Ottolenghi Comfort

Comfort can mean many different things to many different people, based on the path they have trodden. In Ottolenghi Comfort the recipes “take on (and take in) the culture and cuisine of the places we have moved to and we keep hold of and preserve the culture and cuisine of the places we have left”. Most important is different food can be comforting, depending on the situation and who we share it with.

Ottolenghi Comfort

Make a recipe a few times and it becomes habit. Make it enough and it becomes home.

In his much-anticipated new book,  Yotam Ottolenghi  brings his inspiring, flavourforward approach to comfort cooking, delivering new classics that taste of home.

A bowl of pasta becomes Caramelised Onion Orecchiette with Hazelnuts & Crispy Sage, a warming soup is Cheesy Bread Soup with Savoy Cabbage & Cavolo Nero, and a plate of mash is transformed into Garlicky Aligot Potato with Leeks & Thyme. Weaving memories of childhood and travel with over 100 irresistible recipes,  Ottolenghi COMFORT  is a celebration of food and home – of the connections we make as we cook, and pass on from generation to generation. This is comfort food, Ottolenghi style.

Today’s recipe book review from Lavender and Lime ♥ Ottolenghi Comfort ♥ #LavenderAndLime Share on X

Chapters are divided into:

• Eggs, crêpes, pancakes
• Soups, dips, spreads
• Fritters and other fried things
• Comfort veg
• Roast chicken and other traybakes
• Dals, stews, curries
• Noodles, rice, tofu
• Pasta, polenta, potatoes
• Pies, pastry, bread
• Sweet things

Recipes that caught my eye:

• • Dutch baby with oven-roasted tomatoes (p22)
  • Leek, tomato and turmeric frittata (p29)
  • Steamed eggs with shrimps and chives (p34)
  • Cheesy curry crêpes (p42)
  • ‘Thousand’ hole pancakes (p49)
  • Roasted aubergine, red pepper and tomato soup (p53)
  • Pea and ham soup (p55)
  • Matza ball soup (p58)
  • Hummus by way of southern France (p63)
  • Salmon fishcakes with chermoula remoulade (p80)
  • Meatballs with nuoc cham, cucumber and mint (p83)
  • Creamy aubergine Caesar dip (p87)
  • All-purpose mushroom ragù (p98)
  • Slow-roasted celeriac with Gorgonzola cream (p105)
  • Charred sprouts with olive oil and lemon (p110)
  • Roasted beets with tarragon and walnut tarator (p115)
  • Sambal spiced chicken (p125)
  • Summer chicken cacciatore with herb salsa (p132)
  • Oyakodon: mother and child (p158)
  • Cumin and coriander flatbreads (p165)
  • Chicken and lime leaf curry with noodles (p174)
  • Chicken meatballs, potatoes and lemon (p176)
  • Braised lamb with butter beans and yoghurt (p179)
  • Nasi goreng with prawns and green beans (p187)
  • Quick ramen noodles with mushrooms (p188)
  • Gingery fish and rice (p191)
  • Linguine with miso butter, shiitake and spinach (p205)
  • Rigatoni al ragù bianco (p206)
  • Stroganoff meatballs (p210)
  • Courgette and fennel lasagne (p214)
  • Tomato and aubergine one-pot baked pasta (p218)
  • Baked polenta with courgette and green harissa (p223)
  • Verena’s potato salad (p224)
  • Garlicky aligot potatoes with leeks and thyme (p231)
  • German-style sausage rolls with honey mustard (p246)
  • Leek, cheese and za’atar rugelach (p254)
  • Bohemian fish pie (p260)
  • Dutch apple cake (p290)
  • Malty figgy pudding (p305)

What I made:

The first dish I made from this huge selection was the baked pasta. It was seriously good, and comforting. A real winner in my opinion. I had planned on making the Dutch apple cake when Mark and Eva stayed with us. With Eva being Dutch I thought she could tell me how authentic this was. However, they did not stay with us and so I made it for a dinner party with friends instead. The cake got lots of thumbs up so at least I know it was tasty. The chicken cacciatore was not on my original list, but on paging through the book a second time, I picked this out to make and I am so glad I did.

My impressions:

As you can see, there are a lot of recipes from this book I want to try. And I can see myself coming back to it time and again. The four questions posed in this book will be my guiding light: who we eat with, why we eat, what we eat, how we eat.

Cook from Ottolenghi Comfort

Publishing information:

Penguin Random House South Africa sent me this recipe book to review.

See the links below for blog posts I published on September 30:

• • 2022: Aloo Gobi
  • 2020: Tapas
  • 2019: Smokey Fiery Harissa
  • 2015: Nida Deguitene Interview
  • 2013: Cassoulet
  • 2012: Angeliqueca Roux Interview
  • 2011: ClemenGold And Cranberry Cake
  • 2010: Chilli Oil

Today is our last day in Europe. We are in Paris and fly home tonight. You can follow our trip by taking a look at our holiday blog. I will be back at work on the 3rd of October and will start catching up with reading blog posts and replying to comments when I am sitting at my desk.

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