More Ottolenghi

Chargrilled broccoli with chilli and garlic.

The Ottolenghi book is rapidly becoming my favourite cookbook, gorgeous recipes, gorgeous photos. I am not going to lie, it was a review of this recipe that prompted me to buy the book, I finally got round to cooking this divine recipe as a quick lunch dish for myself. Chargrilled broccoli with chilli and garlic, a few very basic every day ingredients make such a lively, colourful and absolutely delicious dish. I love broccoli anyway but I never thought it could taste this good.

Try it with lemons slices, they really make the dish.

I scaled down the recipe for myself, the original is:

2 heads of broccoli

115ml olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 mild red chillies, thinly sliced

coarse sea salt and black pepper

thin slices of lemon (with skin) to garnish.

Prepare the broccoli by separating it into florets. Fill a large saucepan with plenty of water and bring it to the boil. Throw in the broccoli and blanch for 2 minutes only. Don't be tempted to cook it any longer! Using a large slotted spoon, quickly transfer the broccoli to a bowl full of ice cold water. Drain in a colander and allow to dry completely.

In a mixing bowl, toss the broccoli with 45ml of the olive oil and a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Place a ridged griddle pan over a high heat and leave it there for at least 5 minutes, until it is extremely hot. Depending on the size of your pan, griddle the broccoli in batches. Turn them over so they get char marks all over.

While grilling the broccoli, place the rest of the oil in a small saucepan with the garlic and chillies. Cook them over a medium heat until the garlic just begins to turn golden brown. Be careful not to let the garlic and chilli burn - remember, they will keep on cooking even when off the heat.

Pour the oil, garlic and chilli over the hot broccoli and toss together well. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Serve warm or at room temperature. You can garnish the broccoli with lemon just before serving.

Try it...and buy the book, you'll love it!

Ottolenghi

Turkey and sweetcorn meatballs with roasted pepper sauce.

The Ottolenghi cookbook has been on my Amazon wish list for a while, I finally succumbed and it was well worth it. The cake section of this book had my daughter drooling, she has a list of teacakes I must bake soon.

This recipe caught my eye, and as I had everything to hand, decided to give it a go.

Turkey and sweetcorn meatballs with roasted pepper sauce

serves 4

100g sweetcorn kernels (fresh or frozen)

3 slices of stale white bread, crusts removed

500g minced organic turkey breast

1 free range egg

4 spring onions, finely chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

2 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp black pepper

1 garlic clove, crushed

sunflower oil for frying

Roasted pepper sauce

4 red peppers

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

25g coriander, leaves and stalks

1 garlic clove, peeled

1 small mild chilli, de-seeded

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

tbsp cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 200c/ gas mark 6. To prepare the peppers for the sauce, quarter them with a sharp knife and shave off the white parts and the seeds. Put them in a roasting tray and toss with 2 tbsp of the olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, then roast in the oven for 35 minutes or until soft. Transfer the peppers to a bowl and cover with cling film. Once they have cooled down a little, you can peel them, although it isn't necessary for this sauce. In any case, place them in a blender or food processor with their roasting juices and add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Process until smooth, then taste and adjust the salt if necessary. Set aside.

2. For the meatballs, place a heavy, non-stick frying pan over a high heat and throw in the corn kernels. Toss them in the hot pan for 2-3 minutes until lightly blackened. Remove and leave to cool.

3. Soak the bread in cold water for a minute, then squeeze well and crumble into a large bowl. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the sunflower oil and mix well with your hands.

4. Pour a 5mm depth of sunflower oil into your heavy frying pan. Allow it to heat up well and then fry about a teaspoonful of the mince mix in it. Remove, let cool a little and then taste. Adjust the amount of salt and pepper in the uncooked mixture to your liking.

5. With wet hands, shape the mince mix into balls, about the size of golf balls. Cook them in small batches in the hot oil, turning them around in the pan until they are golden brown allover. Transfer to an oven tray, place in the oven at 200c and cook for about 5 minutes. When you press one with your finger, the meat should bounce back. If unsure, break one open to check that it is cooked inside. Serve hot or warm, with the pepper sauce on the side.

Simple, tasty food, what more could you want. The roast pepper sauce was fantastic, bursting with colour and flavour, a great recipe.