9 Ottolenghi recipes to make you fall in love with aubergine (2024)

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9 Ottolenghi recipes to make you fall in love with aubergine? ›

Preheat the oven to 240°C/220°C fan/Gas Mark 9. Place the aubergine slices on a roasting tray, brush with plenty of olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-35 minutes, until the slices take on a beautiful light brown colour. Let them cool down.

Preheat the oven to 240°C/220°C fan/Gas Mark 9. Place the aubergine slices on a roasting tray, brush with plenty of olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-35 minutes, until the slices take on a beautiful light brown colour. Let them cool down.

Place the aubergine slices in a sturdy ovenproof pan. Brush lightly with oil, then sprinkle over ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and a little sea salt and black pepper. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until softened and charred, adding the spring onions, garlic and cherry tomatoes halfway through.

From this, Ottolenghi has developed a style of food which is rooted in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean traditions, but which also draws in diverse influences and ingredients from around the world.

Salting versus brining

It will, however, help the spongy flesh absorb less oil and crisp up like a dream. To salt, just slice the eggplant into rounds, scatter 1 teaspoon of salt on top, leave for 30 minutes, then pat dry. Brining (soaking in salted water) will do the same job but also make the flesh super creamy.

Soak eggplant slices or cubes in milk for about 30 minutes before cooking. The milk not only tempers the bitterness, but it actually makes for eggplant that is extra creamy, since the vegetable acts like a sponge and soaks up a good amount of milk in its flesh.

What do eggplants go with? Flavourings: garlic, chilli, onion, basil, mint, cumin, parsley, coriander, oregano. Ingredients: haloumi, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, anchovies, olives, tomatoes, eggs, beef, lamb, tahini, yoghurt, lemon juice, olives and olive oil.

What is the best way to cook aubergines? You can grill, fry, griddle, barbecue and bake aubergines as well as adding them to curries and casseroles. Famous dishes include ratatouille, caponata, moussaka, parmigiana, miso aubergine and imam bayildi.

You might know them as eggplants or you might know them as aubergines, but they are exactly the same plant. The English prefer the latter name, while in North America we use the former.

The deli quickly gained a cult following due to its inventive dishes, characterised by the foregrounding of vegetables, unorthodox flavour combinations, and the abundance of Middle Eastern ingredients such as rose water, za'atar, and pomegranate molasses.

Why is Ottolenghi so successful? ›

The real key to Ottolenghi's success lies back in 2002, when he opened the first Ottolenghi deli, in Notting Hill. "It was so not-London, in terms of being minimalist and white and open, with all the food on display," he recalls. "Many people said it felt like an Australian cafe."

Chef Yotam Ottolenghi Has No Plans to Expand to America Anytime Soon - Eater.

In the past, recipes called for aubergines to be sliced and salted before cooking to reduce their bitterness. As modern varieties are much less bitter, that is no longer necessary, unless you're planning to fry them – aubergines soak up oil like a sponge and salting helps reduce that.

If it's an extra-large eggplant, the vegetable could be older and the skin tougher, therefore, it's a smart idea to peel it. But small, young eggplant have thin, tender skins that add great texture to the vegetable when cooked.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with oil, and place in a single layer on two or more baking sheets. Bake until undersides are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes, then turn and bake until other sides are lightly browned.