Oren, page 7
100 g (3½ oz) Classic Tahini or shop-bought
To serve
150 g (5½ oz) toasted almonds flakes
7 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat, add the basmati rice and fry for 2 minutes. The ratio of rice to boiling water that is needed is 1:1.5. Therefore, once the rice is weighed, pour it into a mug to measure its volume, measure one and half parts of boiling water to the saucepan (about 225 ml/7½ fl oz) and a generous pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan tightly with a lid and cook for 14 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep the lid on for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and fluff the rice gently with a wooden spoon. Set aside to cool down.
Cook the wild rice in plenty of boiling water as if you’re cooking pasta for 25–35 minutes. The rice is cooked when it’s soft and it has split. Drain and set aside.
Place the lentils in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add the garlic clove and a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook for about 25 minutes until tender but still firm.
Heat 5 tablespoons of oil in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat, add the onions and cook for about 20 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated and the onions have turned golden brown and caramelised.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).
Mix the basmati rice, wild rice, lentils, onions, spices and almonds very gently with your hands in a bowl (you want to avoid the rice breaking). Transfer to a deep oven tray (pan), cover with aluminium foil and reheat in the oven for about 20 minutes.
Combine the Greek yoghurt and tahini in a bowl. Pile the mejadra on a plate and spoon some of the tahini-yoghurt mixture on the top. Scatter with the almonds and spring onions.
CHOLENT – SLOW-COOKED STEW OF GRAINS AND BEEF
This is a traditional Jewish Ashkenazi dish that I used to have as a kid. This is home-style cooking at its best. It’s traditional to serve on Shabbat: as it’s a day of rest, you’re not allowed to cook, but this stew can be prepared before the day of rest begins, then left to simmer over a low heat, ready to enjoy when you return from the synagogue. This isn’t how I think of it, though. To me, it’s simply a comforting, homely dish that my grandma on my father’s side used to make. She would cook it over a very low kerosene stove for 12 hours, filling the whole house with the aromas of the beans and meat cooking. This is one of those dishes with dozens of variations, and you’ll see it prepared differently in many different countries: there’s a Moroccan way, a European way, and so on. To me, it’s home. You will need at least 12 hours to cook the cholent, plus soaking the barley the night before.
Serves 4–6
8 medium potatoes, peeled (Desiree, ideally)
4 onions, peeled
2 garlic bulbs, halved widthways
150 g (5½ oz) dried butter (lima) beans, soaked overnight in plenty of water
150 g (5½ oz) dried kidney beans
2 kg (4 lb 8 oz) beef chuck, cut into 5–6 cm (2–2½ in) chunks
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) bone marrow
200 g (7 oz) beef short ribs
5 bay leaves
6 eggs
1 tablespoon sea salt
½ tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
150 g (5½ oz) whole dried barley, soaked overnight in plenty of water
House Pickles, to serve
Preheat the oven to 125°C (250°F/gas ¼).
Start by placing the whole potatoes in the bottom of a large casserole dish or ovenproof lidded pan. Follow with the whole onions and the garlic. For the next layer, put the butter beans on one half of the pan and the kidney beans in another half of the pan. The next layer is the meat: spread the beef chuck and the bone marrow out evenly over the beans and grains. Put the bay leaves and the eggs on top. Cover with enough water so it comes up 3 cm (1¼ in) above the last layer and add plenty of salt and black pepper. Place the pan on the hob and bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Bake for 6 hours.
Wrap the barley in a piece of muslin cloth but not tightly – you need to leave room for it to expand at least twice in volume – and place in the pan. Transfer back into the oven and bake for another 6 hours.
The cholent is ready when all the liquid has evaporated. Remove the muslin cloth percel and transfer everything to a large serving tray. Keep the eggs unpeeled for everyone to peel their own, and serve with pickles.
WARM FREEKEH SALAD WITH LABEN KISHK AND PINE NUTS
Freekeh is a roasted green wheat with a lovely smoky flavour. It’s really easy to pair with a whole range of other ingredients. You can even make risotto with freekeh instead of rice: it imparts a nutty, smoky taste. Here, I’ve used it in a bold, hearty salad with garlic, lemon, fresh herbs and laben kishk, a fermented dried yoghurt. In Israel, we call it ‘yoghurt stone’, and I think of it as almost like the Middle-Eastern equivalent of Parmesan: it gives a rich umami flavour, salty and pungent. It can be tricky to get hold of, so if you can’t get find it, you can use ricotta salata.
Serves 4
130 g (4½ oz) freekeh wheat, rinsed and drained
2 garlic cloves, slightly crushed
2 oregano sprigs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
25 ml (¾ oz) olive oil
juice of ½ lemon
30 g (1 oz) flat-leaf parsley, finely sliced with stems discarded
30 g (1 oz) chopped coriander (cilantro), finely sliced and stems discarded
2 large spring onions (scallions), finely sliced and stems discarded
50 g (1¾ oz) toasted pine nuts
20 g (¾ oz) laben kishk or aged ricotta salata
Put the freekeh, garlic and oregano in a stockpot and add some salt and pepper. Add enough water to sit 5 cm (2 in) above the freekeh, and cook over a medium heat for about 30 minutes until the freekeh is soft but not overcooked – it should still have a bit of bite. Drain the freekeh, removing the garlic and oregano, and transfer to a sauté pan. Warm the freekeh over a medium heat with some of the olive oil. Season again to taste with salt and pepper and sauté for 3–4 minutes. Remove from the heat, then remove and discard the crushed garlic cloves before adding the rest of the olive oil. Add the lemon juice, fresh herbs and toasted pine nuts. Grate plenty of laben kishk over the top.
