I don't believe that I haven't attempted an Ottolenghi recipe... until now. In fact, up until about 3 weeks ago I had only heard the Ottolenghi restaurant name and not associated it with a chef or achievable, homemade recipes.
Three weeks ago I was sitting at J's work, having lunch, when a colleague came to the table with his own lunch. As you'd expect I peered over the rim of the Tupperware container. "What are you eating?" I asked. "Kafta with pearl barley cooked in pomegranate molasses."
At that moment I remembered I'd bought a jar of pomegranate molasses at
Cedars of Lebanon in Canberra in August last year. In the very next moment I mentally committed to finding the Ottolenghi recipe and cooking it!
I think this may well have been the most satisfying feasts I've made and fortunately we ran in to another of J's colleagues at our loal Bunnings on the Sunday morning I'd set aside to cook it so, despite hardly knowing them, we invited them to our house to share our food.
* Lamb and beef kafta (find the recipe
here) I LOVE the pine nuts in these!
ingredients
400g minced lamb
400g minced veal or beef
150g onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
50g toasted pine nuts, roughly chopped, plus extra whole ones to garnish
30g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
1 large medium-hot red chilli, deseeded
and finely chopped
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp ground allspice
¾ tsp grated nutmeg
1½ tsp ground black pepper
1½ tsp salt
For the sauce
150g light tahini paste
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 medium clove of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp sunflower oil
30g unsalted butter or ghee (optional)
sweet paprika, to garnish
method
• Put all the kofta ingredients in a bowl and use your hands to
mix everything together well. Now shape into long, torpedo-like fingers,
roughly 8cm long (about 60g each). Press the mix to compress it and ensure
the kofta is tight and keeps its shape. Arrange on a plate and chill until
you are ready to cook them, for up to one day.
Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7.
• In a medium bowl whisk together the tahini paste, lemon juice,
120ml water, garlic and a quarter of a teaspoon of salt. The sauce should be
a bit runnier than honey; add one or two tablespoons of water if needed.
• Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying-pan and sear the kofta
over a high heat; do this in batches so they are not cramped together. Sear
them on all sides until golden brown, about six minutes for each batch. At
this point they should be medium-rare. Lift out of the pan and arrange on an
oven tray. If you want them medium or well-done, put the tray in the oven
for two to four minutes.
• Spoon the tahini sauce around the kofta, so it covers the base
of the tray. If you like, also drizzle some over the kofta but leave some of
the meat exposed. Place in the oven for a minute or two, just to warm up the
sauce a little.
• Meanwhile, if you are using the butter, melt it in a small
saucepan and allow it to brown a little, taking care that it doesn’t burn.
Spoon the butter over the kofta as soon as they come out of the oven.
Scatter with pine nuts and parsley and finally sprinkle some paprika on top.
Serve at once.
* Pearl Barley and Greens with Pomegranate Molasses (a variation on Ottolenghi's Wheat Berries & Swiss Chard with Pomegranate Molasses. Find the link to the recipe
here.
Wheat Berries & Swiss Chard with Pomegranate Molasses
Jerusalem, Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
serves 4
ingredients
1 1/3 lbs. Swiss chard
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 large leeks, white and pale green parts, thinly sliced (3 cups total)
2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
3 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses
1 1/4 cups hulled or unhulled wheat berries
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper
Greek yogurt, to serve
method
Separate the chard's stalks from the green leaves using a small,
sharp knife. Slice the stalks into 3/8-inch slices and the leaves into
3/4-inch slices.
Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy-bottomed pan. Add the leeks
and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chard stalks and cook
for 3 minutes, then add the leaves and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add
the sugar, 3 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses, and the wheat berries and mix
well. Add the stock, 3/4 tsp. salt, and some black pepper, bring to a
gentle simmer, and cook over low heat, covered, for 60 to 70 minutes.
The wheat should be al dente at this point.
Remove the lid and, if needed, increase the heat and allow any
remaining liquid to evaporate. The base of the pan should be dry and
have a bit of burnt caramel on it. Remove from the heat.
Before serving, taste and add more molasses, salt, and pepper if
needed; you want it sharp and sweet, so don't be shy with your molasses.
Serve warm, with a dollop of Greek yogurt.
*
Baba ghanoush
ingredients
2 large (1kg) eggplants
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
fresh parsley for serving
fresh pomegranate seeds, optional, for serving
method
Cook
eggplant on a heated grill plate (or grill or barbecue) for about 30/35
minutes, turning four times, or until skin is blackened and blistered,
and flesh is very soft. Cool eggplant.
Peel eggplant and discard skin. Blend or process the
eggplant with the remaining ingredients, except
for the pomegranate seeds & parsley until smooth.
Serve baba ghanoush sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, fresh parsley and additional paprika.
* Flat bread (to soak up any extras). This was a variation on my favourite pizza recipe. I'm not entirely confident that I can recall this recipe accurately. I'm sure there's plenty of flat-bread recipes out there.
baba ganoush
Believe me, this was worth all the work and it was a really enjoyable feast to assemble. Our guests were well-fed and the kids were, as usual, pretty good at trying everything. (They'd get pretty hungry around here if they didn't. They'd get pretty hungry if they didn't eat gourmet though, sometimes they'd prefer cheese on toast.)
Do let me know if you make this! I'd love to hear how you go.
