Notes from this book
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Spice mellowed out by the richness of the tahini, and the sweetness of the sichuan peppercorns.
Handmade and hand-pulled noodles are a delight, though a smidge arduous to make, and require a level of coordination I just don't have. Each noodle boils for 1 minute, and somewhow in the process you're supposed to prep the next noodle - rinse repeat.
This recipe could be made into a super easy weeknight dinner by using ramen noodles/spaghetti, ready-made chilli crisp (I used homemade from a previous recipe), and just bung it all together. Whack in some mushrooms and you've got some veg in there too!
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A spiced, warming porridge contrasting with the crunch of nuts and the tang of the lemon.
With no peanuts available, I just used any nuts I had on hand, sprinkled with salt, and tried not to eat them alone.
This recipe is RAPID - cook to table in sub 20-mins if you're prepared.
My only gripe - dividing this into 4 would yield 4 small-ish portions - double everything and then we're talking.
One to make again and experiment with - I imagine this would make a nice breakfast dish too.
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A delicate savoury porridge with limitless possibility. Instead of the spring-onions I opted for charred edamame and sweetcorn, bolstering the oats.
The soy butter reduction is to die for, and these oats would be nothing without it (they are at the end of the day just cooked oats). Maybe next time I'd do the reduction with Maggi seasoning sauce.
The substitutes for this are endless. A pre-prepared jar of crispy shallots and fried garlic would make this recipe a 5 minute quick-meal.
I more than likely burnt the garlic and ginger - they need low and slow love and attention, which I didn't provide. Saying that, I don't think they're what make this dish stand out.
At the end of the day, this is a quick congee-esque recipe that can be riffed on to oblivion - it was always bound to succeed.
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Smoke through the roof. In all of Ottolenghi's recipes that involve hacking up a lung to smoke some aubergines, I cheat and use jarred smoked aubergines. It saves heaps on time, effort and the end result is near enough the same.
The recipe is relatively straightforward, it just takes time because of all the moving parts happened separately; though, it could theoretically be done all in the half hour it takes to roast the aubergines. The tomato sauce can be made well ahead of time, and frozen even!
I think this could be bulked with some mince-meat or so - make a smoky aubergine bolognese. The tahini could be swapped out for yoghurt, to make a leaner, more protein rich meal.
Like a broken record, this is another one to make again in the future. Very prep-able, easy to make in a flash and likely freezer friendly.
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I'm not sure if I can strictly count this. I made the tomato sauce as described, added tahini, used the jarred burnt aubergine and then went off script.
I didn't make the pine nut dressing. I threw in vegemince, sweet corn and green peas, which bulked it out significantly. I also ate it with pasta.
The strength of this dish comes from the flexibility and extensibility it provides. It would be perfectly adequate on it's own as a dippy meal, but just so easily makes a great twist to a spag-bol-esque dish.
Relatively healthy and being bulkable makes this dish a win in my eyes, and one I can prep easily.
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I liked this overall, though found it a bit dense and stodgy at times. Cut into a thin slice and enjoyed for breakfast, it was grand. Cut into thicker slices and then you start chomping for a while.
If I made this again in the future I would probably skip the figs and use something a bit less seedy - maybe dried peaches, maybe even dates. I'd grind the spices much finer too.
I will make this again for the simple fact that it can be extended and riffed on, and proves to be a decent base to work off.
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Substitutions - Pandesal instead of sourdough; ghee instead of butter on the toast; English mustard instead of dijon.
This was insanely good - so warming and delicately spiced. The cheesy bread rounded it off so nicely to make it a full meal.
I made a pandesal loaf, which scooped up this soup so well.
The recipe has a long cooking time, but most of it is hands-off and everything can be made whilst the onions are melting down into nothing.
Would definitely be making again.