Yotam Ottolenghi's Amazing Hummus

If you have not taken a look at Yotam Ottolenghi's Jerusalem cookbook, I highly reccomend that you do. Ottolenghi is a Israeli chef who has several restaurants in London.  His gorgeous cookbook is full of beautiful vibrant salads, vegetables and other amazing dishes that I want to eat every day.  I have been making his hummus and it is by far the best hummus that I have ever tasted. It is silky smooth, light and fluffy, with a gorgeous balance of chickpea flavor and tahini, tempered by a bit of lemon juice and garlic.

I like to eat it on the day that I make it warm, topped with fried bits of lamb. The leftover hummus is great the next day, cold smeared onto bread or slices of cucumber, carrot and celery.

There are two tricks that make this hummus great.  The first is that the chickpeas are cooked with a bit of baking soda.  The baking soda allows the chickpeas to cook a bit faster, but more importantly breaks down the outside shell of the chickpea.   The second trick is slightly overcook the chickpeas until they mush easily between your two fingers. Doing this results in a super smooth, silky and almost fluffy texture.  Trust me, when I say that you have never had hummus this good!

This recipe is for a purist hummus with just garlic, tahini and lemon juice as a flavoring.  You can jazz it up by adding some cumin or adding more tahini to taste.

Ottolenghi's Hummus, as interpreted by me

250 grams dried chickpeas
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 to 1 cup tahini
4 tablespoons lemon juice (about a half of a large juicy lemon)
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons ice cold water

The night before you want to make the hummus, put the dried chickpeas in a bowl and cover with plenty of water and let the beans soak over night.

The next day, drain the chickpeas. Put a large pot on the stove on high heat.  Pour in the drained chickpeas and the baking soda.  Stir for about 3 minutes.  You will see that skins of the chickpeas start to disintegrate a bit and a film will form on the bottom of the pot.  Pour in 1.5 liters water and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam periodically. Cook the chickpeas for 20 to 30 minutes until they are very tender and can be mushed easily between two fingers.  Drain the peas.

Pour the chickpeas into a food processor and process until the peas are smooth.  Add in the tahini, salt, lemon juice, and the garlic (pressed through a garlic press).  Process until combined.  Taste teh hummus and adjust the salt and tahini to your liking. With the motor on, add the cold water, one tablespoon at a time.

Serve warm or cold with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of zatar spice, which adds a lemony bite as well as a gorgeous red color.  Some toasted pine nuts also taste wonderful on top.

I like to serve it as dinner with bits of lamb on top to smear over pita or a flat bread:

500 grams boneless lamb chop
1 teaspoon cumin
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon peppar
chopped parsley
a sprinkle of zatar
olive oil for frying

Cut the lamb into small bite size pieces.  Sprinkle with the salt, cumin, peppar and lemon juice.

Put a frying pan on the stove, preferably cast iron, onto the hottest heat.  Add a generous dollop of olive oil.  Fry the lamb, in two or three batches, until it is nicely browned, a few minutes on each side.

To serve, smear a generous amount of hummus on a platter.  Heap the lamb in the center, sprinkle with parsley, a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and dust it with the zatar.

Serve with sliced cucumber and flat bread.

Roast Rack of Lamb served on Minted Cous Cous Salad with Peas and Fennel

I am in love with this cous cous salad.  It is light and fresh, yet the cous cous makes it filling.  The combination of the sweetish mint dressing, peas and crunchy vegetables is irresistable.  Lamb and mint are a classic combination, so I chose lamb chops to serve with the salad, but you could equally serve chicken or fish.  I also love this leftovers the next day for lunch.


1 kilo rack of lamb
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
chopped thyme or other herb
1/2 lemon

2 dl cous cous
3 dl boiling water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

box of frozen peas (250 grams)
1 to 1 bulbs of fennel
1/4 to 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce
1 red onion
4 stalks celery
pea shoots, if available
1/2 cucumber

large handful mint
4 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
8 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

An hour or two before you are going to eat, prepare the lamb racks. Rub each rack all over with generous amounts of salt and pepper, chopped thyme and olive oil. Squeeze the lemon over the meat. Leave to marinate.

In a large bowl, pour in the cous cous.  Check the water to cous cous ratio on your packet.  It may be slightly different from that in this recipe. Pour in the oil and salt. Pour over the boiling water and stir quickly so that everything is moistened.  Cover the bowl with a pot lid or a dinner plate and let it sit for 10 minutes until all the water is absorbed.  Take of the lid and fluff up the cous cous with a fork.  If you think the cous cous is too dry, you can add a bit more boiling water. Set aside and leave it to cool to room temperature.

