Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love

Product Information

Guild of Food Writers Awards, " Kate Whiteman Award for Work on Food and Travel" for Jerusalem on a Plate (BBC4) Observer Food Monthly Awards 2011 Best Cookbook: Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi | Life and style. The Guardian, (18 September 2015). Retrieved on 2015-09-23.

International Association of Culinary Professionals Awards, winner of the International award and the Best Cookbook award for Jerusalem [28] Fortnum & Mason Food & Drink Awards 2015. Fortnumandmasonawards.com. Retrieved on 23 September 2015.

From the book: Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Toss the pitta with the za’atar, two tablespoons of oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, and spread out on a medium baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bake for 12 minutes, tossing halfway, or until golden and crisp. Set aside to cool. Buy the book here: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/ottolenghi-test-kitchen-shelf-love-9781529109481 What I thought: I was having some friends round for dinner, and had planned – in conjunction with my housemates! – to cook just one or two recipes from the book. As the process unfurled, however, we added more and more dishes into the mix, unable to resist the enduring temptation of an Ottolenghi veggie feast. Vegans are well catered for in OTK Shelf Life with a dish such as sweet spiced mushroom and rice pilaf being a stand out success. It does require a number of ingredients – three types of mushrooms and some dried ancho chillies – but nothing out of the ordinary. The cooking experience is one that Ottolenghi lovers will recognize. It takes time, there are several cooking utensils on the go on the hob, you need patience. But all is worth it when the fragrant rice is scooped onto your plate. Each bite of rice is gently spiced with the flavours of star anise, cinnamon and ancho chilli all baked into the grains. One mouthful is tart with dried apricot, the next is meaty and silky with chunks of portabello mushroom. Best of all is the spoonful with one of the ten garlic cloves that has caramelised during cooking into a sweet paste. While this pilaf might not be one of those dishes that could be called good-looking, it makes for seriously interesting eating. Pat dry the salmon and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the za’atar and sumac. Place the salmon skin-side down, and sprinkle all over the top to create a crust.

Make the topping: heat the oil in a small frying pan on a medium-high heat, add the sliced garlic and the pine nuts, and cook for 60–90 seconds or until lightly golden. Add the spices and a tiny pinch of salt, and remove from the heat immediately. Set aside.

Shelf Love is meant to be more of a simplified home cooking recipe book but, as this is still an Ottolenghi cookbook, you will have to take this with a pinch of salt. The recipes are not difficult but they are often time consuming and involve and number of different elements (and a lot of washing up)!! Drizzle one-third of the lemon-maple butter over the pudding and serve warm with the extra maple butter and creme fraiche alongside. You can tell a lot about a person from what they keep stashed on ice. This is what we always have to hand.