Yotam Ottolenghi Yotam Assaf Ottolenghiis an Israeli-born British chef, recipe writer and restaurant owner... (wikipedia)
What makes maftoul worth celebrating is that it's so easy and forgiving to cook.
Fresh egg pasta is traditionally served in the north of Italy with butter, cream and rich meat sauces, whereas dried pasta is more at home with the tomato- and olive oil-based ones of the south.
Dad likes my food, but he probably thinks it's too busy. He is a wonderful cook but only uses three ingredients. My mum rips out my articles and makes my recipes.
One of the troubles with food is that people take themselves too seriously. This is why I'm very happy for people to change my recipes, alter them, replace one ingredient for another.
Leeks are normally given the job of flavouring other things, such as stocks and soups, but I find their creaminess and sweet, oniony flavour very satisfying.
My father always cooks more polenta than he needs for a meal. The excess he spreads on an oiled surface and chills. Next day, he cuts out chunks, fries them in olive oil and serves with salad.
Nearly all edible seaweeds - or 'sea vegetables,' as they ought technically to be called - belong to one of three broad groups: green, red and brown algae.
Pot barley takes longer to cook than pearl, but an overnight soak in water will speed things along. It's a robust grain that, if overcooked, won't collapse but will become more tender.
I used to have a very unmediated experience of food but, because of the recipe testing, I've lost that now. I can't switch it off even when I'm on holiday.
Like all rice, black rice is great at absorbing flavours, but it's just as happy to act as a satiny bed for a poached egg, say, if you want to keep things simple.
Like brown rice, black rice is unmilled, and it is the dark outer husk that makes it so nutty and chewy. It's also why it takes longer to cook than many other rices.
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.
Normally, when congee is served, the different condiments and garnishes are placed in little bowls on the side so diners can make their own personal creations.
On some subconscious level, I've been prejudiced against turnips, parsnips, swedes and other roots. Do they taste of much? Are they really special? How wrong I was.
Poaching white fish in moderately hot oil guarantees soft-textured flesh and allows you to prepare a sauce calmly, without the usual panic about overcooking the fish.
Polenta is one of those ingredients that in many homes spends its days at the back of the kitchen cupboard, on the 'no one knows quite what to do with it' shelf.
Salbitxada is a sharp and lightly sweet Catalan sauce that's traditionally served with calcots - spring or salad onions, grilled whole, make a good substitute.
The difference between brown and white rice is that the former is not milled. With the outer bran and germ intact, the rice is therefore chewier and nuttier.
When I cook a meal, I like to serve things one by one and keep them separate. I get that from my father - he's such a purist. Some people even put their desserts on the main plate. It's just wrong.
There are tons of wonderful places to eat in London.
Leeks, like other oniony things, reach a certain peak when fried. It's the subtle sweetness that suddenly becomes evident and works so well with their creamy texture.
Many ingredients are called 'earthy,' but none comes as close to fitting the bill as buckwheat. I'm mildly obsessed with the stuff.
Seasonality in winter doesn't have to mean sleep-inducing, stew-like, starchy casseroles.
Shimeji are those odd-looking clusters of small mushrooms you often find in so-called 'exotic' selections at the supermarket. They have an appealing firmness that is retained during light cooking.
Miso makes a soup loaded with flavour that saves you the hassle of making stock.
My all-time favourite classic use of ricotta is in gnudi: fluffy, cheesy dumplings of almost ethereal, feathery lightness.
My dad makes food with very few delicate flavours.
Popping broad beans out of their skins can be therapeutic, but it isn't everybody's favourite waste of time.
My secret with kale is to add lots of sweet or sharp flavours to offset some of that grassy intensity.
I have had to come to terms with the fact that I am hooked on Twitter. Not good.
Celery leaves are an underused ingredient, most likely because supermarkets sell mostly leafless stalks.
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.
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.
Barley and mushroom is a soothing combination. It's mainly a textural thing, with the barley both gently breaking and enhancing the mushroomy gloopiness.
I have been cooking with preserved lemon for years, using it left, right and centre, but I am still far from reaching my limit.
I have an intense dislike of doctrines, because you will always end up eating your words.
I enjoy meat, but I can do without it.
If the British Isles had an official vegetable, it would have to be the potato.
I always pan-fry sprouts - it retains texture and enhances flavour.
Hardly any of my most memorable meals have been eaten in a restaurant, and definitely none in one of those fancy marble-floored, polished-silver establishments.
Going out for a meal, especially for young urbanites, is less about socialising over enjoyable food than about enjoying food as a way to socialise.
I adore recipes that make use of one cut of meat or a whole animal to create a complex dish, loaded with flavour.
Greek yogurt with some olive oil stirred in can transform many dishes.
Kibbeh comes in all forms, but most feature bulgur and meat.
Kirmizi biber has a sweet aroma and can vary in spiciness.
Jerusalem artichokes have a great affinity with nuts. I love them with chopped walnuts or almonds, lemon juice, garlic, herbs and plenty of olive oil.
Panko are the elite of the breadcrumb world because they stay so crunchy and light.
Recipes can be incredibly vague where chillies are concerned.
