A Barnsley chop is essentially a double loin chop taken from right across the lamb’s loin. It’s a special cut, but your butcher should be able to provide it. You get a bit more flavour from the extra bone as it cooks, and it’s one of those cuts that just feels a bit fancy. The yoghurt and zhoug make a great complement here: the tang of the yoghurt cuts through the strong flavour of the lamb, while the zhoug adds a kick and elevates the dish.

  Serves 2

  2 Barnsley (double loin) lamb chops (250 g/9 oz each)

  sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  4 tablspoons yoghurt (preferably thick sheep’s yoghurt), to serve

  For the zhoug

  3 long green hot chillies

  100 g (3½ oz) coriander (cilantro), coarsely chopped

  2 garlic cloves, peeled

  ¼ teaspoon ground coriander

  ¼ teaspoon ground cumin

  ¼ teaspoon sea salt

  3½ tablespoons vegetable oil

  For the yoghurt

  200 g (7 oz) Greek yoghurt

  juice of ½ lemon

  To make the zhoug, blitz all the ingredients (apart from the oil) in a food processor until you have a coarse paste. Add the vegetable oil and pulse for a couple of seconds until combined.

  Whisk the yoghurt and lemon juice in a bowl until well blended. Set aside.

  Prepare a charcoal grill or heat a griddle pan over a high heat.

  Season the lamb chops with plenty of salt and pepper. Grill the chops over hot coals for 6 minutes, turning halfway, until medium rare. (Alternatively, preheat a cast-iron pan (skillet) to high and cook the lamb chops until medium-rare.) Set aside to rest for 5–7 minutes. Once rested, serve with yoghurt and zhoug.

  GRILLED LAMB SWEETBREAD SKEWERS WITH LEMON AND ZA’ATAR

  We cook these over charcoal, which really is essential for sweetbreads as the smokiness cuts through the fat in a way you couldn’t achieve by pan-frying. This is another popular dish at the restaurant: combined simply with a squeeze of lemon and our za’atar blend. It makes a great appetiser – and it pairs really well with a cold beer.

  Serves 4

  240 g (8½ oz) clean lamb (or veal) sweetbreads, cut into 1 cm (½ in) pieces

  olive oil, for brushing

  sea salt

  2 tablespoons Za’atar

  1 tablespoon lemon juice

  lemon wedges, to serve

  Either wooden or metal skewers can be used. If using wooden skewers, start by soaking the wooden skewers in water for a few hours before grilling, to prevent them from burning. Alternatively, use metal skewers, which don’t need to be soaked.

  Push the sweetbreads onto 4 skewers (60 g/2¼ oz on each skewer) and preheat a charcoal grill.

  When the coals are hot and white, lightly brush the skewers with some olive oil, season with salt and place over the hot grill. Grill for 5–6 minutes, turning halfway, until the sweetbreads are thoroughly cooked and nice and golden in colour.

  Remove from the grill and sprinkle generously with the za’atar and the lemon juice. Serve with lemon wedges. Eat immediately.

  CHOPPED LIVER SALAD AND PICKLED CUCUMBERS

  This is something my mum used to make for me at home – it’s a very traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish that is usually eaten at Jewish holidays. I think it’s a really good way to use liver, as the caramelised onions add a sweetness, while the pickled cucumbers cut cleanly through the richness. If you like chicken liver paté, you’ll enjoy this.

  Serves 5–6

  500 g (1 lb 2 oz) chicken livers, cleaned and trimmed to remove connective tissues

  3 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying

  700 g (1 lb 9 oz) white onions, finely diced

  2 eggs

  ¾ teaspoon sea salt

  ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  To serve

  1 small Pickled Cucumber per person

  1 teaspoon finely chopped raw onion per person

  Challah

  Pat the chicken livers dry with paper towel.

  Heat the oil in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat, add the onions and fry for 8–10 minutes until caramelised and deep brown in colour. Set aside.