Pour the frozen peas into a bowl and let them thaw on the counter.

Prepare the mint dressing by putting all the ingredients into a hand mixer or food processor and whooze it up.  Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.  Set aside.

About half an hour before you want to eat, preheat the broiler to 200 C degrees.  Put the racks in a baking pan and put in the oven. Let them cook for about 30 minutes for medium (depending on the size of the rack) done lamb.  Turn on the broiler and cook for an additional minute or two to get some nice color.

While the meat is cooking, prepare all the vegetables.  Cut each fennel in half, lenghtwise and then finely slice.  Lay the lettuce on its cut side and cut it again.  Take a quarter and finely slice it. Chop the red onion finely.  Chop the cucumber into large dice.

Mix all the vegetables, including the thawed peas into the cous cous and pour over the mint dressing.  Toss until it is mixed.  Serve at room temperature with the lamb chops.

Slow Roasted Lamb with Garlicy White Beans and Kale

I like a lazy Saturday or Sunday, puttering around the house with no bigger plan than thinking about what I will cook for dinner.  A long slow roast infuses the kitchen with good smells, and most of the work is done by the oven while I curl up on the sofa with a good book.

This leg of lamb fits the bill.  Lamb with garlic is a classic combination and you can throw in whatever herbs you like but for me, rosemary is a must.  Here in Sweden, it is a bit challenging to get a leg of lamb with the bone.  I rarely see it at my local supermarket and have to go to the food halls if I want one.  While I normally prefer my leg with the bone, as I am a firm believer that the bone gives the meat a better flavor, I have found that the de-boned version has its charms.  The main charm being that I can liberally stuff it with garlic and herbs so that all of the meat is infused with flavor.

I decided to eschew the normal roast potatoes and veg for a simple side of brothy beans and kale flavored with more garlic.  The dish is based off a side dish that I had often in a little mountain restaurant in France near Perpignon where we used to have a small summer house.  I like to make the beans just after I put the lamb in the oven and then let them sit on the back of the stove while the lamb is cooking so that all the garlic flavors infuse into the beans. Then I just heat them up again while I am making the gravy.

Serves 4 to 6

Roast Lamb:

1.5 kilo leg of lamb without bone
1/2 head of garlic
bunch of oregano and rosemary
salt and pepper
olive oil



Preheat the oven to 165C.  Peel
and chop the garlic finely. Chop the herbs.  Rub salt and pepper all over the leg of lamb and inside the hole left by the bone.  Mix the garlic and herbs with a bit of olive oil.  Put the majority of the mixture in the hole and rub a bit on the outside of the leg.   Put in the oven and leave to roast for about 3 hours. The meat should be browned on the top and very tender.

Gravy:
juices from the lamb
two tablespoons capers, chopped
a slug of port or marsala
a teaspoon of cornstarch
a bit of water

This won't make a big jug of gravy, just enough for a tablespoon or two per person to moisten the meat. When the meat is done, lift it out onto a cutting board and cover with a piece of tinfoil and let it rest while you prepare the gravy.  If there is a lot of fat in the pan, you can tilt the pan and use a spoon to remove some of it. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the nice bits of carmelized juices into the sauce.  Put the pan on the stove if you can, or pour the juices into a little pot and bring them to a boil.  In a cup, put in a few tablespoons of water and a teaspoon of cornstarch and stir until the cornstarch is fully dissolved.  Add this to the juices and stir and cook until the sauce thickens a little bit.  Add the chopped capers and a tablespoon or two of wine. Taste and adjust the seasoning.  If it is too salty, add a bit more water and wine. Pour into a bowl and serve with the meat.


Beans and Kale:

2 cans large white beans
200 grams kale or other greens
1/2 head of garlic
small bunch of thyme
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery
1 onion
olive oil
1 vegetable bouillon cube
salt and pepper
about a cup water

Peel and chop the garlic.  Peel the carrot and chop finely.  Chop the celery and the onion finely.  In a pot, put on a stove at medium heat and add a generous slog of olive oil.  Put in the vegetables and saute for a few minutes, taking care not to let the garlic burn. While the onion mix is cooking, prepare the kale.  Cut the rib out of each leaf of kale and then cut the kale into pieces.  Open the cans of beans, pour into a colander, drain, and rinse with cold water.

Add the water to the onion mix, the bouillon cube, and the kale. Let it boil up for a few minutes until the kale softens.  Add the beans and stir gently so that you don't break the beans.  Put the lid on and let the mixure simmer for about 15 minutes.  Check for seasoning and add a slug of oil oil if you like.