Fish is one of my favourite foods. Back home in Tel Aviv, we eat more fish than meat, which is pretty typical of the Mediterranean diet. I’ve had extensive experience of cooking fish and seafood in different restaurants, and it’s such an interesting and varied ingredient. The recipes I’ve shared here are friendly and forgiving. Nobody is asking you to cook the perfect fillet; it’s all about working with great ingredients and simple methods. There are a lot of recipes here compared to the other chapters, but in all honesty, I could have added even more.
CURED SARDINES WITH OLIVE OIL AND LEMON ZEST
Cured fish is a big part of the menu at Oren, and I always enjoy experimenting by pairing it with different flavours. Sardines aren’t particularly easy to fillet, but the result is so rewarding; it really is worth it. You need to allow some time for this recipe, as the fish takes 24–48 hours to cure (depending on the size). The sardines are ready to go as soon as they’re in the oil, but they’ll keep for up to 3 weeks. They’re great on their own, with a little of the infused oil drizzled over them to serve, but I also like to incorporate them in a lot of meals at my restaurant. One of my favourites is to make a Caesar salad with cured sardines instead of anchovies.
Serves 4–6 as a starter (appetiser)
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) whole sardines (ungutted)
1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) coarse salt
200 ml (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup) olive oil
2 bay leaves
5 allspice berries
grated zest of 1 lemon
Place the sardines in a deep tray and cover completely with the salt. Leave the sardines to cure in the refrigerator for 24–48 hours, depending on their size. For sardines of about 50 g (1¾ oz), cure for 24 hours, and for 80 g (2¾ oz) plus, cure for 48 hours.
Remove the sardines from the salt and rinse with cold running water. Cut off all the heads. Using a paring knife, cut a split of about 1 cm (½ in) in the belly of each sardine and remove the insides while holding the sardine under cold running water. Put both your thumbs into the now-cleaned belly and push down until you feel the spine with your thumbs and separate it from the flesh – repeat with all the sardines. You will have butterflied the sardines. Both sides of each sardine will have two fillets, which are separated by a blood line. Remove all four fillets from each sardine and place in a container. Cover with the olive oil, add the bay leaves and allspice berries and cover. The sardines can be kept in the refrigerator for up 3 weeks, just make sure the fillets are submerged in the olive oil.
To serve, place the cured sardines on a plate with some of the olive oil and freshly grated lemon zest.
CRAB SALAD WITH AVOCADO, LAMB’S LETTUCE AND FRAGRANT HERBS
This is a great winter salad when avocado is in season in Europe. The avocado needs to be just right – not overripe, not underripe – so it really is best to buy them in season. Avocado pairs really well with seafood flavours. If you can’t get fresh crab meat, try this with lobster meat or prawns. The fresh herbs and leaves – chervil, mint, crunchy lamb’s lettuce – are vital here. It’s all about those vibrant, in-season flavours.
Serves 2
1 ripe avocado, halved, stoned, peeled and thinly sliced
sea salt
juice of ½ lemon
200 g (7 oz) picked white crab meat
80 g (2¾ oz) lamb’s lettuce or corn salad
4 tablespoons chervil leaves
4 tablespoons coriander (cilantro) leaves
2 tablespoons picked mint leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
Fan out the avocado slices on a plate. Season with sea salt and lemon juice. Place all the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, lemon juice, and some salt and pepper. To serve, place the salad on top of the avocado.
GRILLED OCTOPUS SALAD WITH JEREZ VINEGAR AND CHILLI
Octopus is a very forgiving ingredient to work with, and you can use frozen or fresh for this recipe. Just don’t overcook it – you want it to retain a little bite. Keep checking it as you cook; have a little taste and see if it’s ready. You can make this salad a few hours in advance and keep it in the refrigerator – it will become even more delicious as the flavours mingle. It’s almost like a cooked ceviche. It’s really important to use a good vinegar here. I like to use Jerez, which is a sherry vinegar, but a Champagne vinegar would work well too. Just don’t use malt! The fennel adds a nice aniseed flavour. Sometimes I like to add fennel to the stock too, but octopus are so full of flavour – that wonderful taste of the sea – that it’s not essential. The leftover stock is great for a seafood risotto.
