Ottolenghi Test Kitchen -Extra Good Things – I just love Ottolenghi recipes! With OTK: Shelf Love Yotam, Noor Murad and the OTK team had us all raiding our shelves and freezers, utilising and improvising. The latest volume in the OTK series is all about delicious meals that have an additional element that can be used to add extra flavour to your next meal as well. Their Extra Good Things can be poured out of bottles or sprinkled from jars to transform a bowl of rice, a tray of grilled veg, or a plate of scrambled eggs into an Ottolenghi Feast. These flexible, flavour-packed dishes all lend a little extra something to a future meal. For example, harissa butter on a roasted mushroom then tossed with steamed veg or stuffed into a baked potato. Or smoky, sweet nuts spooned over oven fries then used to top some hummus the following day. Extra Good Things is rounded off with a chapter on the ‘one basics’ of desserts for us to perfect, then adapt with our favourite flavour combos…’ one basic mousse’ transformed into a coffee mousse with tahini fudge sauce – yum!
So now you can cook it forward, Ottolenghi style, and fill your cupboards with lots of delicious extras: condiments, sauces, sprinkles and far more, adding that extra oomph to your mealtimes.
Published by Ebury Press at £25, this flexibound book will make the perfect Christmas gift for any adventurous foodie. And if they’re already an Ottolenghi fan, then you’re home and dry with a winning gift that you might even benefit from if they cook for you.
Here’s a recipe to demonstrate the versatility of this wonderful book.
Turmeric fried eggs with tamarind dressing (Prep: 5-minute Cook time: 15 minutes) Serves 2
“These are fried eggs but with a very eccentric wardrobe, thanks to the turmeric and chilli, which make them as good to eat as they are to look at. You can serve this easy, vibrant breakfast as it is, or alongside potato rösti, as part of a brunch spread.”
1 shallot, peeled and sliced into thin rounds (60g)
2 tsp lime juice
31⁄2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
200g baby spinach
1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric
4 large eggs
1 green chilli, finely sliced into rounds, seeds and all
salt
Tamarind Dressing
30g tamarind paste
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp light soft brown sugar 5g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- Put the shallot, lime juice and a pinch of salt into a small bowl and use your fingers to gently massage everything together. Set aside to pickle lightly while you continue with the rest.
- Make the tamarind dressing by putting all the ingredients into a bowl and whisking to combine and dissolve the sugar. Add between 2–4 teaspoons of water, to loosen the mixture (this will vary according to different makes of tamarind paste).
- Put 1 tablespoon of oil into a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the garlic and cook for 90 seconds, stirring, until fragrant and lightly coloured, then stir in the spinach and 1⁄8 teaspoon of salt and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate and wipe out the pan.
- Add the remaining 21⁄2 tablespoons of oil plus the turmeric to the same pan, stirring to combine, and return it to medium-high heat. Once hot but not smoking, crack in the eggs and quickly sprinkle the whites with the chilli slices. Season the eggs all over with a good pinch of salt and use a spatula to separate the whites so that the eggs are not joined together. Fry for 3–4 minutes, spooning some of the oil over the whites. You want the whites to be crispy around the edges and the yolk to be runny (fry them for longer if you like your eggs more cooked).
- When ready, use a spatula to transfer the eggs to the plate of spinach, drizzling with any extra turmeric oil in the pan. Top with the pickled shallots and then drizzle with some of the tamarind dressing, serving any remaining alongside.
Tamarind dressing
Make the dressing, minus the coriander, and keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.
A little goes a long way with this dressing: drizzle on to roasted potatoes with plenty of fresh herbs, or spoon over grilled steak for a tangy addition.
Extracted from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, £25) All photography by Elena Heatherwick
The Seasoned Gastronome