  Place the eggs in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, then bring to the boil and boil for 8–10 minutes. Remove the eggs from the heat and cool under cold running water. Make sure the eggs are cooled down thoroughly otherwise you won’t be able to peel them easily.

  Add more oil to the same pan over a medium heat, and when the pan starts to smoke, add a batch of the chicken livers in a single layer, season with salt and pepper and cook for about 4–5 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool and repeat with the remaining chicken livers.

  Finely chop the cooled livers and hard-boiled eggs, transfer to a bowl, add the browned onions and mix well with a spoon. Add the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

  Serve with chopped raw onions on top, pickled cucumber and some challah bread.

  CHARGRILLED OX HEART WITH WATERCRESS AND CHARRED RADICCHIO AND SPRING ONION

  You might have to place a special order with your butcher for ox heart, but it’s worth it to make this. This is a good offal dish for beginners, as ox heart is quite a lean meat and doesn’t have the same iron-heavy flavour you might get with duck or chicken hearts. When treated correctly – thinly sliced and cooked over a charcoal grill – it tastes almost like strips of steak. The simple garlic and herb marinade complements it perfectly, and it pairs so well with the warm salad of grilled radicchio, which is cut through with lemon for another layer of flavour.

  Serves 2

  250 g (9 oz) ox heart, cleaned and cut into thin strips

  50 g (1¾ oz) radicchio, quartered lengthwise, stem removed, leaves separated

  6 spring onions (scallions), trimmed to 6 cm (2½ in) of the white part and some of the green

  50 g (1¾ oz) watercress

  1 tablespoon olive oil

  1 tablespoon lemon juice

  sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  For the marinade

  25 ml (¾ fl oz) olive oil

  4 garlic cloves, crushed

  5 oregano, sage or rosemary sprigs

  Combine the strips of ox heart with the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

  When ready to cook, preheat a charcoal grill and remove the meat from the marinade.

  Start by grilling the radicchio leaves on both sides (without oil) for 3–4 minutes, until tender. Repeat with the spring onions and set them aside. Grill the strips of marinated meat for 1–2 minutes on each side, no longer.

  Combine the grilled vegetables, watercress and heart in a bowl, drizzle with the olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

  BEEF CHEEKS AND HUMMUS

  This dish is such a crowd pleaser. Beef cheek has a lot of unique qualities; it’s lean, but there’s a layer of fat within the meat that melts when you cook it, which makes it extra flavourful and special. Hummus is sometimes served with ground lamb or beef in Israel, so I took inspiration from that, but when I put the beef cheeks and hummus together, it became something else entirely. Hummus was the accompaniment, not the other way around. It is very simple even though it takes a little time, and it’s very rewarding, as the meat becomes extremely tender and delicious.

  Serves 4

  vegetable oil, for cooking

  1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) trimmed beef cheeks

  sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  100 g (3½ oz) onions, cut into 2 cm (3¼ in) cubes

  250 g (9 oz) leeks

  2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 cm (3¼ in) cubes

  45 g (1½ oz) tomato purée (paste)

  200 ml (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup) dry red wine

  5 bay leaves

  ½ garlic head

  600 ml (20 fl oz/2½ cups) good-quality beef stock, plus optional extra 300 ml (10 fl oz/1¼ cups) to reheat the cheeks

  2 tablespoons Hummus per person, to serve

  Heat a large, heavy-based ovenproof dish with a drizzle of oil over a high heat. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper on all sides. When the pan starts to smoke, add the meat in batches (do not overcrowd the pan as the cheeks won’t seal properly) and brown on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.

  Add a drizzle more oil, then add the vegetables to the pan and cook until over a medium heat until caramelised at the edges – this can take 20–25 minutes, so be patient.

  Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F/gas 3).

  Add the tomato purée and red wine to the vegetables in the pan and cook until the wine has reduced by half. Return the beef cheeks to the pan, add the bay leaves, garlic and cover with stock. Bring to the boil and cover tightly with foil and cook in the oven for 2½–3 hours. The best way to check the meat is done is to take one cheek out onto a plate and to taste it – it should be really soft, but not falling apart.

