Finally we have some nice weather and so we are barbecuing everything, including broccoli which is a new one for us. This is the chargrilled broccoli with chilli and garlic from the original Ottolenghi book and it works equally well on a barbecue. Cook the broccoli first and it will sit happily in the dressing until whatever else you are cooking is ready.
Chargrilled broccoli with chilli and garlic – serves 4
2 heads of regular broccoli (about 500g)
115ml olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
2 mild red chillies, finely sliced
thin slices of lemon, to garnish
Cut the broccoli into florets. Fill a bowl with cold water and ice cubes. Blanch the florets in a large pan of boiling water for 2 minutes only, then scoop out and into the bowl of iced water.
Drain the broccoli and make sure it’s really well dried. Toss in a bowl with 45ml of the olive oil and some salt and pepper.
Barbecue the broccoli until charred on all sides. Meanwhile, put the rest of the olive oil into a small pan with the garlic and chillies. Cook over a medium heat until the garlic turns golden, take it off the heat at this point to prevent the garlic burning.
Put the barbecued broccoli into a large bowl and immediately pour over the garlic and chilli oil. Toss gently to coat then set aside until ready to serve. Garnish with the lemon slices.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi The Cookbook, Ebury Press, 2008.)
These are delicious and perfect with some crusty bread or flatbreads for scooping. Do buy the fancy butter beans in a glass jar if you can. You can make this up to a day ahead and the flavours will improve.
Wine Suggestion: We really like this dish with a nice, chilled Vermentino. Tonight’s choice, the Poggio ai Ginepri Bianco from Tenuta Argentiera in Bolgheri. Long and vibrant with a rich citrus and pear flavour and layers of texture and wild sage to finish.
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 mild red chillies, finely chopped, including the seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds, finely crushed with a pestle and mortar
3 preserved lemons (80g), inner parts discarded and skin finely sliced
1 ½ tbsp roughly chopped thyme leaves
4 sprigs of rosemary
1 tbsp tomato purée
170ml olive oil
1 jar of butter beans (700g)
2 large vine tomatoes, roughly grated and skins discarded
Put the garlic, chillies, coriander, preserved lemon, thyme, rosemary, tomato purée, olive oil and 1¼ tsp of flaked salt into a medium sauté pan on a medium-low heat and stir together. Heat gently for 25 minutes, or until very fragrant but not browned at all. Turn the heat to low if the oil gets to hot.
Stir in the butter beans, then turn the heat up to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for at least an hour, or longer if you can.
Meanwhile, mix the grated tomato with ⅓ tsp of flaked sea salt and plenty of black pepper.
Spoon the butter beans into a shallow bowl and spoon over the grated tomato, mixing it in in places. Then serve with crusty bread or flatbreads.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Noor Murad & Yotam Ottolenghi, Ebury Press, 2021.)
This was made at the end of a weekend where all the previous recipes we’d tried hadn’t quite come together, or worked as we’d hoped, so our expectations were low. What a relief: we were blown away with the flavour, and our enthusiasm returned with a vengeance! The recipe is by Jamie Oliver but inspired by the Japanese restaurant Nobu in London who are known for their black cod miso and for good reason. The recipe is simple but you need to start 24 hours in advance.
Wine Suggestion: This is a dish jam packed full of savoury umami flavours and needs a similarly umami loaded wine to match. We started with a small glass of Hidalgo La Gitana’s Pasada Pastrana, a single vineyard aged manzanilla which was excellent. Then we segued into savoury Grenache territory with Roc des Ange’s Segna da Cor from the wilds of Roussillon; vibrantly textured and almost sucking the stones it was grown on. What a way to end the weekend.
Black Cod Miso- serves 4
4 bulbs of pak choi, quartered
1 cucumber, peeled halved and deseeded, then sliced into long 1cm thick strips
juice of 1 lime
soy sauce
cooked sticky rice (to serve)
FOR THE MARINADE:
2 stems of lemongrass
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
200ml of sake or white wine
2 tbsp runny honey
300g miso paste
4 x 200g cod steaks, skin-on and pin-boned
Start the marinade the day before. Remove the outer layer from the lemongrass stems and discard. Bash the lemongrass with the back of a knife, then finely chop. Put the lemongrass into a pestle and mortar with the chilli, ginger and a pinch of salt, then bash to a paste.
Put the paste into a saucepan with the sake and honey, then bring to the boil. While the mixture is warming, gradually add the miso paste, a little at a time, stirring constantly. Simmer until the mixture is lightly golden, then remove from the heat and pour onto a flat tray so it cools quickly.
