Flavour-forward, vegetable-based recipes are at the heart of Yotam Ottolenghi’s food.
Yotam’s exciting new cookbook, Ottolenghi Flavour (Penguin Random House), compiled with with co-writer Ixta Belfrage breaks down the key factors essential for delightful vegetable dishes. Processexplains cooking methods that elevate veg to great heights;Pairingidentifies four basic pairings that are fundamental to great flavour; andProduceoffers impactful vegetables that do the work for you.
This flavoursome and exoticStuffed Aubergine in Curry & Coconut Dhal is a delicious example of a book full of wonderful vegetables dishes from the master chef.
Ingredients
3 large aubergines,stalks removed,each aubergine cutlengthways into 6 x1/2cm-thick slices (750g)
3 tbsp olive oil
220g paneer (orextra-firm tofu),roughly grated
2 limes: finely grate thezest to get 1 tsp, thenjuice to get 2 tbsp
45g hot mango pickle,roughly chopped, plusextra to serve
5g coriander, roughlychopped, plus extra toserve
100g large (not baby)
spinach leaves, stemsremoved (60g)
salt and black pepper
Coconut Dhal
3 tbsp olive oil
5 banana shallots,peeled and finelychopped (250g)
45g fresh ginger, peeledand finely chopped
2 red chillies, finelychopped
30 fresh curry leaves(if you can’t get any, youcan also do without)
1 tsp black mustardseeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp medium currypowder
2 tsp tomato paste
100g dried red lentils
1 x 400ml tin of coconutmilk (at least 70%coconut extract)
Method
Only two ingredients – lemon and milk – are what it takes to make paneer athome. It’s an experiment worth trying (it certainly feels like conducting achemistry experiment), both for a sense of achievement and for unrivalledfreshness. Yotam has published a recipe in the Guardian, but many others arealso available online. If you buy your paneer – which makes the most satisfyingfilling for the grilled aubergines here, as it soaks up the coconut sauce – tryto find a soft variety, which has a texture like compressed ricotta. Othervarieties, which are harder and slightly rubbery, are more suitable for makingvegetarian tikka kebabs, but they will also do if that’s what you’ve got. For avegan option, use extra-firm tofu. Try to get a good-quality, chunky Indianmango pickle for this.
Both the aubergine slices and the lentil sauce can be prepared the daybefore, if you want to get ahead. In fact, you can make the whole dish a dayahead, up until before it goes into the oven, chill in the fridge and then justbring to room temperature before warming up.
The coconut dhal is a great recipe in its own right. Double it, if you like, and servewith our curry-crusted swede steaks (see p. 63), and some rice.
1. Heat the oven to 220c fan.
2. In a large bowl, toss the aubergines together with the oil, 3/4 teaspoon ofsalt and a good grind of black pepper. Spread out on two parchment-linedbaking trays and bake for 25 minutes, flipping halfway, until softened andlightly browned. Set aside to cool.
3. For the coconut dhal, put 2 tablespoons of the oil into a large saute panon a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the shallots and fry for 8 minutes,until golden. Add the ginger, half the chilli and half the curry leaves (ifusing), cook for 2 minutes, then add the spices, tomato paste and lentils.Stir for a minute, then add the coconut milk, 600ml of water and 3/4teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium andleave to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once in a while, until the lentils aresoft and the sauce is thick. Pour into a medium baking dish, around 28cmx 18cm, if making the aubergine rolls, and set aside.
4. In a small bowl, toss together the paneer, lime zest, mango pickle,1 tablespoon of lime juice, the coriander and ⅛ teaspoon of salt.
5. Place one spinach leaf on top of each slice of aubergine. Put a heapedteaspoon of the paneer mixture in the middle, then roll up the aubergine,from the thinner end at the top down to the thicker bottom end, so the fillingis encased. Put the aubergine roll seam side down in the lentil sauce, andrepeat with the remaining aubergine slices, spinach and paneer. You shouldend up with about 18 rolls, all sitting snugly in the sauce. Press the rollsgently into the sauce, but not so far that they are submerged, and bake for15–20 minutes, until the aubergine is golden-brown on top and the sauce isbubbling. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
6. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a small pan on a medium-highheat. Add the remaining chilli and curry leaves and fry for a minute, untilthe curry leaves are crisp and fragrant. Spoon over the aubergine rolls,drizzle over the lime juice and serve with the coriander sprinkled on top.
Serves 4
Extracted from Ottolenghi FLAVOUR by Yotam Ottolenghi & Ixta Belfrage (Ebury Press, RRP $55). Available now from bookstores and online retailers.
Photography: Jonathan Lovekin
