Yotam Ottolenghi Quotes
-
Many people struggle to make hummus that lives up to their expectations at home, and recreating a favourite brand or the stuff from your local deli is almost impossible.
-
The combination of lentils with rice or bulgur is the absolute height of Levantine comfort food. I could eat it every day.
-
Chefs don't use white pepper just to avoid spoiling the whiteness of pommes puree or bechamel. It has a more peppery aroma, with sharpness and sweetness, too.
-
Turkish cuisine is, to my mind, one of the most exciting and accomplished in the world.
-
Taleggio is the perfect cheese to melt over a warm dish.
-
Fusion food as a concept is kind of trying to quite consciously fuse things that are sometimes quite contradictory, sometimes quite far apart, to see if they'd work.
-
Barley and mushroom is a soothing combination. It's mainly a textural thing, with the barley both gently breaking and enhancing the mushroomy gloopiness.
-
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.
-
These days, meals are more open to personal preferences. People like to serve themselves.
-
Most British cheeses are now vegetarian and are labelled accordingly. However, French and Italian manufacturers still tend to use rennet.
-
Buttermilk's palate-cleansing tartness is one reason it's used a lot in southern India, where meals often end with a small bowl of the stuff served with plain rice and pickles.
-
The range of ingredients available to home cooks has expanded dramatically. People are incorporating herbs and spices like lemongrass, smoked Mexican chile, sumac, and za'atar mix.
-
Long-, medium- and short-grain rices differ in the amount and type of starch they have.
-
If you can't taste an ingredient, you have to ask yourself why it is there.
-
Recipes can be incredibly vague where chillies are concerned.
-
Pizza was made for television in so many ways: it is easy to heat up, easy to divide and easy to eat in a group. It is easy to enjoy, easy to digest and easy-going. It is so Italian!
-
Vegetarian and frugal it may be, but the chickpea is one of the most versatile ingredients you could keep in your cupboards.
-
Swiss chard is undervalued in Britain. It's a great substitute for spinach and keeps its shape well.
-
Some heat, some spice and plenty of citrus are the building blocks of many North African fish dishes.
-
Mackerel is sustainable and healthy.
-
Kirmizi biber has a sweet aroma and can vary in spiciness.
-
I am sure that in the story of Adam and Eve, the forbidden fruit was a fig and not an apple, pear or anything else.
-
Tahini is fantastically versatile, its deep, nutty flavour a harmonious match with roasted vegetables, grilled oily fish or barbecued meat.
-
Verjuice may not be the easiest thing in the world to find, but you should be able to track some down in good delis and online.