Restaurant Review: Ottolenghi

It’s been so many years since I last went to Ottolenghi that it was pre-blog days – and the blog turned 6 last month! So when Annie suggested we ate there last night before going to the Almeida Theatre, I was really pleased. I’m not sure quite why it’s taken me so long … I’ve […]

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Quick and Easy Harissa Hummus

I make a version of ‘hummus’ quite often. By this I mean, a basic hummus recipe but not necessarily made with chickpeas but often with butter beans or cannelloni beans instead; even roasted vegetables such as beetroot and squash. Then the other day I was in the National Portrait Gallery café and had a sandwich that had […]

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Roast Chicken with Sumac & Pomegranate and Garlic Potato Puree

If I’m on my own on Sunday, I often roast a chicken portion. I buy the chickens in the local farmers’ market and joint them and it’s easy to pull one out of the freezer early in the day to defrost. I seem to rarely roast a whole chicken these days; even if I have […]

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Freekeh with Courgettes & Fresh Herbs

I never really got my head round quinoa and then the ‘healthy grain excitement’ moved on to freekeh and this ancient Middle Eastern grain became a favourite of the foodie world last year, 2014.  Ottolenghi was ahead of the pack, of course, writing about it in his book Plenty in 2010. The excitement remains strong and freekeh […]

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Aubergine with Chermoula, Bulgar & Yogurt

My son gave me three aubergines. Jonathan is known for giving me foodie things. Some of my best kitchen items are gifts from him: my wonderful Global chef’s knife; a boning knife; my Microplane. When he goes to the local farmers’ market on Saturday morning and negotiates a good deal for multiple chickens – the […]

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Barley Risotto with Tomato & Feta

No, dear Italian friends, this is not an Italian risotto and please forgive the use of the word ‘risotto’, but Ottolenghi uses it in his wonderful book Jerusalem from which I took this recipe. (Though it has to be said, it’s not quite his recipe, as you shall see.) I’ve learned that Italians are very correct when […]

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Kohlrabi, Watercress & Yogurt Salad

The first time I encountered a kohlrabi was a few years ago when I used to regularly have a vegetable box delivered by Riverford Organic Farm. I’d seen them before but had never actually bought one so I was a bit flummoxed by what to do with it. I was pleased to discover a recipe […]

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Griddled Aubergine Salad with Buffalo Cheese, Pine Nuts & Pomegranate

It’s so hot that even the Single Gourmet Traveller didn’t want to eat as much as usual. But she did want to eat, of course. My family know it’s time to worry if I ever don’t want to eat. I had to do some work today so planned to take a portion of bolognese ragu […]

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Salmon with Roasted Red Pepper & Hazelnut Salsa

It’s lovely to have my good friend Linda to stay for a few days and knowing she prefers fish to meat, I decided to cook some salmon last night. Knowing also she’s a fan of Ottolenghi’s recipes I took another look at Ottolenghi the Cookbook from which I cooked a great chicken dish last week. I […]

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Chicken Roasted with Saffron, Honey & Hazelnuts

I took a trip across town last night – from west London to north London. Given the vagaries of central London roads, the journey to Islington – where I was meeting a friend for supper and cinema – can take anywhere from 40 minutes to over 2 hours. Surprisingly, given it was a rainy Saturday […]

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