Yotam Ottolenghi Quotes
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Plums are a good substitute for gooseberries.
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Having grown up in the Middle East, eating beans for breakfast always seemed like a bizarre British eccentricity.
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Food was always important in my family, but I didn't think of it as a vocation until a later point in life.
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Some days, just occasionally, when I've had just one too many chickpeas, drizzles of olive oil or chunks of feta, I crave a return to the sushi-filled joints of Tokyo.
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Take your average couscous salad, and it's almost always a sloppy mush, no matter how much attention has gone into getting flavours in there.
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If the first bite is with the eye and the second with the nose, some people will never take that third, actual bite if the food in question smells too fishy, fermented or cheesy.
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Seasonality in winter doesn't have to mean sleep-inducing, stew-like, starchy casseroles.
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Way back when I was a junior pastry chef, I'd bake loads of muffins every morning, as many as 120 or so, while operating on autopilot.
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It's well worth making your own harissa, but there are some very good commercial varieties.
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For me, the end of childhood came when the number of candles on my birthday cake no longer reflected my age, around 19 or 20. From then on, each candle came to represent an entire decade.
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Barberries, or zereshk, are tiny dried red fruit with a tremendously sharp flavour. They come from Iran, where they're used to add freshness to rice and chicken dishes.
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Sweet potatoes are ideal for lazy days: just bake, then mash and mix with yogurt, butter or olive oil.
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On many occasions, an informal buffet and casual seating offer a little more intimacy than a loud gathering around a big table.
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I like to add something unusual to a dish.
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Beetroot is a great salad ingredient, especially when still warm; the colour ain't bad, either.
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The moment to tell my barber I was gay just never came up.
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What makes maftoul worth celebrating is that it's so easy and forgiving to cook.
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Custard is controversial: what makes it a custard, how best to cook it and, crucially, is it to be eaten or put in a pie and thrown?
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Stereotypical vegetarian food looks gray and brown.
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Sea spaghetti looks like dark fettuccine and has a similar texture - you can get it in health food stores or online.
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I love my garlic press; in fact, it is probably my one true desert island gadget. But I'm happy to put it aside whenever the smell and sweet taste of slow-cooked garlic is called for.
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Salbitxada is a sharp and lightly sweet Catalan sauce that's traditionally served with calcots - spring or salad onions, grilled whole, make a good substitute.
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A great fig should look like it's just about to burst its skin. When squeezed lightly it should give a little and not spring back. It must be almost unctuously sweet, soft and wet.
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The only way reliably to gauge the heat of any particular chilli is to cut it in half, so exposing the core and membranes, and to dab the cut surface on your tongue.