Features
A Middle Eastern Valentine’s Day menu from Yotam Ottolenghi
by Jessica Lockyer-Palmer
published on 11 February 2022
If you share our belief that a home-cooked Ottolenghi meal is the sixth love language, read on. At first glance, this menu of three simple dishes from across Yotam’s cookbooks might look like any other Valentine’s Day spread. Creamy mac ‘n’ cheese, simple side salad, indulgent chocolate tart – so far, so classic. But it wouldn’t be Ottolenghi without those transformative touches and there are plenty to enjoy here. A herbaceous za’atar pesto rippled through the mac, chopped lemon tossed into the salad, a shard of sesame brittle to finish off each picture-perfect tart; it’s the finishing flourishes that transform these dishes into a spread fit for an extra special occasion.
Centrepiece
The Ottolenghi Test Kitchen’s M.E. Mac ‘n’ Cheese with Za’atar Pesto
There’s mac ‘n’ cheese and then there’s the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen’s mac ‘n’ cheese, with feta for added tang and a herby za’atar pesto for a Middle Eastern twist.
Side salad
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Cucumber, Za’atar and Chopped Lemon Salad
Packed full of lemon, from the juice to the rind and flesh, this crisp, zingy salad promises the freshness you need to cut through the mac ‘n’ cheese.
Dessert
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Little Baked Chocolate Tarts with Tahini and Sesame Brittle (or marmalade)
Round off your Valentine’s Day menu with these delectable chocolate tarts. Buttery pastry cases filled with a baked chocolate mousse and a hidden spoonful of tahini, finished with a decorative sesame brittle shard.
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