well, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Scatter the sesame seeds over the vegetables if using and serve at the table in the roasting pan. Serves 4.

From Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes tend to be time-consuming, but the results are usually well worth the effort. This chicken dish is no exception. Caramelize onions and sear chicken thighs. Combine rice, currants, onions and chicken, add water, cover and cook for about 40 minutes. Delicious!

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure the currants don’t contain preservatives and the spices don’t contain colour or anti-caking agents.

Brown the chicken

Caramelize the onions and add the rice

Place chicken on top, add water and simmer for a half hour

Chicken with caramelized onions and cardamom rice

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons (45 ml) sugar

2 ½ tablespoons (38 ml) currants

4 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil

2 medium onions, thinly sliced (2 cups/500 ml)

2 ¼ pounds (1 kg) skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs or 1 whole chicken, quartered

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

10 cardamom pods

Rounded ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) whole cloves

2 long cinnamon sticks, broken in two

1 ⅔ cups (300 g) basmati rice

2 ¼ cups (550 ml) boiling water

1 ½ tablespoons (23 ml) flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

½ cup (125 ml) dill leaves, chopped

¼ cup (60 ml) cilantro leaves, chopped

⅓ cup (85 ml) Greek yogurt, mixed with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil (optional)

Preparation:

Heat half the olive oil in a large sauté pan for which you have a lid over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion has turned a deep golden brown. Transfer the onion to a small bowl and wipe the pan clean.

Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and season with 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) each salt and black pepper. Add the remaining olive oil, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and use your hands to mix everything together well. Heat the frying pan again and place the chicken and spices in it. Sear chicken for 5 minutes on each side and remove from the pan (this is important as it part-cooks the chicken). The spices can stay in the pan, but don’t worry if they stick to the chicken. Remove most of the remaining oil as well, leaving just a thin film at the bottom. Add the rice, caramelized onion, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt and plenty of black pepper. Drain the barberries and add them as well. Stir well and return the seared chicken to the pan, pushing it into the rice.

Pour the boiling water over the rice and chicken, cover the pan, and cook over very low heat for 30 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, remove the lid, quickly place a clean tea towel over the pan, and seal again with the lid. Leave the dish undisturbed for another 10 minutes. Finally, add the herbs and use a fork to stir them in and fluff up the rice. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot or warm with yogurt mixture if you like. Serves 4.

Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi

This hearty and delicious soup from Yotam Ottolenghi is a bit labour-intensive (it is Ottolenghi, after all) but is worth the effort. Cook a whole chicken with garlic and onion in a pot of water to yield stock. Set the cooked chicken aside to cool while you soften and season vegetables, add tomatoes and stock and simmer. Remove the meat from the chicken and add it to the liquid along with long pasta, such as fettucine or pappardelle. Cook until the pasta is done and serve, garnished with red chile and parmesan cheese.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Genuine parmesan contains no artificial ingredients. I used No Name tomato paste, which is additive-free.

Simmer chicken in water with onions and garlic until it is cooked through and falling apart

This recipe uses thyme, bay leaves, parmesan rind, tomatoes, tomato paste and pasta

Soften vegetables

Add thyme, garlic, bay leaves and rind

Add tomatoes, stock, chicken meat and pasta

Garnish with red chile and grated parmesan

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (around 3 lbs/1.4 kg)

1 whole head garlic, halved, plus 4 cloves, peeled and crushed

1 onion, cut into 4 wedges

Salt and black pepper

2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and cut into roughly ½-inch/15 mm cubes (8 oz/220 g net weight)

3 sticks celery, cut at an angle into roughly 0.4-inch/1cm-thick slices (7 oz/200 g net weight)

3 bay leaves

1½ tbsp (22.5) thyme leaves, finely chopped

1 oz/60 g parmesan, finely grated, plus 1 small piece of rind

5 plum tomatoes, coarsely grated and skins discarded (11 oz/320 g)

2 tsp (10 ml) tomato paste

6 oz/180 g dried long pasta, such as pappardelle or fettucine

0.5 oz/15 g basil leaves, finely shredded

1 red chile, deseeded and finely chopped

Preparation:

Put the chicken, garlic head halves, onion, 8.5 cups/two litres of water and two and a quarter teaspoons (11 ml) of salt in a large saucepan for which you have a lid. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, cover and cook for 80 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a board, leave to cool slightly, then pull off the meat in large shreds; discard the skin, bones and cartilage. Strain the stock into a medium saucepan (discard the solids). Keep warm on a low heat while you get on with everything else.

