We’re still in lockdown so it’s the perfect time for some inspiration from the chef who burst into our culinary consciousness a few years back with his bold new flavours and his consistent foregrounding of vegetables in his meals – Yotam Ottolenghi!
You can spend your Sunday afternoon with Ottolenghi as he chats with Adam Liaw on a digital stream from the Opera House at 3pm AEST. This is all part of the Opera House Digital Season – From Our House to Yours.
They’ll be discussing what makes a recipe simple, cooking for fussy children and how Ottolenghi’s books saved the humble cauliflower. This is the chef who’s made tahini and pomegranate molasses, pantry staples around the world. As he chats on Sunday afternoon, he’ll be sharing some of the stories behind his iconic recipes.
Ottolenghi’s cook books continue to excite and inspire food-lovers everywhere. As part of the event on Sunday, the Opera House printed the Top 5 Recipes – all hand picked by Sydney Opera House staff.
Here, we’ve republished a few of these from the Opera House Digital Season. They’ll bring some pleasure and comfort to your quarantine cooking.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s courgette, pea and basil soup. Image: Louise Hagger/The Guardian
Courgette, pea and basil soup
Picked by: Dominic Ellis, Senior Digital Marketing Coordinator:
Ottolenghi’s Simple does what it says on the tin. Once you overcome the hurdle of American vegetable names (‘arugula’ sounds like a Roman emperor, not a leaf), every recipe in that book is achievable, even for culinary simpletons like me.
The courgette, pea and basil soup is my pick of the bunch. Don’t let your coworkers disparaging comparisons to ‘baby food’ get you down, this is one bloody tasty soup.
My advice? Don’t skimp on the feta. Pile on the crumbly stuff. It really balances the flavour. Otto calls this a summer recipe, but I think I speak for everyone when I say, what season even is it?
Make this if: You need a bowl of comfort.
Read the original recipe in The Guardian
Yotam Ottolenghi’s mango and curried chickpea salad. Image: Borrowed Salt
Mango and curried chickpea salad
Picked by: Roisin Lynagh, Project Coordinator:
My favourite summer salad to bring to BBQs and evenings spent at friends’ houses is this gorgeous spiced chickpea and mango salad.
The sweet mango alongside the curried chickpeas and smoky cauliflower are a serious party in the mouth. There are never leftovers and even the carnivores at the party can’t deny the flavour sensation.
Perfect with a beer or a crisp cold white wine!
Make this if: You’re dreaming of summertime.
Read the original recipe in The Gn
Need more recipes to devour? Read ‘The 5 best Ottolenghi recipes for isolation, as picked by Sydney Opera House staff.
And Here are some picks from Yotam himself.
Bringing the Opera House stages to your sofa, this new digital program comes to you weekly. Take a look: See the program.