When the marinade is cool, put the fish into a container and pour over three-quarters of the marinade. Move the fish fillets around to ensure they are completely coated, then cover and put into the fridge. Put the rest of the marinade into a container and keep in the fridge until needed.
When ready to cook, preheat the grill until very hot. Put the pieces of fish onto an oiled baking tray, skin-side up and cook until slightly caramelized and golden. This will take 6-8 minutes depending on how thick your pieces of fish are.
Meanwhile, lay the pak choi into a steamer over a pan of boiling water. Add the strips of cucumber and steam until the pak choi is tender.
Stir the lime juice into the container of leftover marinade to loosen it slightly. Serve the fish with the greens and drizzle over a little soy sauce. Serve with cooked rice and the miso dressing on the side.
(Original recipe from Cook with Jamie by Jamie Oliver, Penguin Books, 2006.)
We recently picked up a copy of Zaitoun by Yasmin Khan – a truly stunning book filled with Palestinian recipes & stories. Our first dish from the book was this spicy prawn and tomato stew. We served it with rice but next time we’ll go for some flatbreads instead. Delicious nonetheless.
Wine Suggestion: We’d recommend a light red with elegant fruit like the Dezat Sancerre Rouge which was our choice. A perfumed and delicate Pinot Noir with a tension and thrill running through it; the earthy red cherry and currant flavours flavours went with the prawns, tomatoes and herbs in a delightful fashion.
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for about 10 minutes or until softened. Add the tomatoes, sugar, spices & ½ tsp each of salt and pepper, with 200ml just-boiled water.
Use a pestle & mortar to smash the garlic, dill, chillies and ½ tsp of salt together for a few minutes. Add this to the tomato pan, cover and simmer for 20 minutes over a low heat.
Meanwhile, toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until golden brown, then set aside.
Adjust the seasoning in the sauce, then add the prawns – make sure they are submerged and you may need to turn them. Cook in the sauce for a couple of minutes, or until they have just turned pink and are cooked through.
Drizzle with plenty of extra virgin olive oil and scatter with the sesame seeds and chopped parsley to serve.
(Original recipe form Zaitoun by Yasmin Khan, Bloomsbury, 2018.)
These spicy Syrian potatoes are really delicious and we’re going to be cooking them with lots of dishes. A great alternative to roast potatoes.
Spicy Syrian Potatoes (Batata Harra) – serves 4
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-2 cm cubes
olive oil, for roasting
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
a bunch of coriander, chopped
1 tbsp Aleppo pepper
Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Roast the potatoes with olive oil and salt for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.
Meanwhile, quickly fry the garlic, chillies and half the coriander. When the potatoes are ready, mix the fried ingredients with the potatoes, ground Aleppo pepper and the rest of the coriander.
(Original recipe from Syria: Recipes from Home by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi, Trapeze, 2017.)
A classic sweet and sour combination but with a few modern twists. The pork ends up meltingly tender and there is no ketchup required!
Wine Suggestion: This was a hard match given the spices, sweetness and sourness which really fights the components of many wines but the solution is a good, dry Riesling which will cut through the fat, complement the spices and balance the sweetness of pineapple. The aromatics in Riesling also add new layers of flavour to the meal. We drank a superb Dönnhoff QbA dry Riesling (their entry level dry wine) which just hit the mark in terms of weight, poise and flavour.
Sticky Pork & Pineapple – serves 8
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1½ kg pork shoulder steaks, each cut into 4 thick strips
3 onions, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
small bunch coriander, stalks finely chopped and leaves reserved
3 Thai red chillies, 2 sliced, 1 left whole and pricked
3 star anise
100g dark soft brown sugar
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp fish sauce
600ml chicken stock
350g fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.
Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole. Season the pork and brown in batches for about 5 minutes or until golden. Set aside.
Stir the onions into the remaining fat, then cover and allow to soften for 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, coriander stalks, chillies and star anise to the dish, sizzle for 1 minute, stirring often, then mix in the sugar and tomato puree. When they have melted, return the pork and any juices to the dish and add the fish sauce and stock. Tuck the pineapple chunks in.
Bring to a simmer, then cover the pot but leave a small gap for steam to escape, and put in the oven for 2 hours. When there is 30 minutes to go, skim some of the fat off the top and return to the oven.
If you want to thicken the sauce a bit you can remove the pork to a warm dish and simmer the sauce on the hob until slightly thickened. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then season to taste and pour over the pork.
Garnish with the coriander leaves and serve with rice.
Jono & Jules do food & wine 