Yotam Ottolenghi Shares the 3 Recipes You Need for a Fall Dinner Party
It's a food lover's dream to attend a dinner party thrown by Yotam Ottolenghi, the London-based chef behind best-selling cookbooks Plenty and Jerusalem and five popular eateries. "When Ottolenghi does entertain, his feasts tend to be bold, rustic, and abundant: platters heaped with roasted vegetables and meats seasoned with aromatic spices, topped with seeds and sauces, fruits and herbs, all in high-contrast flavors and colors," writes Celia Barbour in our November issue, where we take a peek inside his home. While you might never get the chance to experience such a celebration, you can still enjoy Ottolenghi's delicious food—and you don't have to hop on a plane to England to do so. Here, Ottolenghi shares three of his recipes—an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert—that you can whip up yourself. Together, they make the perfect fall meal. Now it's your kitchen everyone will want to visit.
Photo: Jonathan Lovekin1/3Burnt Aubergine and Mograbieh Soup from Jerusalem
Mograbieh, and to a lesser degree maftoul, is available from some Middle Eastern grocers and online. Giant or Israeli couscous is widely available, and so is fregola, the Sardinian equivalent. Whichever you choose for making this wonderfully hefty soup, check the package for cooking times, making sure the little pasta balls are just al dente. Serves 4. Start by burning three of the five small eggplants. Cut the remaining eggplants into 1/2-in. dice. Heat about 5 oz. oil in a large saucepan over medium–high heat and, when it is hot, add the diced eggplants. Fry for 10–15 minutes, stirring often, until colored all over; add a little oil if needed so there is always some oil in the pan. Remove the eggplants, place in a colander to drain, and sprinkle with salt.Make sure you have about 1 T oil left in the pan, then add 1 sliced onion and 1 T cumin. Sauté for about 7 minutes, stirring often. Add 1 1/2 tsp. tomato puree and cook for another minute before adding 2 skinned and diced medium tomatoes, 350 ml chicken or vegetable stock, 400 ml water, 4 crushed garlic cloves, 2 1/2 tsp. sugar, 2 T lemon juice, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and some black pepper. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of salted water to a boil and add 100 g mograbieh or alternative. Cook until al dente; this will vary according to brand but should take about 15–18 minutes (check the packet). Drain and refresh under cold water.
Transfer the burnt eggplant flesh to the soup and blitz to a smooth liquid with a handheld blender. Add the mograbieh and fried eggplant and simmer for another 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot, garnished with 2 T basil or 1 T chopped dill.
Photo: Jonathan Lovekin2/3Roasted Chicken with Clementines and Arak from Jerusalem
All the intense flavors lavished on the poor chicken—arak, mustard, fennel, clementines with their skins, brown sugar—somehow manage to come together in a sweetly comforting dish you will always want to come back to. Serve it with plainly cooked rice or bulgur. Serves 4.
Put 100 ml arak (or ouzo or Pernod), 4 T olive oil, 3 T freshly squeezed orange juice, 3 T lemon juice, 2 T grain mustard, and 3 T light brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and add 2 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 1/2 tsp. black pepper. Whisk well and set aside. Trim 2 medium fennel bulbs and cut each bulb in half lengthways. Cut each half into 4 wedges. Add the fennel to the liquids, along with 1 large organic or free-range chicken divided into 8 pieces (or about 1.3 kg in chicken thighs with the skin and on the bone), 4 unpeeled clementines sliced horizontally, 1 T thyme leaves, and 2 1/2 tsp. slightly crushed fennel seeds. Stir well with your hands, then leave to marinate in the fridge for a few hours or overnight (skipping the marinating stage is also fine, if you are pressed for time). Preheat the oven to 220ºC/200ºC Fan/Gas Mark 7. Transfer the chicken and its marinade to a baking tray large enough to accommodate everything comfortably in a single layer (roughly a 30 cm x 37 cm tray); the chicken skin should be facing up. Once the oven is hot enough, put the tray in the oven and roast for 35–45 minutes, until the chicken is colored and cooked through. Remove from the oven. Lift the chicken, fennel, and clementines from the tray and arrange on a serving plate; cover and keep warm. Pour the cooking liquids into a small saucepan, place on medium–high heat, bring to a boil, then simmer until the sauce is reduced by a third, so you are left with about 80 ml. Pour the hot sauce over the chicken, garnish with some chopped flat-leaf parsley, and serve.
Photo: Jonathan Lovekin3/3Baked Chocolate Ganache with Spicy Hazelnuts and Orange Oil from Nopi
Chocolate, orange, and cream: Some combinations are just classic. So much so that not even our playful additions—hazelnuts, coriander, cardamom, salt—make a dent in this idyllic combination. For a quick and fun alternative to the spicy hazelnuts, a line of popping candy can be used instead. It’s a delight to watch people’s faces as they are taken by the surprise of little balls exploding in their mouths. You’ll need to start a day ahead for the chocolate to set in the fridge—you’ll have a little of the chocolate pudding left over, which can be saved as a snack to have with coffee or served warm with some ice cream.
Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C (340°F/170°C convection).Place 9 oz. dark chocolate (70 percent cocoa solids, broken into 3/4-in. pieces) and 2/3 cup unsalted butter (cut into a 3/4-in. dice, plus extra for greasing the dish) for the ganache in a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan half full of simmering water; take care that the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Keep on the heat for about 5 minutes, stirring and folding the mixture every now and then, until the chocolate is melted and shiny. Remove from the heat and set aside until completely cool.
Place 1 large egg, 3 egg yolks, and 5 T superfine sugar in a stand mixer bowl and whisk for 5–6 minutes, until thick, light, and foamy. In stages, carefully fold the egg into the chocolate by hand, taking care not to overwork the mixture, then transfer to a lightly greased and parchment-lined 8 1/2 x 3 in. loaf pan. Place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, until the surface is opaque but the middle has a slight wobble. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Cover and refrigerate until set, preferably overnight. You don’t want it to be too firm when serving, so remove it from the fridge 2 hours ahead of time.
To make the spice mix, place 1 tsp. coriander seeds, 3/4 tsp. black peppercorns, 1 small cinnamon stick, 1 whole star anise, and 8 cardamom pods in a frying pan and toast for 2–3 minutes, until fragrant. Transfer to a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle and grind until completely fine. Transfer to a medium bowl, mix in 3/4 tsp. superfine sugar and 1 1/2 oz. hazelnuts and set aside.
Mix together 10 1/2 oz. crème fraîche and 2 1/2 tsp. sifted confectioners’ sugar and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
To make the orange oil, mix together the finely grated zest of half an orange and 1 T olive oil and set aside.
To serve, arrange the hazelnut spice mix in a straight line down the middle of 8 plates. Scoop a tablespoon-size portion of chocolate onto each plate (dipping the spoon in hot water will help keep things neat) and place on an angle across the nuts. Place a spoonful of crème fraîche next to the chocolate and drizzle the orange oil on top. Finish with a tiny pinch of coarse sea salt and serve at once.
