There’s a specific squeal of delight that escapes my mouth whenever I’m lucky enough to receive a new Ottolenghi cookbook. It’s the squeal that knows that I’m in for a lot of ridiculously good meals, new flavour bombs and ingredients I now need to source.
Comfort, an Ottolenghi collaboration with Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley is an ode to comfort food around the world. Comfort food comes with its nostalgia and meaning – it’s food that’s rich with the journeys and places we go to, food that makes us feel a certain way and food eaten with those who feel like home. While Comfort is speckled with the quintessential comfort foods – pancakes and matzo ball soup, curry noodles and pasta, cookies and puddings – they’re all taken to that next Ottolenghi level, so you end up with comfort food that tastes more like a gourmet meal.
Only months into having this cookbook and I’ve made many a recipe – the standouts (so far) being the crispy roast potatoes (next level), salmon fishcakes (who knew) and the soup I’m sharing (world class).
Dietary Notes
Comfort has dishes suited for every type of diet – plant based, meat eaters, pescatarians and vegetarians. Recipes mainly use wholefood ingredients making it the perfect way to enjoy wholesome comfort food. With inspiration coming from Israel, Italy, China, Germany, Scotland, London, New York and Amsterdam, it’s a cookbook that allows you to taste the world.
Best For
Ottolenghi fans, budding home chefs and those who want comfort food that tastes like a five star meal.
Cooking Level
Intermediate – Advanced
Like most Ottolenghi cookbooks, recipes take time, have multiple steps and will push you outside of your comfort zone. Best for those already comfortable in the kitchen.
I’m sharing the recipe for his roasted aubergine, red pepper and tomato soup. I made it as a light meal for one of the many meals during the month of Jewish Holidays and it blew everyone away! It has a depth of flavour I’ve come to expect from Ottolenghi recipes and is the kind of soup you can serve at a dinner party (the topping adds that flair). I used leftovers as a sauce for pasta – it was that good!
Roasted aubergine, red pepper and tomato soup
Ingredients
- 2 aubergines pricked a few times with a fork (700g)
- 60 ml olive oil
- 6 large tomatoes (725g)
- 2 red peppers (490g)
- 2 onions roughly chopped (350g)
- 6 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp thyme
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp saffron threads
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 650 ml vegetable stock (or water)
- salt to taste
Fried Almond Topping
- 60 ml olive oil
- 70 g flaked almonds
- 2 tsp thyme
- 1/8 tsp saffron threads
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp flaked sea salt
- 5 g fresh parsley roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220C fan.
- Place the aubergine on a parchment-lined baking tray and drizzle over 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Roast for 30 minutes, turning once. After 30 minutes? (Its not 100% clear)Add the tomatoes and peppers to the tray, drizzle over another tablespoon of oil and turn the vegetables so that they are all coated. Roast for another 30 minutes, until the vegetables have coloured and the skins have wrinkled. Remove from the oven and when cool enough to handle, peel the skins of all the vegetables. Discard the seeds and stems of the peppers and the stems of the aubergines.
- Meanwhile, put the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil into a large saucepan, for which you have a lid, and place on medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes, until soft and lightly coloured. Add the garlic and thyme, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Add the spices and tomato paste, cook for 2 minutes, then add all the peeled vegetables, along with their juices, breaking them up with a wooden spoon. Add the stock along with 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer gently, with the pan partially covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and, using a stick blender or jug blender, blitz until completely smooth.
- While the soup is cooking, make the fried almond topping. Put the oil in a small frying pan and place on medium heat. Add the almonds and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until they are lightly golden. In the last few seconds of cooking, add the thyme leaves, spices and flaked sea salt, then remove from the heat. Once cool, stir in the chopped parsley and vinegar.
- Divide the soup between individual bowls and spoon over the fried almonds and oil.
Comfort is published by Ebury Press and distributed by Penguin Random House . It is available here.