  Gently remove the meat from the pan and keep covered in a warm place. Pass the stock through a fine sieve into a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Reduce the stock by simmering it for a few minutes until reduced by two-thirds. Strain and serve the cheeks with the sauce and hummus.

  SPICED DUCK-HEART SKEWERS WITH BAHĀRĀT AND SOUR CREAM

  I love duck heart – the flavour is slightly gamier than that of a chicken, and it has a little more fat, too. The bahārāt spice blend works perfectly because the meat can hold up to the strong, aromatic flavour. When dipped in sour cream, everything melds together into something a little more mellow, but still very impactful. It’s really popular at the restaurant, and I personally love to serve it as an starter (appetiser) or snack.

  Serves 4

  16 duck hearts, cleaned of excess fat and blood

  4 tablespoons thick sour cream

  sea salt

  For the bahārāt spice blend

  ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  ¼ teaspoon ground green cardamom seeds

  ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

  ½ teaspoon ground aniseed

  ½ teaspoon ground cumin

  ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

  ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika

  Prepare a charcoal grill.

  To make the bahārāt spice blend, mix all the spices together.

  Either wooden or metal skewers can be used. If using wooden skewers, start by soaking the wooden skewers in water for a few hours before grilling, to prevent them from burning. Alternatively, use metal skewers, which don’t need to be soaked.

  Divide the cleaned hearts among 4 skewers (4 on each skewer) and season generously with the bahārāt mix, and salt.

  Grill the skewers on both sides for 3–4 minutes – you want the hearts to still be pink in the middle. Serve with sour cream.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Oded Oren has worked in a number of the Tel Aviv’s feted restaurants, such as the famed Turkiz and Food Art, Tamuz. He has also undertaken a series of stages in some of the world’s best kitchens, which resulted in his permanent move to London, via California and Paris. In 2011, he founded a catering business and then in 2019, he opened his restaurant, Oren. This is his first book.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Firstly, to Roni Belfer; thanks for the support and for reminding me of some really special recipes of mine that I had forgotten!

  To Lisa De Blauw and Sam Lone from Oren, and Hanne and Jo for opening a door, and for your friendship.

  Thank you to Valerie Berry, Issy Croker and Tabitha Hawkins, and to Benjamin McMahon for the continued support.

  To Itiel Zion, Sahul Tevet, Jasmino, Me & Me, Hanan Margilan, M25, and Tali Knipe for being such a good pal. Tal Oron, Yotam Laufer, Eilon Bregman, Eyal Baumert, Studio ETC, Benjamin Chapman, Turkiz and Feya Buchvlad – thanks for pushing me and being a good friend all the years. Also thanks to Douglas Lavin, Nud Dudhia, Claire Ptak, Julie and Michael Seelig, Efi Segal, Harry Livesey, George Fredenham and Yosi Romano.

  Finally, thank you to Eve Marleau and Eila Purvis for all your help in the making of this book.