Steaming maintains some of the aubergine flesh's texture, which doesn't happen if you cook it in any other way.
Long-, medium- and short-grain rices differ in the amount and type of starch they have.
Marinating chicken in miso adds lots of character to the meat with little work.
Most men say they can cook pasta, but I think you should find a little bit of an unusual angle on your pasta and make that your signature dish.
Most British cheeses are now vegetarian and are labelled accordingly. However, French and Italian manufacturers still tend to use rennet.
Middle Eastern cuisine has the same depth of ingredients and processes as other cuisines. They just haven't had as much exposure.
When it comes to the battle of the molluscs, cephalopods win tentacles down.
When it comes to cooking pasta, the first essential is to make sure you have a big enough pot: it needs room to roll in the water while cooking.
Yoghurt cuts sweetness and richness, tempers spice, and makes a dish sing.
There are many reasons I feel at home in the U.K., but if I were asked to pinpoint the moment I knew I'd arrived, it might well be when I realised the British shared my love of fritters.
Though not a true cereal but a fruit, buckwheat seeds resemble cereal grains and are often used in a similar way to rice, barley, bulgar or quinoa, usually as a side dish.
TV chefs are not responsible for people's consumption of fibre; this is not our job.
Too many books are full of recipes that aren't doable at home. They are purely aspirational. They are quite frightening, even for me.
Even in the busiest kitchen, there's always a point at the end of the day when you go home.
Every era has its own list of ingredients that are considered exotic and then, 15 years later, they're not.
Dinner parties are still highly popular, and I believe they always will be.
Dried porcini add a substantial, deep flavour to otherwise more neutral vegetables. I use them in risottos, mashed roots and winter soups.
Fish cakes are perceived as being quite British, and they're always a bit brown and a little dull.
These days, meals are more open to personal preferences. People like to serve themselves.
The teaching thing, the one where I have to impart my knowledge, is probably what comes the least naturally to me because I'm an absorber of things.
I've been accused of having very long ingredient lists, and I guess there's some truth in that.
Sorrel adds a unique grassy sharpness to salads and dressings, but it can be hard to come by.
Tel Aviv is the most exciting place to eat in Israel.
Preparing and cooking squid is easier than most fish. The only thing to remember is not to cook it for too long.
Scamorza, an Italian curd cheese often labelled 'smoked mozzarella,' melts fantastically well.
Raw fish suppers admittedly require a little planning, not least in the acquisition of the main ingredient.
People don't know how good cauliflower is, because they always have this image of cauliflower cheese - awful, sticky, creamy and rich.
Agave nectar is a good substitute for refined sugars. It has a relatively low glycaemic index, which means it doesn't cause quick rises in blood sugar levels. It also has a nice, mild flavour.
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.
Stuffed vine leaves tend to burn and/or stick when you cook them. To avoid this, use a heavy based pan lined with a few layers of second-rate leaves.
Speaking as someone who didn't go through the U.K. school system, with all the culinary baggage that entails, I am inordinately fond of custard in any shape or form.
Souffles don't deserve their reputation as potential disasters.
A quick shallow fry is a great way to transform leftovers, and no more so than in the case of risotto.
As for pineapple, it's far more versatile than you might think, and certainly merits wider use than in Hawaiian pizzas and pina coladas and on cheesy cocktail sticks.
Barberries, or zereshk, are tiny dried red fruit with a tremendously sharp flavour. They come from Iran, where they're used to add freshness to rice and chicken dishes.
The unlikely combination of potatoes and pasta does appear in some Italian recipes.
Amaranth, the world's most nutritious grain, is available from health food stores.
As with lemon juice, the more sorrel you use, the more it has to be balanced with something sweet, starchy or creamy - it's a yin-yang approach to cooking that I find rather calming.
Forget mung beans' reputation as healthy yet bland - used right, they soak up loads of flavour.
Food can bring people together in a way nothing else could.
Food was always important in my family, but I didn't think of it as a vocation until a later point in life.
Eating ready-made meals is about being very passive, and actively cooking is something that nothing compares to.
The addition of vinaigrette to freshly roasted vegetables gives them a freshness and juiciness they don't normally have; the acidity brings out new shades of flavour, too.
Tahini is fantastically versatile, its deep, nutty flavour a harmonious match with roasted vegetables, grilled oily fish or barbecued meat.
Tagliatelle comes from the word tagliare, meaning 'to cut.' Tagliolini are simply thinly cut tagliatelle.
Take your average couscous salad, and it's almost always a sloppy mush, no matter how much attention has gone into getting flavours in there.
Sweet potatoes are ideal for lazy days: just bake, then mash and mix with yogurt, butter or olive oil.
Taleggio is the perfect cheese to melt over a warm dish.
It's well worth making your own harissa, but there are some very good commercial varieties.
There used to be a time - it isn't so much the case now - that vegetarianism was some kind of religion, and either you belong or you don't belong.
Apart from its famous healing properties, manuka has a strong, woody flavour.
I love the way soft white cheese such as ricotta or the creamier mascarpone reflect the milieu in which an animal has been raised.