Serves 4–6 as a starter (appetiser)
2 bay leaves
1 fennel bulb, quartered
5 allspice berries
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) fresh and cleaned or frozen octopus (thawed if frozen)
For the salad
150 g (5½ oz) sweet red Romano peppers, deseeded and cut into 3 x 0.5 cm (1¼ x ¼ in) strips
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 mild, red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced into rings
1 small red onion, finely sliced
50 g (1¾ oz) coriander (cilantro) leaves, picked and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons Jerez (sherry) vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the bay leaves, quartered fennel and allspice in a large stockpot, fill the pot with cold water and place the octopus in it. Put a weighted plate on top of the octopus to prevent it from floating to the top and cook over a medium heat for 1½ hours. How long it takes to cook depends on the size and thickness of the octopus. The best way of finding out if it’s fully cooked is by cutting off a small slice from one of the tentacles and tasting it. If it’s still chewy, it needs more time. Once ready, drain the octopus and set aside to cool down.
Cut the octopus tentacles into 1 cm (½ in) rings. Place all the salad ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and serve at room temperature.
BRAISED CUTTLEFISH WITH SLOW-ROAST TOMATOES AND CHICKPEAS
This hearty, wintery seafood dish is almost like a stew. The flavour of cuttlefish is similar to squid, and when cooked properly – low and slow – it becomes really tender and the taste is out there. Cleaning it can be a task, I admit, but your fishmonger can do that for you. Searing the cuttlefish first is important, as it gives you a lovely brown, burnished fish, while the chickpeas (garbanzos) add a Mediterranean touch.
Tip: Adding bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to the chickpeas helps to soften them, but only a little is needed.
Serves 4–6
For the fish stock (makes
2 litres/68 fl oz/8½ cups stock)
1 white onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 fennel bulb, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
5 allspice berries
1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) fish bones and heads
3 litres (102 fl oz/12¾ cups) cold water
For the chickpeas
250 g (9 oz) dried chickpeas
(garbanzos), soaked in plenty of water for 24 hours
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
For the cuttlefish
30 ml (1 fl oz) olive oil
1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) cuttlefish, cleaned and cut into 3–4 cm (1¼–1½ in) long and 1 cm (½ in) wide strips
8 garlic cloves, sliced
1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
30 g (1 oz) oregano leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon
To serve
3–4 quarters Slow-roasted Tomatoes per serving
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley per serving
generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
To make the fish stock, put all the vegetables, bay leaves and allspice in a stockpot with the fish bones and cover with the cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1½ hours, skimming the foam from the top regularly. Strain the stock. The stock can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To cook the chickpeas, drain and rinse them, then place in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add the bicarbonate of soda, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 hour. The chickpeas should be thoroughly cooked and tender but not mushy. Leave to cool in their cooking liquid while cooking the cuttlefish.
To cook the cuttlefish, heat the olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan (preferably cast-iron) over a medium heat then, when the oil gets smoky, add the cuttlefish strips and fry in batches for 5–6 minutes until nice and golden in colour. Add the sliced garlic and chilli. Add enough of the fish stock to cover the cuttlefish, then add the oregano, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of ground pepper to the pan, cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 2 hours or until the cuttlefish is tender. Add the chickpeas right at the end. They only need about 3 minutes to be reheated. Season with lemon juice to taste.
Serve topped with slow-roasted tomatoes, chopped parsley and olive oil.
HAKE ARAYES WITH LAMB FAT AND SPICED YOGHURT
This is an Arabic dish. ‘Arayes’ roughly translates as ‘bride’, with the implication being that the meat is ‘marrying’ the pita. In the classic dish, the pitas are stuffed with spiced minced (ground) lamb, then grilled with the meat inside, but here I’ve used hake. It’s quite a meaty fish, meaning it can stand up to this treatment well, but I have added a little lamb fat to impart some of the flavour and richness of the original. It is best to make this one over charcoal if you can, for that smoky street-food finish. I like to serve this as an informal starter (appetiser) – just dip the stuffed pitas into the spiced yoghurt and eat with your hands.
Serves 4–6
3 pitas
600 g (1 lb 5 oz) Hake kebab mix
50 g (1¾ oz) lamb fat (or duck fat)
For the spiced yoghurt
250 g (9 oz) thick goat or sheep’s yoghurt
¼ teaspoon sumac
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon lemon juice
sea salt
Preheat a charcoal grill or heat a griddle pan (skillet) over a high heat. If using the griddle pan, then preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F/gas 5).
Make a small slit with a sharp knife in the side of the pitas and fill the pitas with the hake kebab mix.
Mix all the spiced yoghurt ingredients in a bowl and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.
When the grill is ready, brush the pitas with the lamb (or duck) fat on both sides and grill for 3–4 minutes on each side, until the fish is cooked through. If using a griddle pan, then finish cooking the pita in the oven for 8–10 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.
Cut the pitas into quarters and serve hot with the spiced yoghurt for dipping.
BUTTERFLIED GRILLED MACKEREL WITH FRESH HERBS AND LEMON
I’ve given instructions here for cooking this on a charcoal grill, but it can be made in a frying pan (skillet) if you prefer. The key thing is to cook the fish on the skin side for 75 per cent of the cooking time, so that you get the skin nice and crispy before flipping it over to finish it off on the other side. Use the freshest mackerel you can get, as it really is the star of the show here. Mackerel is a fatty fish, so I’ve paired it with fresh herbs, salad and preserved lemon, all of which cut through the richness nicely.