Put the oil in a large saucepan on a medium-high heat, then sauté the carrot and celery for four minutes, until they start to soften. Add the crushed garlic, bay, thyme and parmesan rind, cook for 30 seconds, then stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste, and cook for three minutes, until the tomatoes cook down slightly. Pour in hot stock, half a teaspoon (2.5 ml) of salt and a generous grind of pepper, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.

Ladle out 14 oz/400 g of the soup, about 50/50 liquid to solids (avoid the bay and rind), transfer to a blender and blitz smooth. Stir back into the soup pan and turn up the heat to medium-high. Add the pasta, chicken flesh and a good grind of pepper, and cook for 15 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Discard the bay leaves and parmesan rind.

Divide the soup between four bowls, top with the basil, chilli, a good grind of pepper and a sprinkling of grated parmesan, and serve with extra parmesan alongside. Serves 4-6.

From Yotam Ottolenghi

This recipe from Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi refers to the dish Patrick Dempsey’s character tells Renée Zellweger’s Bridget Jones that he would have brought her on their imaginary second date in the movie Bridget Jones’s Baby. “From Ottolenghi,” says Dempsey, “delicious and healthy!” According to Ottolenghi, “What sounded like a bit of product placement on our part was in fact no such thing. The recipe didn’t even exist on our menu, so this is a retrospective acknowledgement.” Whatever its origins, this is a great way to serve simple pan-fried or oven-baked salmon fillets.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

The currants, pine nuts, capers, olives and saffron may contain additives or colour, so check the labels. No-Name currents and pine nuts are additive free. I use Unico capers and President’s Choice garlic-stuffed green olives. I often substitute turmeric for saffron, as the latter, depending on the source, can contain colour.

This salmon is topped with a pine nut salsa

Bridget Jones's Pan-Fried Salmon with Pine Nut Salsa

Ingredients:

¾ cup (100 g) currants

4 salmon fillets, skin on and pin-boned (1 lb, 2 oz/500g)

7 tbsp (100 ml) olive oil

4 celery sticks (1 ¾ cups/180 g),  cut into ½ inch (1 cm) dice, leaves removed but kept for garnish

¼ cup (60 ml) pine nuts, roughly chopped

¼ cup (60 ml) capers, plus 2 tbsp (30 ml) of their brine

Large green olives, pitted and cut into ½ inch (1cm) dice (about 8/60 ml)

1 good pinch of saffron threads (¼ tsp/1 ml), mixed with 1 tbsp (15 ml) hot water

1 cup (250 ml) parsley, roughly chopped

1 lemon: finely grate the zest to get 1 tsp (5 ml), then juice to get 1 tsp (5 ml)

Salt and black pepper

Preparation:

Cover the currants with boiling water and set aside to soak for 20 minutes while you prep the salmon and make the salsa.

Mix the salmon with 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of oil, 3 teaspoons (15 ml) of salt and a good grind of pepper. Set aside while you make the salsa.

Put 5 tbsp (75 ml) of olive oil into a large sauté pan and place on a high heat. Add the celery and pine nuts and fry for 4–5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the nuts begin to brown (don’t take your eyes off them, as they can easily burn). Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the capers and their brine, the olives, saffron and its water and a pinch of salt. Drain the currants and add these, along with the parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice. Set aside.

Put the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of oil into a large frying pan and place on a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the salmon fillets, skin side down, and fry for 3 minutes, until the skin is crisp. Reduce the heat to medium, then flip the fillets over and continue to fry for 2–4 minutes (depending on how much you like the salmon cooked). Remove from the pan and set aside.

Arrange the salmon on four plates and spoon over the salsa. If you have any celery leaves reserved, scatter these on top.

From Simple, by Yotam Ottolenghi