  INDEX

  A

  aged beef onglet with tahini and roast chilli harissa 1

  allspice berries

  house pickles 1

  pickled cucumbers 1

  almonds

  fresh herb salad with cherries and almonds 1

  grilled hispi cabbage and romesco 1

  raw courgette salad with mint, basil and toasted almonds 1

  amba

  Jerusalem mix grill with tahini and amba (pitas) 1

  lamb tartare with pickled cucumbers and amba (pitas) 1

  sabich (pitas) 1

  anchovies: barbecued, marinated spatchcocked quail with preserved

  lemon salsa verde 1

  aniseed: spiced duck-heart skewers with baharat and sour cream 1

  arayes

  hake arayes with lamb fat and spiced yoghurt (pitas) 1

  lamb and beef arayes (pitas) 1

  aubergines

  fried aubergine with sweet red peppers and chilli 1

  lamb and beef mince kebabs with burnt aubergine 1

  sabich (pitas) 1

  smoked aubergine with olive oil, shallots and basil 1

  avocados: crab salad with avocado, lamb’s lettuce and fragrant herbs 1

  B

  baharat: spiced duck-heart skewers with baharat and sour cream 1

  baked butter beans with barrel-aged feta and slow-roast tomatoes 1

  barbecued langoustines with butter and fresh oregano 1

  barbecued, marinated spatchcocked quail with preserved lemon salsa verde 1

  barley: cholent – slow-cooked stew of grains and beef 1

  basil

  barbecued, marinated spatchcocked quail with preserved lemon salsa verde 1

  raw courgette salad with mint, basil and toasted almonds 1

  smoked aubergine with olive oil, shallots and basil 1

  bay leaves

  house pickles 1

  pickled cucumbers 1

  preserved lemons 1

  beef

  aged beef onglet with tahini and roast chilli harissa 1

  beef and lamb koftas in fragrant tomato sauce 1

  beef cheeks and hummus 1

  cholent – slow-cooked stew of grains and beef 1

  lamb and beef arayes (pitas) 1

  lamb and beef mince kebabs with burnt aubergine 1

  beetroot: roasted beetroots with sherry vinegar and chives 1

  bone marrow: cholent – slow-cooked stew of grains and beef 1

  braised cuttlefish with slow-roast tomatoes and chickpeas 1

  bread

  challah with preserved lemon and za’atar 1–2

  stone-baked flatbreads with cured sardines and preserved lemon 1

  broad beans

  fresh broad beans with slow-roast tomatoes and preserved lemon 1

  ful medames – slow-cooked broad beans with lemon, chilli and tahini 1

  burnt chilli harissa with garlic and olive oil 1

  butter: barbecued langoustines with butter and fresh oregano 1

  butter beans

  baked butter beans with barrel-aged feta and slow-roast tomatoes 1

  cholent – slow-cooked stew of grains and beef 1

  butter lettuce with seasonal vegetables and za’atar 1

  butterflied grilled mackerel with fresh herbs and lemon 1

  C

  cabbage

  grilled hispi cabbage and romesco 1

  house pickles 1

  Caesar salad with cured sardines and laben kishk 1

  caraway seeds

  grilled squid stuffed with spiced lamb sausage 1

  Libyan chraime sauce 1

  monkfish in Libyan chraime sauce 1

  pilpelchuma 1

  cardamom

  homemade gravlax with labneh and preserved lemon 1

  spiced duck-heart skewers with baharat and sour cream 1

  carrots

  beef cheeks and hummus 1

  house pickles 1

  lamb shanks with freekeh 1

  Libyan quick pickles 1

  cauliflower

  fried cauliflower florets with tahini and grated tomatoes 1

  house pickles 1

  Libyan quick pickles 1

  celery

  house pickles 1

  lamb shanks with freekeh 1

  challah with preserved lemon and za’atar 1–2

  chargrilled ox heart with watercress and charred radicchio and spring onion 1

  cherries: fresh herb salad with cherries and almonds 1

  chervil

  butterflied grilled mackerel with fresh herbs and lemon 1

  crab salad with avocado, lamb’s lettuce and fragrant herbs 1

  kohlrabi with fresh herbs, chilli flakes and toasted sourdough 1

  chicken

  grilled chicken thighs with pilpelchuma, tahini and watercress (pitas) 1

  Jerusalem mix grill with tahini and amba (pitas) 1

  chicken livers

  chopped liver salad and pickled cucumbers 1

  Jerusalem mix grill with tahini and amba (pitas) 1

  chickpeas

  green falafel with tahini 1

  hummus 1

  chilli flakes

  kohlrabi with fresh herbs, chilli flakes and toasted sourdough 1

  lamb tartare with pickled cucumbers and amba (pitas) 1

  chilli powder

  monkfish in Libyan chraime sauce 1

  pilpelchuma 1

  chillies

  aged beef onglet with tahini and roast chilli harissa 1

  braised cuttlefish with slow-roast tomatoes and chickpeas 1

  burnt chilli harissa with garlic and olive oil 1

  fresh herb salad with cherries and almonds 1

  fried aubergine with sweet red peppers and chilli 1

 

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