Yotam Ottolenghi Quotes
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Buckwheat, like Marmite and durian, is a seriously divisive foodstuff, so it needs a seriously capable defence team if it's ever going to make it on to most people's dinner tables.
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It's hard to beat the rough texture of steel-cut oats, with their slight resistance against the teeth.
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Most of my recipes start life in the domestic kitchen, and even those that start out in the restaurant kitchen have to go through the domestic kitchen.
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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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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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A great ratatouille is one in which the vegetables interact with each other but are still discernible from each other. The trick is to cook them just right: not over, not under.
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Celery leaves are an underused ingredient, most likely because supermarkets sell mostly leafless stalks.
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Every era has its own list of ingredients that are considered exotic and then, 15 years later, they're not.
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Fish cakes are perceived as being quite British, and they're always a bit brown and a little dull.
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When I was a kid, there was always food to be had on the street in Jerusalem, but anything above a falafel stand was mediocre or worse.
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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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New-season lamb shoulder, cooked pink, is the perfect platform for a mixture of fresh and cooked herbs.
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The main distinction for fresh chillies is whether they are red or green, the difference being one of ripeness.
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How can something that's 95% water be so divisive? Alone among vegetables, the poor, innocent stick of celery elicits the most vicious attacks.
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Chana dal are skinless dried split chickpeas used in Indian cooking. They have a great texture and delicate flavour.
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After all these years of cooking and writing recipes, I am still amazed every time I notice how even the minutest of variation in technique can make a spectacular difference.
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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.
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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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Food can bring people together in a way nothing else could.
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Tahini is fantastically versatile, its deep, nutty flavour a harmonious match with roasted vegetables, grilled oily fish or barbecued meat.
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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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Kirmizi biber has a sweet aroma and can vary in spiciness.
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Plums are a good substitute for gooseberries.
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I have a terrible tendency to lick my fingers when I cook. So much so that I got a telling off from my pastry teacher years ago, who said it would hinder my prospects.